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Free course deal ACTIVE leadership and gym instruction NVQs are being offered to 16 to 24 year olds for free. Sportwise have been running the level two courses since September and so far they have proved extremely popular. Andy Seward of Sportwise said: “There has been a huge demand for the courses not just because they are free, but because the majority of the course is delivered within one intense week. “The learners then come away with an NVQ level 2, a YMCA qualification and a first aid qualification.” Sportwise offer the NVQs nationally.
Coaching certificate BEBINGTON High sports college has run a fully accredited certificate in coaching course for football level one. The course ran in partnership with the vocational college and also included qualifications in child protection and emergency first aid.
Training for PE teachers YMCA Fitness Industry training has developed four one-day professional development modules for secondary PE teachers. The training explores innovative approaches to using aerobics, circuits and fitness room activities as contexts for promoting effective learning about healthy active lifestyles within and beyond the curriculum. This new approach is entirely practical and focuses on a parallel development of pupils’ health, fitness and exercise knowledge alongside the development of personal learning and thinking skills. The courses are delivered by experienced training providers in education as well as members of YMCA Fitness Industry Training’s tutor team, and supported by a manual.
NVQ bid to boost quality of school sports lessons By Louise Cordell TRAINING provider Evolve Sport is aiming to improve the quality of school sports lessons with a new NVQ course. The company currently runs a level two course in activity leadership which can be used to improve a sports coach’s ability to deliver quality lessons in a primary setting. The qualification can be gained over four days by completing modules on behaviour management, supervision in schools and the Evolve coaching philosophies. It is hoped that both courses will help to close the ‘skills gap’ in coaches who have completed their basic training but have little experience in working within the curriculum in a school setting. John Bishop, Evolve Sport director, said: “We are now working with City and Guilds on developing an even more specific qualification aimed at closing this skills gap. “There is a definite opportunity there and discussions are ongoing at the
moment – there is currently a ‘classroom support’ NVQ and we are trying to tie it in with that. “There are many qualified sports coaches out there, especially football coaches, but that is not what schools need, so they are essentially dormant. “They are coming to us to take their qualification to another level and contextualising what they do into a school setting. “We have also developed a new mentoring and development programme which has meant that more staff have been able to progress within the organisation and achieve the holy grail of full time work in this highly competitive and fragmented sector. “Twenty new full-time staff were taken on in September and this rapid expansion now means that more schools will be able to benefit from specialist PE delivery – impacting on the lives of many children and families throughout the UK.”
Trust sets up school coaching website A SCHOOL sport coaching website to allow coaches to submit information on their sessions has been set up by the Youth Sport Trust. The CoachWeb reporting tool will show data on sessions that have been completed, with coaches able to report to their PDM and School Sports Partnership. Information collected will be used anonymously to make improvements by bringing school sports coaching closer to the existing coaching framework. The programme is one of ten strands which make up the PE and Sport Strategy for Young People (PESSYP).