The project will review the existing UK Coaching Certificate (UKCC) and result in the Sport and Recreation Alliance delivering practical recommendations to get more people from diverse backgrounds in to coaching.
The Sport and Recreation Alliance, which works to help get the nation active through sport and recreation, will lead a multi-phased review and work in partnership with Manchester Metropolitan University. The project, which is anticipated to be completed in January 2018, will involve qualitative research to improve understanding about the needs of the existing sports participants and also importantly, the needs of under-represented groups in physical activity such as women and girls.
The review will help Sport England deliver their new coaching plan “Coaching in an Active England” which forms part of a wider initiative, first set out in the UK Government’s sport strategy, Sporting Future (2015), to refresh the coaching workforce. The strategy identified that the current coaching certificate focuses on technical skills rather than behaviour and attitudes of how to encourage more people to participate in sport and recreation.
It is hoped that the independent review will deliver better understanding about the current barriers to get into coaching and the necessary changes required to make the workforce more representative of society.
Sport England Director of Sport, Phil Smith commented on the review: "Coaching in an Active Nation is the first ever coaching plan for England. It's a plan to help develop a coaching workforce able to assist in providing high quality participation experiences for people from all sections of society. The plan is seeking to ensure that the coaching workforce is more reflective of sport and society."
"The UKCC has established coaching's importance to sport over the last ten years, and it's now the right time to see what's needed to meet the aspirations mapped out in the coaching plan. We are delighted to be working with the Sport and Recreation Alliance to review the UK Coaching Certificate, as their position in the industry and their track record of delivering large scale research projects placed them as the ideal organisation to deliver on such an important project."
Emma Boggis, CEO of the Sport and Recreation Alliance said: “It’s fantastic to be given the opportunity to lead a review of the UK Coaching Certificate. Sport and recreation has the power to change lives and bring our communities together and high quality coaches are vital for creating positive experiences for people in sport which is why this project is very important to us. Our position and relationships within the sector will help us to produce an independent and comprehensive review that we hope will deliver real change and help to get more people from different backgrounds involved in sport and recreation.”
Mark Gannon, CEO of UK Coaching added: “Our vision is to help create an active nation inspired through great coaching and it is vital that the coaching workforce is flexible, agile and reflective of society.
“It is essential that we provide the best possible learning and development opportunities for the workforce so that they can inspire the nation to become, and remain active by acknowledging and meeting the motivations of participants. This review will be a successful step towards achieving this vision.”
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