Version No: / Date: 2 February 2011
Investment Proposal Title:Competition Managers / Service Area:
Project Manager / Service Lead:
Jason Fergus/ Graham Handscomb / Contact Details:
Tel. 01245437250 email:
Recommendation
The Schools Forum is requested to support the following proposal:
To fund via the DSG the costs of 5 Competition Manager posts, costing £220,000 per annum.
The purpose of the report is to highlight the success of the organisation and delivery function offered by the Competition Managers and to propose to the Forum a recommendation for the adoption of support to schools from April 2011.
In presenting this recommendation we are aware that there has been a reconsideration of the central funding cuts proposed by the ‘Spending Review’. However, this reconsideration will not fully reinstate the School Sports Partnership (SSP) structure and most definitely not the Competition Manager element of this. This proposal will help to facilitate a transition into new roles that will support competition and participation objectives, as well as engaging schools in the new School Games.
This recommendation will help to fill the hole in provision and activity left by the disappearance of SSP capacity and will assist headteachers who face the onerous task of taking on the coordination of local and area delivery.
Baseline/Context
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At present the team of 7 Competition Managers work alongside and within School Sports Partnerships and with individual schools throughout Essex, Southend and Thurrock – In greater Essex the team supports 573 schools and 11 School Sports Partnerships.The Competition Manager (CM) Programmesupports the creation of a world class system for
competitive school sport that provides opportunities for all young people and builds pathways to
support the development of talent.
Throughout 2009-2010 683 inter school competitions were administered within the CM
programme.
The 2008-2009 Essex Pledge target of 10,000 young people participating in sports competition was exceeded, with over 30,000 being involved. In 2009 -10 this increased to 55,166 young people participating in sporting competitions and events.
The CM competition and event provision has greatly supported Essex schools and the LA towards
achieving participation results which stand up strongly against national data.
% of pupils involved in regular inter school competition.
Essex 22%Eastern region 22%National 21%
% of pupils involved in Leadership & Volunteering sporting opportunities
Essex 29%Eastern region 27%National 24%
- Competition Managers work with 27 National Governing Bodies of Sport (NGB), up from 17 in 2006-07 (e.g. Rugby League, Basketball, Fencing).
- NGB regional representatives meet with the Essex Senior Competition Manager to identify gaps and priorities in Essex.
- The Senior Competition Manager meets with all Partnership Development Managers (PDMs) to identify local gaps and priorities.
- This information provides the background to an action plan which specifies priorities and identifies how Essex will target these.
- Through further meetings with PDMs competitions are put in place for each NGB priority sport and these are run locally and regionally by Competition Managers. The Competition Manager then sets up a structure of heats for junior, primary, intermediate, senior and disability in each secondary school partnership. Finalists from each of these compete in a county final. Essex’s model was used by NGBs as a model of best practice to replicate in other areas.
We propose that the Competition Manager role is reviewed. Whilst it is important that the present success is maintained we also have the opportunity to look to provide capacity with which to support Coordinating Headteachers in each school with the introduction of the Pupil Olympics and to better deliver partnership working.
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Idea Description & Strategic Fit1
This proposal will continue support to all schools.The work of the Competition Managers within the team continues to grow and develop alongside and within School Sports Partnerships and with individual schools – In greater Essex the team supports 573 schools and 11 School Sports Partnerships. This proposal will sustain that development.The present delivery supports the following Strategic Plans;
- NI57 - Increase the participation of children and young people in sporting opportunities.
- NI 110 –Increase Young peoples participation in positive activities.
- Support the reduction of childhood obesity, particularly in early years, through engagement with sporting participation.
- Essex Pledges 2010-2011
- Supporting Vulnerable Young People – through disability sport coaching and competition pathways.
- Increase educational achievement and skills – young people have progressed to regional, national and international competition through the competition pathways
The new competition will not be a single event. Rather it will be a package of events and activities, harnessing the power of the Olympic and Paralympic Games to inspire a generation of young people to get involved in competitive sports.
A pilot is presently in operation and the Essex delivery of this is expected to be required in 2011-12.
Present proposals relay an expectation of this being coordinated by a headteacher in clusters of schools. This would present a significant challenge in terms of the demands placed on already hard-pressed headteachers.
The structure outlined above administered by the CM team would provide an efficient delivery route for Essex to administer this programme, leading into National finals at Olympic venues and would act to support the co-ordinating headteachers.
The revised proposals for the funding of School Sport partnerships contain no plans for the PDM role. As such, there will be no coordinating officer for each Partnership and as a result no mechanism for cross partnership collaboration in terms of Competition. The Competition Manager team, would be able to assist the staff operating the ‘one day per week’ proposal *contained within the revisited Spending Review, could support the teachers within schools by supporting them in the coordination and organisation of local, area and regional levels of competition. Thereby ensuring effective exit pathways for young athletes.
* N.B. The ‘one day per week’ proposal only operates within the Secondary Schools. The Competition Manager team would support the organisation and delivery in Primary Schools where Secondary School staff might not have the expertise or time to deliver.
Disability has been a key area within the county. YST and NGB's on a National levelhave neglected the importance of ensuring that all young people have the opportunity to take part, succeed and be recognised within competitive sport. The CM team have implemented a disability calendar that reaches over 2,900 young disabled people from special schools and those within the mainstream. They currently operate 24 competitions per year that give these young people the opportunity to achieve within a competitive environment.
Playground to Podium - This government funded project, which will continue until 2013,has been delivered by the CM team. It has used its local contacts to ensure that schools can identify and engage young disabled people withinmainstream education to experience advanced competition and have the opportunity to become part of our future Paralympics teams.
An area in which the CM team have seen considerable impact is thedelivery of Professional Development training to our teaching colleagues. CMs, who have in-depth knowledge within a wide variety of sports and physical education curriculum, have been able to support teachers in the development of key NGB sports within schools, enabling them to enhance the curriculum provision, enter pupils into events and supplement the sporting experience of its pupils. Over four years teachers, NQT's, young leaders, SSCO's, PLT's, over 25 sportsand most importantly pupils in lessons and clubs, have all benefited from this.
At present School Sports Partnerships are considering the implications of the withdrawal of Youth Sports Trust funding (c £275,000 to each of the 11 ‘hub schools’ coordinating these partnerships) from August 2011. Partnerships are investigating ways in which they can sustain current staffing levels and hence delivery. In the light of this knowledge and expertise of the Competition Manager framework can support schools to continue their important and effective current provision of competitions and events.
The expected outcome will be the maintenance of current levels of delivery, participation and competition, as outlined in the sections above.
*‘This funding willbe for secondary schools to release a PE teacher from timetable for one day a week in the school years 2011/12 and 2012/13’.
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Finance & Resources1
There will be a requirement to provide the level of funding of £220,000 to meet the costs of 5Competition Manager Posts to support schools from April 2011.This includes £180,000 for salary costs, and £40,000 for competition equipment; medals, trophies & certificates; venue costs; and Competition Manager equipment and travel costs.
Equivalent costs per pupil would be £1.19 (based upon 185,380 pupils in Essex schools, autumn census 2010).
There would be a need for funding in future years
No other means of specialist support required.
Financial viability – support offers schools the specialist expertise to deliver competition.
The Local Authority will host the competition Manager team
There is already a structure in place, within the LA, to line manage and monitor the Competition
Manager, ensuring effectiveness and value for money. This would continue.
The Line Manager and the Essex Legacy 2012 Team will actively investigate the attraction of additional funding.
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Risks1
The greatest risk will be that the inter partnership level competition which provides the exit route to full county, regional and national competition will not occur. The introduction of the Pupil Olympic structure would also be hampered.The onus falling on Headteachers to coordinate competition at local and inter partnership level will be considerable.
There is an inherent risk to partnership working and hence an effective competition structure across Essex.
The Playground to Podium, disability provision will be very difficult to sustain.
The ability of National Governing Bodies of Sport to interact with schools and to identify and nurture talent will be greatly hampered.
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Stakeholder Engagement1
ECC’s Physical Education and School Sport team have held consultations with:School Sports Partnership Steering Groups.
Directors of Sport from Specialist Sports Colleges.
Partnership Development Managers of Partnership ‘hub’ schools.
Youth Sports Trust Regional Manager and adjacent Local Authorities.
Headteachers of Specialist Sports Colleges and ‘The Essex Physical Educational and School
Sport Strategy Group’.
These consultations have enabled us to consider the response of School Sports Partnerships to the impending changes, gaining a full understanding of their capacity and need.
This current model is supported by all of the above stakeholders.
In addition National Governing Bodies e.g. Cricket and Football have expressed praise for the work carried out by the Competition Manager Team and their dismay at their possible demise. They have stressed that such an event would greatly hamper their ability to link with school sport
decreasing opportunity and making the transition to community, club and advanced competition
and development less effective.
Panathlon Challenge, who offer an important route to coach/teacher training, participation and
competition for disabled young people and athletes, have also contacted the LA expressing
similar sentiments.
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