Workforce Development Update

Edition 11: 30 April 2008

Dear all,

We are pleased to confirm that last week partners SLM signed up to become the first leisure service provider with a National Service Level Agreement. This is a major partnership agreement for us to implement Institute of Swimming courses across their network of centres in the UK. The detail for 3 more national providers has also been agreed and we expect the Service Level Agreements to be signed very shortly.

We have recently confirmed a new apprenticeship programme in partnership with Central Sports. The Level 2 NVQ in Coaching Teaching & Instructing Swimming is aimed at 18-24 year olds and will include Levels 1 & 2 Certificate for Teaching Aquatics. Central Sports will deliver the technical certificate and key skills elements to the qualification, which will be available from next month.

The 3rd UK Coaching Summit took place last week at Ricoh Arena in Coventry, attended by 560 delegates from more than 30 sports. Run by sports coach UK, this major event launched the UK Coaching Framework - the industry blueprint to create a world-leading coaching system in the UK by 2016. Steve Parry presented 'The Vision' of the framework from an elite athlete's perspective. David Sparkes attended the Chief Executives Briefing and Spencer Moore and Alan Rapley both delivered workshop sessions on different aspects of the vision to build a workforce to develop and deliver the framework.

The election results of the new Coaching Advisory Group were announced at the Summit, for which Spencer Moore has been elected as the Vice Chairman. The group aims to represent all governing bodies of sport on a UK wide basis and work in partnership with sports coach UK to advise upon the design, development and implementation of technical developments, philosophy, systems, services and programmes affecting the delivery of coaching and coach education within the UK Coaching Framework. As part of his role Spencer will represent National Governing Bodies at the Coaching Policy and Funders Group, the first meeting of which is due to take place in Belfast in June.

The current round of Tutor Training begins in earnest next week when candidates in the North West attend an induction and complete a technical paper. The next stage for them will be to undertake the sports coach UK Certificate in Tutoring Sport and Introduction to Assessment Practice in Sport qualifications. London will hold an induction day on 6th May and there are future dates planned for London and South East combined.

The Institute of Swimming is recruiting for a new Education Officer in the North West - full details are available on the Job Vacancies section accessible here.

We have recently published a comprehensive guidance manual of policies and operations for ASA Approved Centres. As this document is updated regularly it will only be available via the website – please click here.

To clarify the role of the Awarding Body and how it fits within the ASA: - the Awarding Body develops, assesses, awards and quality assures all ASA qualifications. It is the equivalent of other awarding bodies such as City & Guilds and OCR (Oxford, Cambridge and RSA Examinations) and is licensed by British Swimming to award qualifications in England and Wales. It also has the remit for quality assurance of all areas of UKCC standards. It is a completely separate entity to the Institute of Swimming, which is the delivery arm of the ASA and one of the ASA Awarding Body's Approved Centres. Workforce Development is the 'umbrella' title for the department (based in Loughborough) which carries out the combined work of the Institute of Swimming and Awarding Body.

Also on the subject of Awarding Body, contact details for these staff are available on the website here, which also clarifies the broad remit of each member of staff.

A new CPD seminar has been added to the IoS Training Directory - Cross Training Ideas for Swimming Coaches. Further details can be accessed here.

That's all for now, see you next time.