Our Impact 2017-2019
The Chartered Institute for the Management of Sport and Physical Activity Who we are
Our vision
CIMSPA is the professional development body for the UK’s sport and physical activity sector, committed to supporting, developing and enabling professionals and organisations to succeed and, as a result, inspire our nation to become more active.
Shaping a recognised and respected sport and physical activity sector that everyone wants to be part of.
CIMSPA helps to nurture talent, develop careers, inspire professionalism and set clear regulatory standards for success, continuing the development of a modern, prosperous and respected sport and physical activity sector. Together we’re developing a vibrant, UK-wide sport and physical activity sector, with the highest standards of service delivery. Front cover: Our awarding organisation partner Swim England Qualifications awards over 10,000 qualification certificates and 7,000 CPD certificates each year. Above: CIMSPA employer partners Halo Leisure are a flagship social enterprise running 20 sport and leisure facilities and programmes supporting the health/wellbeing agenda across England and Wales.
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Our mission Through our work we will:
nn Allow individuals to realise their potential by having a clear route into and through our sector.
nn Provide employers with the best people.
nn Ensure the availability of quality and relevant learning and development opportunities.
nn Be the lead organisation on sport and physical activity workforce policy.
nn Give the public increased confidence in a professional, respectable sector.
CIMSPA IMPACT REPORT 2017–2019
Imagine a future where... nn A parent can check their child’s coach is qualified and safe.
nn A manager can verify an employee’s qualifications, CPD experience and how they can be deployed within the organisation.
nn A GP can identify their local chartered activity practitioner and prescribe exercise.
nn A university graduate is employable the day they graduate.
nn Everyone working in our sector understands their pathway to personal success.
This is the goal CIMSPA is working towards achieving, in partnership with the whole sport and physical activity sector.
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his impact report sets out significant
progress made towards establishing a recognised and respected profession for those working in sport and physical activity. This is not though, a statement of CIMSPA’s successes. It is, instead, an affirmation of the partnership working we have facilitated across the entire sector. The energy, expertise and enthusiasm of over 300 sector, employer, awarding organisation and education partners have together delivered the milestones outlined in this report.
This is a unique window of opportunity for the sport and physical activity workforce. Government, its agencies, the health sector and other chartered professional bodies are all looking to our sector to continue its development and play a significant role in creating a healthy, active nation. Commitment, collaboration and a continued “partnership-first” ethos are vital to both our sector’s progressive advancement, and to delivering great careers for every individual we count as a valued member of our workforce.
From strategy to success...
Our work has been facilitated by key investment and support from Sport England. This has enabled CIMSPA to play its part in realising the ambitions of the 2015 HM Government Sporting Future strategy, and the subsequent Towards an Active Nation and Working in an Active Nation Sport England strategies.
FUNDED PARTNER
CIMSPA is developing partnerships with the devolved Scottish, Welsh and Northern Ireland governments and assemblies – shaping its approach to both respect and meet individual nation’s sport and physical activity policies, priorities and perspectives. CIMSPA IMPACT REPORT 2017–2019
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The system we have built together CIMSPA and its partners have created a protected ecosystem of professional and apprenticeship standards for the sector. We are now embedding these into the sport and physical activity education landscape – from conventional qualifications, training and CPD through to mentoring and new, flexible, approaches to student and workforce learning, assessment and development.
Awarding organisation partners Develop CIMSPA-endorsed qualifications based on a growing framework of employer-led professional standards.
Commit to only using CIMSPA-recognised education delivered by approved partner training providers. Promote CIMSPA membership to their staff.
Deliver quality assured CIMSPA recognised qualifications, training and CPD to sector employers and individuals.
Real-world knowledge and expertise from partners and stakeholders is captured into CIMSPA professional standards and apprenticeship standards for every occupation and job role in sport and physical activity.
Higher education partners
Integrating professional standards into the sector-specific degree programmes they develop; delivering CIMSPAendorsed programmes to students to ensure graduate employability.
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Employer partners
Sector professional development board and professional development committees
CIMSPA PROFESSIONAL STANDARDS
12 15 260+ 500+ 30+
Training provider partners
This entire system is regulated and protected by CIMSPA
Sector partners
Specialist input into standards development e.g. from health, coaching, and strength & conditioning.
Professional development board meetings held Professional development committees formed Professional development committee members
Working together to provide effective work placements and pathways into the sector’s workforce.
Why this matters... A key role for a chartered professional body is to be the “custodian” of its sector. CIMSPA is defining the standards set by employers; encouraging partnerships and joined-up working; and quality assuring the whole process to protect the sector and raise the workforce’s quality and potential.
Consultation responses to date Professional and apprenticeship standards completed/ in development CIMSPA IMPACT REPORT 2017–2019
Strong sector governance Trustee Malcom McPhail welcomes the CIMSPA youth panel to their first meeting
Establishing a reputation as a responsible profession other sectors want to engage with
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he hallmark of an effective chartered institute is a strong, transparent and fair governance foundation. Over the past 18 months CIMSPA has completed a review and reform of its governance infrastructures, with several key milestones already achieved. In April 2018, CIMSPA achieved compliance with the Sport England and UK Sport Code for Sports Governance – demonstrating our accountability and financial integrity. Our ongoing work is now building the internal board and committee structures that will provide quality governance for every area of the institute’s activities. Through 2019 we will align our member and partner agreements with recognised codes of conduct, policies and procedures – an essential part of a recognised and respected profession.
Why this matters... Other sectors and chartered bodies across health and education expect the sport and physical activity profession to demonstrate effective self-regulation, enhancing our ability to work in partnership. CIMSPA IMPACT REPORT 2017–2019
Our governance structure Board of trustees: Exemplar leadership in line with legal and regulatory frameworks. Professional development board: Managing CIMSPA education policy and the development of professional and apprenticeship standards through a network of professional development committees. Membership committee: Maintaining a “gold standard” of chartered membership and fellowship through equitable application processes in line with our royal charter and statutes. Disciplinary committee: Providing a fair, effective and consistent method of dealing with disciplinary and performance matters, with a priority focus on encouraging improvement to member and partner conduct. Audit and probity committee: Managing and mitigating organisational risk; encouraging operational high performance; promoting ethics and values; coordinating audit practices and regulatory compliance. Youth panel: Providing the board of trustees with an authentic perspective from young adults involved and invested in sport and physical activity.
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Professional standards, apprenticeships and endorsement
Defining employer-led standards for every job role and enabling great career pathways for our entire workforce
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e are accelerating the development of a single professional standards framework for the sport and physical activity sector within which the knowledge, skills and behaviours for each sector job role are clearly and plainly defined. This standards framework is helping the development of quality education products for our workforce, and allowing employers the ability to easily assess which job roles an individual is truly qualified for. The professional standards framework is also being used to develop career maps which offer individuals realistic expectations of job prospects, with clear signalling on what training is required to transition through the pathway and meet their ambitions. Significant progress
Over 30 professional and apprenticeship standards have already been completed or are in development, across exercise and fitness, leisure operations, coaching, community sport management and health.
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Innovative implementation
Our professional and apprenticeship standards aren’t just being used to inform education development – forward thinking employers are using them as a recruitment and training tool by measuring the current performance of their teams and identifying areas for development. Professional standards highlight
February 2019 saw the release of the Working With People With Long Term Conditions professional standard. Developed by a specialist professional development committee including representation from employers, training providers, awarding organisations and academics, it is the product of extensive consultation and collaboration across the health and sport sectors. The standard provides practitioners with the framework of skills and knowledge required to work with people with single long term conditions, those at risk of developing a long-term condition and people who present with co-morbidities and multi-morbidities. As well as qualifications, this will also be used to develop an apprenticeship
standard for a physical activity practitioner. CIMSPA IMPACT REPORT 2017–2019
Our growing standards library... PROFESSIONAL STANDARDS Personal Trainer; Gym Instructor; Core Group Exercise Instructor; Recreation Assistant; Lifeguard; Swimming Teacher; Coach; Assistant Coach; Working With Children; Working in the School Environment (Out Of Curriculum); Safeguarding and Protecting Children; Aspiring Manager*; Entry Manager*; General Manager*; Pool Plant Operative; Working with People with Long Term Conditions; Assistant Swimming Teacher; Working with Children 0-5; Strength and Conditioning Trainer APPRENTICESHIP STANDARDS Leisure Duty Manager; Leisure Team Member; Personal Trainer; Community Activator Coach; Community Sport and Health Officer *All include specialist content options across exercise And fitness, sports development and leisure operations.
Why this matters... Professional and apprenticeship standards are the DNA of improving all education products in sport and physical activity. By defining our sector, its job roles and their requirements this allows greater understanding and clearer career pathways.
Apprenticeships highlight CIMSPA employer partner Salford Community Leisure, working with training provider partner FLM Training, are using the sector’s Leisure Duty Manager apprenticeship standard to provide better progression opportunities for those who have stepped up to a supervisory role within the organisation. This ensures that the organisation’s duty managers and aspiring managers understand and demonstrate its priorities, desired behaviours and management competencies. SCL are mapping competencies against CIMSPA standards and signposting team members to the relevant CPD content on the CIMSPA Academy online platform. “We’re proud that our organisation is one of the first to be implementing the Leisure Duty Manager apprenticeship. We’re aligning our training with CIMSPA management standards – getting our duty managers into membership and using the CIMSPA Academy CPD platform. This highlights our commitment to developing our staff and equipping them with the skills to deliver quality experiences for our customers.” Mark Chew, Director of Leisure
OUR ENDORSEMENT KITEMARK Our professional and apprenticeship standards are enabling the emergence of a true and trusted endorsement system. This is the kitemark of quality we are establishing across the sport and physical activity sector. Its role is to signpost that an education product has been fully endorsed against professional standards within the framework. Higher education Endorsed degree programmes displaying this kitemark will give confidence to parents and students that students will be “job ready” as soon as they graduate – with the knowledge, skills and behaviours that employers have identified hard-wired into the award.
CIMSPA IMPACT REPORT 2017–2019
Workforce Individuals completing endorsed qualifications, CPD and apprenticeships can be confident that their professional development is focused, flexible and contributes to the rewarding career pathways CIMSPA is developing with employers and partners.
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Membership
Over 1500 Nuffield Health staff are now CIMSPA personal members.
© NUFFIELD HEALTH
Building pride in being part of a recognised and respected profession
10,000+
Sector professionals and students now engaged with their chartered professional body through membership and affiliation
them to showcase their professional competence and manage their professional development. This will launch in Spring 2019 and will be the foundation for an online career map for everyone in our sector to reach their potential, linking through to a recruitment marketplace.
2018 saw accelerated growth in the number of sector professionals joining as personal members, driven by our employer partner network.
This year will also see a streamlined application process for chartered membership and fellowship as well as the launch of a pathway for practitioners to achieve chartered status.
Many employers now set CIMSPA membership as either a strong desirable or requirement for recruitment into their workplaces, particularly in exercise and fitness. Our CPD platform, the CIMSPA Academy, is free for members to access and its content is being mapped to professional standards as they are developed. We also created membership pathways for coaching professionals. Ongoing enhancements coming up...
We have completed a review of our membership value proposition and will bring online new membership benefits for individuals. All of these enhancements are based on member feedback from our member survey.
Why this matters... Our sector’s contribution to the government’s health and physical activity ambitions depends entirely on a committed and skilled workforce. Our refreshed member offer through 2019 will help individuals further their careers and drive sector success.
Through 2018 CIMSPA has developed an all-new online platform for members which will allow 8
CIMSPA IMPACT REPORT 2017–2019
© STA
Creating great qualifications that drive our sector forwards
“Becoming a CIMSPA awarding organisation partner three years ago has played a significant part in our growth. It was the stepping stone that put us on a level playing field, particularly in the public sector, because it verified that our qualifications and training programmes meet the highest standards.” Dave Candler, Safety Training Awards
CIMSPA awarding organisation (AO) partners create the qualifications that enable our workforce to build great careers in sport and physical activity.
endorsed fitness qualifications. In total 44 qualifications have now been endorsed against professional and apprenticeship standards.
Active IQ in particular have strongly supported CIMSPA with over 90 qualifications endorsed.
Earlier this year our partners Pearson celebrated our endorsement of the Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Diploma in Fitness Services qualification. This is a clear step forwards for sector qualifications and delivers one of the key milestones set by employers dating back to 2015.
Through 2018 awarding organisation partners have continued their work to transition the sector’s qualifications base from one centred on the now-deprecated national occupational standards, to a professional standards-based model. In February 2018, the Swim England Level 2 Swimming Teaching qualification was the first aquatic award to align to the new standards, followed quickly by YMCA Awards with three
Pearson extend our work into further education
The impact here is that this is a qualification endorsed against our new generation of professional standards which will be studied by thousands of 16-17 year-olds in further education – a huge step forward in providing employers with a job-ready workforce at scale.
CIMSPA awarding organisation partners
Why this matters...
1st4sport Qualifications AOFAQ Active IQ IQL UK Innovate Awarding NCFE OCR Pearson Safety Training Awards (STA) Sports Leaders UK Swim England Qualifications VTCT YMCA Awards
Our AO partners’ accelerating transition of the sector’s qualifications base to one aligned with employer-led professional standards is the foundation that will help deliver job-ready people into the sport and physical activity workforce.
CIMSPA IMPACT REPORT 2017–2019
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Our employer partner Anytme Fitness are introducing their frontline team to CIMSPA eLearning and to membership.
Š ANYTIME FITNESS
Defining employer-led standards for every job role; enabling great careers for our entire workforce
130+
70,000+
Employer partners across the UK Workforce members engaged via these partners
CIMSPA and Nuffield Health
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he CIMSPA employer partner network has continued to grow strongly through 2018, bringing thousands more into personal membership and ensuring the sector only invests in high-quality, CIMSPA-recognised training.
The feedback our partnerships team have received is that this workforce engagement is driving staff retention, lowering costs and delivering better customer service. Employers are now setting an expectation that their training providers are CIMSPA partners. Employer partners have also continued to add their expertise to every professional and apprenticeship standard, ensuring sector education products stay in-line with real-world operator needs. With significant penetration in the leisure and exercise and fitness industries our influence is extending to ensure the community sport and coaching workforce are involved. In January 2019 county sports partnership Suffolk Sport became our first lead employer partner – reaching out to sport/ coaching SME and micro-businesses in the East of England with a discounted membership offer.
Nuffield Health are an exemplar employer partner. Over 1500 of their fitness and health professionals are now CIMSPA personal members, supported by Nuffield to ensure their frontline team have access to the best personal professional development resources. “At Nuffield Health we have always believed in education – employing and developing the best experts in the industry. Working so closely with our clinical colleagues within Nuffield, such as physiotherapists, physiologists and nutritional therapists, it is important our personal trainers are equally as well informed and qualified to ensure our referral pathways and therefore overall joined-up wellbeing philosophy works. Being aligned with CIMSPA only supports our business strategy further.” Ross Harris National Commercial Manager for Personal Training and Fitness, Nuffield Health
Why this matters... Employer commitment to sector professional standards is delivering a highly qualified workforce taking part in ongoing CPD. CIMSPA supervision of this system is increasing confidence in the professionalism of the sport and physical activity workforce.
PARTNER HIGHLIGHT
Anytime Fitness
Anytime Fitness are a franchise-based gym operator with 150 locations in the UK and the CIMSPA employer partner offer aligns perfectly with their commitment to staff development by leveraging a bespoke version of the CIMSPA Academy online CPD platform.
“Partnering with CIMSPA for our workforce development is a significant employee benefit for us. The Anytime Academy is about empowering our partners to progress their career and in turn, learn skills that can enrich the experience of our members.
Their staff now have access both company-specific mandatory training and CIMSPA-recognised CPD, with site management teams able to review what a team member has completed, address skill gaps, and encourage career progression.
“We want staff to have a long-term future with Anytime Fitness and we hope the opportunity to learn and evolve will increase job satisfaction and allow staff to stay up to date with latest industry trends.
At each site, franchise managers are now introducing their teams to both the new CIMSPA platform and membership, placing our “CPD-required” culture at the centre of their workforce development.
CIMSPA IMPACT REPORT 2017–2019
The CIMSPA eLearning platform has been well received by our club owners too as it means employees have access to high-quality training at an affordable price and a valuable tool to help aid staff retention.”
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Š BIOMECHANICS EDUCATION
Our partners Biomechanics Education provide evidencebased training for practitioners who prescribe exercise.
Delivering quality-assured training and CPD to the sport and physical activity sector
130+ 175+
Training provider partners across the UK CIMSPA quality assurance visits planned for 2019
Doubling down on partnerships A growing trend is how organisations are forming multiple partnerships with CIMSPA.
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e have developed a network of training providers who deliver CIMSPA-recognised and endorsed training, qualifications and CPD across the UK sport and physical activity sector.
Our goal is to ensure that all sector education work is aligned exactly with employer workforce development requirements. By providing our people with development opportunities that support them in reaching individual ambitions, our work is helping increase staff retention and lower costs. This well-trained workforce will then be best-placed to play its part in delivering the government’s ambitions for a healthy and active nation. Our training provider partners also feed their front-line educational expertise back into the development of professional standards, ensuring real-world practical deliverability.
Why this matters... Having a strong network of high-quality training providers gives members and employers confidence in themselves and their people, providing the whole sector with the skills to demonstrate excellence.
Cancer United are both a CIMSPA employer partner and, through their endorsed CU Fitter programme, a CIMSPA training provider partner. CU Fitter provides personal trainers with the skills and confidence to crossover into the health market and deliver exercise to people at any stage of their cancer journey. As part of their partnership, all staff are CIMSPA members and plan their personal development within a company-wide culture of ongoing CPD and skills development.
Training provider partners including Future Fit Training, Drummond Education, The Training Room and FLM Training also continue to innovate by building CIMSPA membership into their learners’ qualifications and training. CIMSPA quality assurance built-in In 2018 CIMSPA began its first external quality assurance visits. All training provider partners are now supported by the CIMSPA quality assurance team. Training delivery is observed and feedback given to help individual partners improve and to support the overall raising of standards. 34 training providers have already been visited and have completed their first quality assurance assessment.
PARTNER HIGHLIGHT
Future Fit Training Future Fit Training are a leading training provider for personal trainers, nutrition advisers and pilates instructors. They were one of the first CIMSPA training provider partners and have been driving innovation and excellence in the fitness industry since 1993.
CIMSPA recognises their commitment to provide high quality qualifications and CPD for their learners with well-rounded programmes that provide clear progression opportunities up to diploma level. Future Fit have been a key leader in the sector’s workforce development through their annual “raising the bar” training research reports. They have also made a valuable contribution to the development of several professional standards. CIMSPA IMPACT REPORT 2017–2019
“We are pleased to continue to support CIMSPA in their quest to raise standards and promote professionalism in the industry. “
Rob Johnson
MD, Future Fit Training
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© CARDIFF MET
Building employability into sport and physical activity degree programmes CIMSPA HE partners Canterbury Christ Church University Cardiff Metropolitan University Edge Hill University Edinburgh Napier University Solent University University of Bolton
University of Brighton University of Central Lancashire University of Cumbria University of Hertfordshire University of St Mark and St John
HE asssociate partners: Abertay University Loughborough College Hartpury University Newman University Staffordshire University University of Chichester University of Wolverhampton University College Birmingham University of Highlands and Islands University of South Wales
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ur work in higher education is focused on ensuring that sectorrelated degree courses deliver exactly what employers are looking for, and on creating clear pathways for students into employment in our sector. In just one year, our higher education partners have created the sector’s first degree endorsement framework that allows the mapping of professional standards to course content. As our sector’s professional standards are employer-led, this then increases the “employability” potential for our HE partners’ graduates. Our partners are now implementing this degree endorsement framework into their degree programmes – we’re looking forward to seeing the first class of students graduate with CIMSPAendorsed degrees and make their way into the sport and physical activity workforce. For 2019, we will grow our partnership reach into higher education by another 50%, and focus on strengthening links between employers and universities with best practice guidance on providing quality work placements.
Over 1500
Higher education students are now directly engaged with their chartered professional body via CIMSPA HE partners and associate partners. Thank you to the forward-thinking universities who have helped CIMSPA build strong pathways from education into employment through our higher education partnership pilot.
Why this matters... Over 25,000 students graduate each year from sport and physical activity-related degree programmes. Getting these degrees aligned to professional standards will ensure they are “job ready” from day one.
PARTNER HIGHLIGHT
Cardiff Metropolitan University Cardiff Met were one of the first CIMSPA higher education partners and have been vocal supporters of the need for a strong chartered institute in our sector – driving engagement between education and employers. Right now, Cardiff Met are finalising the endorsement of their revalidated degree programme – BSc in Sports Management – and this qualification will be fully aligned to the CIMSPA General Manager professional standard. In an innovative move, Cardiff Met are also mapping the CIMSPA Entry Manager professional standard into this degree. This will mean that course students will achieve an employability benchmark even before they graduate – making it easier to enable employer-suited work placements during their studies. CIMSPA IMPACT REPORT 2017–2019
“The CIMSPA endorsement system gives Cardiff Met an effective way to provide our graduates with highquality and high-impact, practice-focused and professionally-recognised education.”
Prof Leigh Robinson
Pro-Vice Chancellor (Cyncoed Campus) and Dean of the School of Sport and Health Sciences
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Our new brand T
hrough the opening months of 2019 CIMSPA will be transitioning to a refreshed brand identity in line with our growing role as the custodian of the sport and physical activity sector. The new brand positions CIMSPA exactly in line with our values – we are an open, accessible sector with both great ambitions for our workforce and recognition of the contribution they already make to a healthy and active nation.
The centrepiece of our new brand is the “CIMSPA shield”. Across our membership, partnership and endorsement products we will establish this as a trusted “kitemark of quality” for everyone from employers to the general public. In the coming months we will use the new brand to celebrate major enhancements to our member and partner online platforms – enabling our workforce to showcase its professionalism and excellence.
OUR ENDORSEMENT KITEMARK
Trusted sport and physical activity sector education products will carry this quality mark. The Chartered Institute for the Management of Sport and Physical Activity info@cimspa.co.uk www.cimspa.co.uk Charity Registration Number: 1144545 Incorporated by Royal Charter
FUNDED PARTNER