Course information

Safeguarding and Protecting Children

This course will raise your awareness of the tell-tale signs of abuse and poor practice and give you the tools you need to deal with any issues sensitively, appropriately and effectively should the need ever arise in your coaching career.

By the end of the three hour session, you’ll really know your stuff when it comes to good coaching practice. Not only that, but you’ll know exactly how to provide children and young people with a positive and enriching sporting experience.

It’s also an excellent opportunity to share your opinions and learn from each other when considering the many issues you may encounter when coaching children.

By attending this course you will be best equipped to ensure children can enjoy sport within a safe and secure environment, where they are protected.

Safeguarding and Protecting Children 2 - Reflecting on practice

In this three hour refresher session, you’ll consolidate and update everything you learned in the first course. Plus, you’ll have the opportunity to share best practice with others and learn from each others’ experiences to help you create a positive, child-centred sporting environment.

Through reflection and a better understanding of your experience within the context of the course, you’ll be more likely to consider situations objectively and deal with them effectively whenever necessary.

Not only that but you’ll learn the key codes of conduct principles and the seven step method to make informed and appropriate decisions about children’s welfare.

Equity in your Coaching

Everyone should have access to sport, regardless of gender, age, race, ability, faith or sexual orientation. This course will show you the best ways to make this a reality. Your tutor will give you practical advice on how to adapt your existing skills to make your coaching sessions attractive to everyone.

During the three hour course you will learn how to identify and deal with any barriers to participation, interpret all the legalities in the right language and develop your existing skills and experience to make your coaching sessions more accessible.

How to Coach Disabled People in Sport

Suitable for all coaches, this course aims to answer the commonly asked questions about disabled sports participants and it will show you how, with a few minor adjustments to the way you work, you can make your coaching more inclusive and effective.

This two hour course is a Minimum Standard for Deployment requirement for many National Governing Bodies of sport. The Minimum Standards for Deployment are seen as the basic standard every coach needs to meet to carry out their role safely and effectively.

During the course you will learn how to include disabled people in sport, select appropriate coaching activities and make your coaching more inclusive and effective.

Business Essentials

This interactive course provides essential business and financial information for sports coaches and their clients to ensure both parties satisfy government regulations and requirements.

The three hour course includes advice and guidance on the following:

Legal status: The course will detail definitions and requirements for the various ways coaches/workers can be paid in sport - self-employment, employment, casual work, volunteering with expenses and outline the paperwork required for each of these types of service.

Self-employment: Strict HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) self-employment guidelines that, if not satisfied, can result in a hefty tax bill for both coach and client are detailed. The course will also identify how to check whether you are meeting the guidelines and what documentation is required to satisfy HMRC.

Employment: The course reviews the various types of employment available to those in sport, including a detailed look at flexible contracts such as zero hours and casual worker contracts. It also outlines the paperwork required by HMRC for the various types of service.

Contracts: You are provided with a sample contract for self-employment which outlines the ideal working arrangements for both coach and client to meet the HMRC self-employment guidelines.

Insurance: Health and safety and insurance requirements for coaches and clients are detailed within the course and how to minimise the risk of a policy not paying out.

Coaching Children and Young People

If you are currently working with young performers this course is for you. You’ll learn everything you need to know about children’s physical growth, social and emotional development and early skill learning.

During the three hour course you will discover plenty of useful, best-practice ways to adapt your coaching style to the individual’s needs at all the different stages of their development and be able to plan and deliver engaging sessions that will maximise their learning and enjoyment.

A Club for All

This course identifies the benefits of opening up your sports club to include a wider membership base - meaning more coaches, players, officials and increased revenue, improved eligibility for lottery funding, and help towards quality ratings such as Clubmark; while ensuring the involvement and support of the local community.

The course outlines how your club can benefit from reaching all members of the community, and explains how to reach out to them - young people, older people, those on low incomes, disabled people and people from ethnic minorities.

By the end of the three hour course you will be able to explain:

• what 'sports equity' means
• list the benefits of sports equity for your sports club or organisation
• identify equitable and inequitable practice
• identify key equity challenges for your sports club or organisation
• identify the steps you may need to take in your own club or organisation to start a basic action plan for equity
• identify the organisations that can help you and provide further guidance on sports equity

Emergency First Aid

Covering the practical skills needed by a first aider, this course provides the confidence and knowledge to deal with essential life-saving first aid emergencies.

This six hour course will include:

• Prevention of cross-infection
• Identifying the vital signs such as
  • temperature
  • colour
  • pulse
  • breathing
  • level of consciousness
• Incident handling and approaches to problem solving and decision making
• Unconsciousness and managing the unconscious casualty to ensure a safe airway
• CPR, choking and dealing with the non breathing casualty
• Wounds and bleeding
• Minor injuries such as small cuts, grazes and bruises, minor burns and scalds and small splinters

Marketing Essentials

What are the essential elements you must put in place to market your programme/club successfully and develop a unique ‘brand’?

This three hour interactive course introduces the concept of successful marketing for sports coaches and clubs – defining and building a brand, developing and implementing an effective and practical marketing plan, how to monitor and evaluate the results, and great examples of good practice.

The course includes advice and guidance on the following:

Branding: What is a brand and how to build one that will professionalise your services and increase your income.

Planning: This course explains how to put together a business/marketing plan that is simple to use and update, including examples of the key essentials all good sports marketing plans should contain.

Market research: The key elements you need when researching your brand and competitors with practical ideas and examples.

First impressions: Why first impressions count – appearance, punctuality, facilities and your team. The course also reviews best practice for customer care.

Social Media: How to use Facebook and Twitter to bring your services into the 21st century and increase your profile and income.

Good practice: Case studies showing some of the best ideas demonstrated within sport will be presented and discussed during the course.

Positive Behaviour Management

Every group develops different dynamics and every participant is a unique individual – making managing behaviour a challenging hands-on part of your job. If you work with young people in a school or club environment, this course has been designed for you.

During the three hour course you will gain a much better handle on young people’s behaviour, discover how your behaviour impacts upon others, learn how to create a positive coaching environment and understand and apply strategies to deal with challenging behaviour.