Showcasing the Sport for Development sector - Autumn 2018

SHOWCASING THE UK’S SPORT FOR DEVELOPMENT MOVEMENT
Autumn 2018

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This booklet has been produced by ConnectSport,
the official media partner of the Sport for Development Coalition.
ConnectSport is an online directory of organisations using sport and physical activity to
generate positive social outcomes. It also provides a not-for-profit news channel
managed by a group of national media executives and journalists working with the
Coalition to raise awareness and increase investment in the UK’s Sport for Development sector.
To register your organisation for free on the directory, and send us your press releases,
please contact hello@connectsport.co.uk
www.connectsport.co.uk
@ConnectSport

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Welcome.
The Sport for Development movement is a coming together of all those organisations
that use the power of sport and physical activity to improve the lives of individuals, and
their communities, across the UK.
At the Coalition, our focus is to bring together the sector to stimulate collaboration,
build a culture of innovation and drive continuous improvement.
This booklet is designed to showcase a handful of examples of the amazing and
diverse work which is having an impact right now across the UK. It is not an exhaustive
list of projects, and we welcome your interest and invite you to get involved.
If your organisation is part of the Sport for Development movement in the UK,
please get in touch and register on the ConnectSport directory, so we can also
showcase your work and raise awareness of the sector.
Thanks,
Sarah
Email S.Mortiboys@comicrelief.com
@sarahmortiboys1
Sarah Mortiboys
Sport for Development Coalition manager
Autumn 2018
With thanks to our funders

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WOMEN IN SPORT
Women in Sport (registered charity number
1060267) exists so that every woman and girl in
the UK can experience the transformational
lifelong rewards of sport. To achieve this, the
charity informs through research into women
and girls and their relationship with sport and
physical activity, innovates by partnering with
sport deliverers, and inspires using insight and
expertise to bring about changes in policy,
practice and attitudes. Throughout 2016 and
2017, Women in Sport reached 10.6million
people through its Women’s Sport Week Campaign
in the UK. Since 2004, Women in Sport has
collected and published data on the gender
make-up of the boards and executive teams of
publicly-funded sports organisations and
campaigned for gender diversity at senior levels
in sport. In November 2016, the charity secured
a commitment from the UK government that all
publicly-funded governing bodies of sport must
have a minimum of 30% women on their board.
Women in Sport works with more than 100 sports organisations every year,
providing workshops, guidance and training to help them improve their sports
provision and workplace practices to create better opportunities for women
and girls to take part in sport. As a result, tens of thousands of women and
girls benefit from being able to access sport and physical activity
programmes that are tailored to their needs.
“Women in Sport is a leading sector voice on girls’ and women’s
relationship with sport and physical activity. Its groundbreaking research and
expertise in this area have contributed to bringing about sustainable change
in attitudes and mindsets” - Cathy Hughes, Sport England.
“It’s brilliant that we have organisations like Women in Sport who can
constantly push the agenda and champion diversity. In sport, this is crucial
because we ultimately have a ‘product’ that should be accessible to all” -
Georgina Usher, British Fencing CEO.
“As an athlete, and as a mum, I know first hand how important it is for young
girls in particular to have strong role models in their lives to encourage them
to take part in sport” - Rebecca Adlington OBE, Patron of Women in Sport.
@womeninsport_uk

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STREET LEAGUE
The UK’s leading sport for employability charity
Street League uses sport to change the lives of young people living in the UK’s
most disadvantaged communities, helping them to achieve their potential and
overcome barriers to employment and educational achievement whilst inspiring
them to adopt healthy and active lives. Street League’s aim is to end youth unemployment
in the UK. They do this by working in schools to prevent it, supporting
young people to move into work after school, and ensuring
they stay in the jobs they get long term. Street League know
that if they are going to end youth unemployment they need
to provide holistic support to each young person, at all
stages of their journey. This support is embedded in their innovative
sport programmes throughout which they focus
on all aspects of the young person’s wellbeing. Street
League have also been leading the UK charity sector in
transparent impact measurement, releasing two awardwinning
annual reports in which they talk up-front about
what they didn’t get right. In 2017 the
charity launched a groundbreaking
online impact dashboard (visit
www.streetleague.co.uk/impact)
showing in real time how the charity
has performed over the previous 12
months and allowing users to draw
their conclusions about whether the
charity is effective or not.
@Street_League
Clarke left school with low grades due to bad attendance
and, in his own words, “hanging around with the wrong
crowds”. A couple of years claiming Job Seekers’ Allowance
rolled by before he met a Street League coach at the Job
Centre and was invited to join an Academy programme. On
the programme, one-to-one mentoring was provided by the
Progressions Co-ordinator with CV-writing and interview
preparation, and functional skills in numeracy and literacy
for those who needed it. At the same time Clarke volunteered
to coach younger children attending the Academy venue,
helping to build his confidence and sense of responsibility.
After graduating, Street League staff helped Clarke to secure
a two-week work placement at TM Lewin which was quickly
followed by the opportunity to work as a post room clerk at
Reed Smith LLP. Despite initially being unsuccessful in
applying for this due to his lack of experience, Reed Smith
gave Clarke an internship for one month which was then
extended to three. Eventually he was offered a long-term work
placement as a records clerk and, alongside this, studied at
the Open University for a Bachelor of Laws degree. Five
years on from his first meeting with Street League, Clarke
became a paralegal
at Reed Smith LLP
and he is still in touch
with the charity, acting
as an ambassador.
He is pictured here
with Arsenal footballer
Laurent Koscielny at
a Street League gala
event in 2017.
Street League has
been shortlisted for
the Sport for
Innovation and Tech
Award at the Beyond
Sport Awards 2018.

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SPORTS
LEADERS UK
Give more. Become more.
Sports Leaders UK is an accredited
awarding organisation, regulated across
the UK, whose vision is for every young person
to reach their potential. It provides a suite of
nationally recognised qualifications and
awards that develop young people’s
leadership, confidence and employability
skills for life. Working with partners, its
awarding-body expertise adds credibility
and sustainability to programmes. Its
qualifications and awards can be delivered
within a range of education settings,
alongside curriculums as well as integrated
into community learning programmes. It promotes
peer-to-peer learning where learners
will develop their confidence and soft skills,
develop a habit of volunteering
and become more
skilled and employable
for life.
After starting Secondary School, Luke noticed a
dramatic downturn in his confidence and self-esteem.
“Sometimes I would have difficulty even leaving my
bedroom, never mind leaving my house,” he recalls. His
attendance dropped to 60%, and this continued for the
next couple of years, until he was diagnosed with anxiety
and depression. However playing sport remained his
passion. “When I put my rugby boots on and stepped
on to the field, it was as if I left everything that was on
my mind, behind me.” After hearing about a Sports
Leaders UK course, Luke joined the programme. “I
completely regained my confidence and got my life back
on track. The course gave me a whole new outlook on
life, and gave me a huge amount of aspiration for the
future. It led me to believe in myself, and that I could do
anything that I set my mind to.” Eventually Luke went on
to study Sport Leadership and Development at the
University of South Wales and recently graduated with a
First Class Honours degree. Now volunteering to help
other young people, he
says: “I believe every
young person has the
power to change
their own life, they
just have to
believe in themselves
and
believe in
their own
ability.”

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STREETGAMES
Changing lives, changing communities, changing sport
Formed in 2007, StreetGames uses sport to help young people and the
communities that they live in to become healthier, safer and more
successful. The charity’s work is targeted at the most disadvantaged areas,
where young people are almost 50% less likely to be active than their
wealthier peers. Over the years, communities across the UK have benefitted
from StreetGames’ ‘Doorstep Sport’ approach, sport delivered in the right
place, at the right time, at the right price, in the right style and by the right
people. StreetGames has grown to over 1,000 projects, attracting more than
530,000 young people into sport, and achieving over 3.86million
attendances. Its programmes have also resulted in the involvement of 6,182
coaches, 15,388 volunteers and enabled 11,312 young people to gain new
qualifications. The aim of each StreetGames
project is to be sustainable by creating
local infrastructures owned and run
by local people. This leads to
stronger and safer communities,
the championing of social action
and volunteering, the combatting
of social exclusion and big
improvements to health and
mental wellbeing. Sport is at the
heart of everything that
StreetGames does because sport
has the power to kickstart a cycle of
positive change in a young person’s
life that can resonate throughout their
whole community.
As a young man, Jason would often find himself involved in anti-social
behaviour. With local police running short on patience and
relationships at home beginning to breakdown, ‘Jay’ knew something
had to change. “I never really belonged anywhere, so I think getting
involved with local gangs was almost inevitable. I was involved with
bad people and doing bad things. It was obvious I was going to end
up in jail”. Fortunately for Jay, he had access to a local StreetGames
affiliate ‘Y Sort It’, a project that supports young people aged 12 to 25
in Clydebank, Scotland. Despite initial misgivings, Jay soon became
involved in the running of the organisation’s many activities. He said:
“It was much better than I thought it would be - in fact, it was brilliant.
Things started to get better when I was offered a job with them. It was
only a 22-week placement. But it was the start of me turning my life
around”. Nowadays, Jay has a clear goal in mind: “To help people the
way StreetGames has helped me”, by making use of his new training
qualifications to become a coach or mentor himself. He adds: “My
ma’s really proud of me. I put my family through a lot. But I can now
say I’m a positive role model to my 10-year-old sister. You can’t really
compare where I am now to where I was just a few short months ago.
StreetGames didn’t give up on me.”
@StreetGames

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FIGHT FOR PEACE
Realising the potential of young people
in communities affected by crime
Fight for Peace is an international NGO whose mission is to
realise the potential of young people by working with them to
prevent violence in their communities. Founded in 2000 in the
favelas of Rio, it is working in 25 countries around the world
through Academies, Safer Communities Programmes and the
Fight for Peace Alliance, a global community of organisations
What they say…
“At the start, boxing was something practical for me.
In the environment I grew up in, people were either part
of a gang or a victim, so I began boxing because I
thought it could be a practical way of defending myself.
The message that you can do something in your life I got
from Fight for Peace, and from the personal development
sessions - they kept me training and kept me boxing.
Fight for Peace is a special family for me,
it was always an outlet that I
needed when I was at college
and a place where I met and
made lots of friends. I love
the positive message of
Fight for Peace. This positive
message, among so many
negative things in life, was
important for me.”
@fightforpeace
WWW.FIGHTFORPEACE.NET / 8 /
working together for peace. Its ‘Five Pillars’ methodology combines combat sports with
education and personal development, using non-traditional methods to engage young
people where conventional methods aren’t working. Through boxing and martial arts
at Fight for Peace, young people build strength and discipline, gain self-respect and
learn that success comes through hard work and dedication. Fight for Peace offer formal
education programmes for young people who have dropped out of school, and
employability support and training for young people to get access to the job market.
The NGO also uses a public health model which focuses on three levels of violence
prevention, including i) support for all young people living in communities affected by
crime and violence; ii) support for individuals or groups identified as being at risk of becoming
victims or perpetrators of crime and violence; iii) support for young people to
disengage from crime and violence, and work to prevent them re-offending or being
victimised again.

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SPORTED
Helping community groups survive, to help young people thrive
Celebrating its 10th anniversary in 2018, Sported has become one of
the largest and most diverse Sport for Development membership
organisations - supporting a thriving network of over 3,000 community
sport and youth groups across the UK. Collectively, these groups utilise
over 90 different sports and activities, and are using sport to tackle
some of the most pressing social challenges in the UK from rising youth
violence and knife crime, to social integration and homelessness. In
supporting so many community-based organisations and delivering
millions of pounds in social return and savings, the charity and its
members are helping to redefine the long-held public perception on
sport’s role in society. Its expertise lies in building the capacity of these
grassroots organisations – mostly run on shoestring budgets and by
volunteers – through providing much-needed
operational and financial support. It operates a
completely free membership model, providing
access to professional expertise through a
pool of skilled volunteers and a range of free
support services and resources (eg funding
opportunities, impact measurement,
events). Volunteers come from a wide
variety of professional backgrounds, and
are carefully paired with Sported member
groups to provide capacity-building support
in key operational areas fundamental to their
ongoing sustainability and success (eg business
planning, financial management, governance,
fundraising).
CAPACITY MODEL
One such community group to have benefitted from Sported’s
support is Abraham Moss Warriors Junior Football Club in Manchester,
England. Like the majority of Sported’s members, the club is based in
one of the most deprived areas of the UK and uses sport as a way of
getting young people off the streets, away from gangs and into
education. The club was founded by local resident, June Kelly, who
had plenty of football coaching experience, but little knowledge of
large funding applications. With support from Sported and its
volunteer business mentors, the charity helped develop a five-year
business plan and secured vital funding. The help couldn’t have come
at a more important time, as June testifies, “If it wasn't for the fantastic
support from Sported our club would no longer be in existence.” The
club has since gone from strength to strength; introducing a
homework club, literacy and numeracy classes, a library and widening
its reach in the local community to welcome over 400 young people
from 46 different countries through its doors each week.
@sported_uk

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The Surf Therapy Charity
The Wave Project is a charity
aimed at young people who are
at risk of developing mental ill
health. It has a unique approach
to tackling this problem, recruiting
and training hundreds of volunteers
to deliver free surfing lessons for
children who are most at risk. Working in small groups, surf mentors provide encouragement
and a listening ear which helps to break down the social barriers that can leave
young people feeling isolated and anxious. The aim of the charity is to build a sense of
community amongst the young people, the instructors and the volunteers that it works with
- creating a movement that is changing lives across the UK. The charity is currently operating
in 13 locations and this year is on track to work with over 1000 young people.
@WaveProject
WWW.WAVEPROJECT.CO.UK / 10 /
Isaac started the Wave Project’s six-week course
after being referred following a nine-month period
of home education, which in turn followed a bad
time at school. Isaac explained: “At my very first
session with the Wave Project I was greeted warmly
and felt like part of the group, I wasn’t made to feel
awkward or uncomfortable. The way of teaching
was brilliant; learn one step, put it into practice in
the sea and then come back to the beach for the
next step. Within a few weeks, my surfing had come
on enormously and I had learned new tips from
excellent surf instructors and volunteers. In September,
around halfway through the course, I returned to
school. The Wave Project boosted my confidence
and after completing the course, I joined the surf
club and I absolutely love going to it on Saturdays.
I got to meet new people who share the passion
with me, and I have made friendships along the
way, which is a big thing for me, as I never had
friends in school and was a target for bullying.
Seven months after I first joined the Wave Project, I
was given the opportunity to volunteer and went on
the training day, along with others my age. Despite
the horrendous weather, we loved it! Nine months
down the line, I am volunteering for this incredible
charity and I am absolutely loving it. I love to share
and teach my passion with the new kids, - some I
can relate to when I look back at myself last year.
Twelve months ago, I was a different person. The
Wave Project has transformed me into someone
new. I urge anyone who is given the opportunity to
go for it!”

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WWW.ALLIANCEOFSPORT.ORG / 11 /
Empowering a global community with the
learning, skills and resources to repair broken
lives and build a stronger society for all
The purpose of the Alliance of Sport is to lead, co-ordinate and
provide evidence of the role of sport in crime prevention and the
rehabilitation of offenders. It brings together UK government
departments, academic experts, business leaders, statutory services,
service users and organisations across sport, development and
criminal justice to work towards its strategic goal of ensuring all
offenders and people at risk of offending have access to a sportbased
intervention. By 2023, the Alliance aims to create a better
equipped workforce which is delivering an integrated sport offer in
communities and prisons across the UK. The partnerships between
statutory services and the community will be better defined,
supported and celebrated, and their impact will be captured in real
time and promoted sector-wide. Under-represented groups of service
users will have a stronger voice to influence policy and practice. The
public understanding and support for people with complex needs will
have increased and as a result, there will be more opportunities and
resources for the sector.
@AllianceOfSport
One of the Alliance’s many ongoing projects is a Sport
England-funded initiative testing the effectiveness of a
‘sports club’ model with young offenders in two secure
establishments in Kent. Weekly sports clubs inside Medway
Secure Training Centre and Cookham Wood Young Offenders
Institution are delivered by key Alliance partners, Fight for
Peace and Charlton Athletic Community Trust (CACT). As
well as boxing and football coaching, young men and
women on the project receive personal development and
mentoring. After their release, they are encouraged to
engage with Fight for Peace and CACT community
programmes, giving them ongoing access to the same
coaches, positive role models and supportive social
environment they benefit from while in prison. This acts as
a distraction from re-offending and previous negative peer
groups and lifestyle habits. The project’s overall aim is to
identify the role of community sport partnerships in delivering
sport in prisons and how sport can best support people in
desisting from crime post-release. Additionally the Alliance’s
sector-wide Theory of Change is designed to maximise the
impact of all those who work across Sport for Development
and criminal justice. This establishes guidelines for building
a fully aligned and co-ordinated evidence base that proves
sport’s effectiveness at preventing criminal behaviour and
rehabilitating offenders. By setting out five key performance
indicators for how the impact of sports projects should be
measured, it aims to establish a sector-wide methodology
to improve the quality and consistency of delivery across
England, Wales and beyond.

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Access Sport uses the power of community sport to improve inclusion,
wellbeing and employability outcomes for disadvantaged, at-risk and
disabled young people. The charity focuses its work on deprived urban
communities in London, Bristol, Manchester and Oxford, reaching nearly
10,000 young people each year. Its unique way of working empowers
local volunteers to build thriving sports clubs that are embedded and
sustainable within their communities. With Access Sport’s support,
partner clubs become better equipped to reach out, engage and develop
local young people in a safe, inclusive and welcoming setting. The charity
has extensive experience of working
across a wide range of sports, whether
traditional such as football or cricket, or less
traditional such as BMX, indoor climbing or
skate-boarding. At present, in partnership
with the respective sports’ governing bodies,
it is growing national youth-led movements
in BMX cycling and disability hockey,
sports which have proven to be highly successful
in enhancing the life prospects of
disadvantaged and disabled young
people. Access Sport has won national
awards including the Sports Business
Awards Best Charity Community CSR 2017
and the BT Sports Industry Awards Best
Community Project 2015.
Rosie lives with Physical Angelman Syndrome, which means she cannot speak and is
wheelchair bound. This creates a number of difficult barriers for her and her family, with
opportunities to be active scarce before they discovered Forest Flyerz. This was the first disability
inclusive club in the country which was developed by Access Sport to promote fully
inclusive hockey to the people of East London. The volunteers at the club, upskilled by Access
Sport, took time to understand Rosie’s disability and began to adapt hockey to meet
her needs. The opportunity changed Rosie’s life, providing her with a new level of independence
and allowing her to travel to other clubs and meet new people. Rosie, who won a Jack
Petchey Award for trying new innovative equipment, is popular because of her enthusiasm
and overwhelming positivity which provides strength and hope for other disabled players
and their families. A family member said: “We surprised wheelchair services this year because
we had to get new wheels for Rosie’s chair! She has been so active in it doing Flyerz
that she actually wore her wheels out, she’s loved doing sport so much.” There are now 15
Flyerz clubs with funding in place to create 50 more in the next three years.
@AccessSport

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@_Greenhouse _
Growing up in South London, Nathan witnessed his
brothers and friends drop out of school and get into trouble.
Thanks to the Greenhouse Sports coach at his school,
Nathan took a different path. Now, he is finishing his degree
in Economics and Computer Science at Allegheny College
(USA), where he has consistently sat in the top 10% of his
class. “Before I joined Greenhouse Sports, most people
would have described me as your typical delinquent, always
looking to start fights and cause trouble with others. I was
an angry young man and I was growing up in one of the
toughest boroughs in south London. Luckily for me, I was
given the opportunity at a young age to lead a different life.
This opportunity came with the introduction by my head
teacher to my Greenhouse Sports coach and mentor,
Predrag. Looking back I think that working with Predrag was
my last chance at school. Greenhouse Sports didn’t just
make me a better player; it made me a better student.”
Since 2002, Greenhouse
Sports has
worked with young
people across
London to develop
life skills and raise
aspirations through
sport. Coaches
deliver high-quality
extra-curricular sports
and
mentoring
sessions
to
young
people before,
during and after
school, at the
weekends and during school holidays,
reaching over 40,000 young
people since the charity began.
Through these sessions young
people learn not only to be active
and healthy, but also to be strong
confident people and good citizens.
WWW.GREENHOUSESPORTS.ORG / 13 /
GREENHOUSE SPORTS
Changing young lives through sport
77% of the young people
on the programmes are
growing up in deprived
households,
according to the UK
Government’s Income
Deprivation
Affecting Children
Index. Many of the
11 to 16-year-olds
the
charity
works
with
come
from single parent
households, have
low confidence, or
struggle to fit in at school. On a
Greenhouse Sports programme,
the coach works with participants to
develop Social, Thinking, Emotional,
and Physical (STEP) skills to raise
their aspirations and succeed in
later life.

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WWW.YOUTHSPORTTRUST.ORG / 14 /
YOUTH SPORT TRUST
Creating a brighter future for children and
young people through the power of sport
The Youth Sport Trust (YST) is a children’s charity founded
in 1995, dedicated to creating a brighter future for young
people through the power of sport. It pioneers new ways of
using sport to improve young people’s wellbeing and works
to ensure that every child – regardless of age, gender, background
or ability – has the opportunity to enjoy the benefits of
an active lifestyle. To do this, it focuses on:
i) Transforming Physical Education. Redefining PE’s place
in the curriculum, putting it at the centre of wellbeing and
achievement in education
ii) Removing barriers to sport. Harnessing global best practice
Fatima is an 18-year-old Muslim woman whose life has been transformed
through sport. In Fatima’s community, many young people are not encouraged
to go out as the local playing areas are seen as dangerous, especially for young
girls. Through her involvement in the Local People Project, delivered by the Youth
Sport Trust on behalf of the People’s Health Trust, Fatima has used sport as a
vehicle to define her as a person and use the skills she has learned to support
more young Muslim girls to get active. She now regularly leads football sessions
in the community and her status, and the trust placed in her by parents, has
enabled her to encourage children to play in a park adjacent to her neighbourhood.
She said: “Sport has allowed me to demonstrate that the power of sport comes
from a person’s soul regardless on their gender, ethnicity or religion. Through
my involvement in the Local People Project,
it has helped me to develop skills to
support more young Muslim girls to ge
active in the community. I now regularly
lead football sessions in the community
and give a voice to girls in my community
on my local steering group.”
to ensure youth sport in the UK is inclusive, accessible and fun.
iii) Unlocking potential. Unlocking sport’s potential at every
stage of a child’s life, especially where they face inequality or
disadvantage.
iv) Empowering activism. Helping young people through
sport to become young activists, tackling the issues of their
generation.
Between 2013 and 2018, the Trust helped more than
4.7million children participate in sport and physical activity,
trained 210,000 young people and adults in inclusive practice
and supported 99,000 teachers with continuous professional
development. The Trust’s international arm – Youth Sport Trust
International – has delivered training for sport and development
projects in 63 countries to date.
@YouthSportTrust

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WWW.ACTIVITYALLIANCE.ORG.UK / 15 /
ACTIVITY ALLIANCE
Working to make active lives possible with a
vision that disabled people are active for life
Activity Alliance is the new name for the English Federation of Disability
Sport. The charity works at the centre of world-renowned programmes for
disabled people, and brings members, partners and disabled people together
to make active lives possible. Collectively, it continues to challenge perceptions
and change the reality of disability, inclusion and sport. It enables organisations
to support individual disabled people to remain active for life, working with
local and national partners on a range of programmes including engagement,
training, marketing and the Inclusive Fitness Initiative. In January 2016, Spirit of
2012, a charity set up with money from the Big Lottery Fund to carry forward the
spirit of the London 2012
Olympic and Paralympic
Games, awarded £4.5 million
to a UK-wide consortium
led by Activity Alliance. ‘Get
Out Get Active’ (GOGA) is an
exciting programme that
supports disabled and
non-disabled people to
enjoy being active together.
All partners are focused on
getting some of the UK's
least active people moving
more through fun and
inclusive activities.
@AllForActivity
Examples of projects
‘Get Out Get Active’ runs for three years
(2016-2019) and within 18 localities across
the UK. Activity Alliance teamed up with
an extensive range of partners to help
reach more people, who have the greatest
need to be active. These partners offer
local knowledge and national expertise.
Working together, it aims to increase the
number of people who are able to access
and enjoy local opportunities. This could
be through a local authority or independent
provider, sports clubs or volunteering. It
aims to motivate people by tapping into
their values and the things that matter
most to them, including building friendships,
maintaining health, having fun and
progressing in life. The partners want to
support more people to lead active and
healthier lifestyles. By doing this, it can
actively help to build stronger and unified
communities. It can also proactively share
results on a wider scale, so others can
benefit from, and use its learning.
‘Talk to Me’ 10 principles - guide for
partners. Research with disabled people
led to these principles, which explored
what helps to make activities more
appealing and accessible. If used
effectively, the principles apply to a wide
range of inactive audiences - not just
disabled people.

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WWW.UKCOACHING.ORG / 16 /
Through its commitment to people, passion and progress, UK Coaching is taking the lead in
coaching excellence. Great coaching encourages people to be more active, more often, and
there are much wider benefits involved, including physical and mental wellbeing, and economic,
individual and social development. UK Coaching is helping nurture coaching skills and
supporting the organisations who recruit, support and deploy the people who use coaching
skills. Its mission is to put coaching at the heart of physical activity and sport.
Charmaine Daley is a Nottingham-based
Zumba coach, who has an infectious zest for
life. But she wasn’t always this way. Throughout
her 30s, Charm was made redundant three
times, something she took incredibly personally.
With two young children, Charm and her partner
were struggling to pay the bills, and at the same
time, she was battling against post-natal
depression. She says: “I was quite down in the
dumps about myself and had put on a lot of
weight as well through pregnancy. I had some
psychiatric help which was quite a big wow for
me because that’s when I realised that it had hit
the fan. I’d always been in to dance and then
somebody said to me about trying Zumba.”
After deliberating for nine months about
whether to attend, Charm went along to a session.
At the class, Charm experienced what she
calls her ‘lightbulb’ moment. She saw women of
all shapes, sizes and abilities having a great
time exercising. “Not only was I happy, but for
the first time in a long time I laughed. Proper
belly-laughed. I felt like I just found me all over
again.” Following the class, Charm decided to
use the rest of her redundancy money to retrain
as an instructor, and has now coached Zumba
in Nottingham for the past six years, losing
three-and-a-half stone and gaining a renewed
sense of confidence. “I realised the benefits it
had given me, raising my confidence and
increasing my self-esteem. I just felt happier
about myself. What I wanted to do was go on
and inspire other women, who were perhaps in
that same place and [say to them that] actually,
exercise is relevant and here is your licence to
be able to go and do that in a safe place that’s
empowering, non-judgemental, warm and
welcoming. I just find that what I do is a real
privilege because there are so many women
who come to my classes that are in a similar
place to where I was when I first started and it’s
a treat to see them just unfold in front of me. The
expressions on their faces - it’s almost like they
can’t quite believe they are doing what they are
doing.”
@_UKCoaching

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SCHOOL OF HARD KNOCKS
Because life is an
uneven playing field
School of Hard Knocks runs courses using sport to tackle
unemployment, anti-social behaviour, crime and poor health. Its
nationwide courses use challenging activities and values-based
lessons to help participants move forward in their lives and take
responsibility for their actions. Mornings are spent on the pitch or
in the gym, and afternoons in the classroom. Life and employment
modules teach values, attitudes and non-technical skills with the
objective of getting each participant into sustainable employment.
An average of 42% of adults find full-time employment from the
courses, with 81% of those sustaining this for at least three
months. The SOHK Schools programme uses rugby to transform
the lives of children who are at risk of exclusion. The programme
offers a long-term intervention to participants who start the
programme at the beginning of Year 9 until they reach their
GCSEs or no longer need help. With marked improvements in
attendance, punctuality and behaviour, 94% of the pupils sit their
GCSEs, having been at risk of not completing them at all at the
start of the programme.
WWW.SCHOOLOFHARDKNOCKS.ORG.UK / 17 /
After a lengthy period looking for work and a growing
sense of frustration, Richard was told about the School
of Hard Knocks course by his Job Centre Plus coach.
After deciding to attend Richard took part in boxing and
fitness sessions, plus informative and thought-provoking
workshops. He also received support to develop his
CV and cover letter, whilst understanding opportunities
which he hadn’t considered. He slowly grew in
confidence, although interviews remained difficult. So
Richard took part in mock interviews with the charity’s
corporate partners, enabling him to overcome this
barrier. He said: “If I can do an interview in that
environment then no other interview should be daunting
to me!” Through the continued support given to him
and his own perseverance following the course,
Richard secured an administration apprenticeship
which he is still enjoying and thriving in. He said: “I
would highly recommend SOHK. I have grown in
confidence and don’t let things faze me.”
@SoHKCharity

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WWW.WEARECOACHCORE.COM / 18 /
An apprenticeship programme that helps
young people who are not in education,
employment or training to build a career.
Coach Core is a youth employment
and education programme that affects
true change through sport and physical
activity, working in challenging communities
around the UK. By utilising a bespoke 15-
month, community-facing apprenticeship,
it combines employers and connective
partners in each city or area to create
long-lasting, collaborative working that
benefits everyone involved. Set up with
support from the Royal Foundation, it has
enjoyed six years of success across 10
UK sites, working with more than 90
employers who have gained an apprentice
who adds new energy, diversity and
coach workforce consistency. It also
means the local community gains a
young role model and in 2017 alone,
Coach Core apprentices led or assisted
over 25,000 coaching sessions and had
320,000+ coaching interactions in this
time. Coach Core has changed the lives
of almost 400 young people by giving them
qualifications, training and experiences
unparalleled on any other programme of
this nature. With a 94% success rate and
98% of those graduates going into
full-time employment/education, Coach
Core look forward to bringing this opportunity
to even more cities around the UK.
When Tracey’s classmates wanted to skip a lesson at
school, they would wind her up. They knew how to trigger her
rage. “I wasn’t the nicest of people - always angry,” she says,
looking back five years to before she joined Coach Core. “I
was an angry person with zero goals or ambitions, no role
models and didn’t care about anything, even myself. Life at
home was challenging; I have a very different role to most
people my age in that I help out looking after my siblings.” It
was after finding Coach Core however that Tracey became a
table tennis coach, and then a football coach, and was one of
the first graduates from the initial Coach Core programme,
going on to coach soccer in the United States. Now, she talks
of her “confidence, enthusiasm, bravery, a positive view of life,
a love for helping people”. She adds: “I have become more
driven and always looking to improve or gain qualifications and
experience. There are still things I need to control like
depression and my self-belief, but I am moving in the right
direction.”
@wearecoachcore

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WWW.THEBIKEPROJECT.CO.UK / 19 /
Getting refugees cycling
The Bike Project’s mission is to get refugees cycling, to fix the
social isolation that many refugees can face because of the high
cost of transport. Trying to navigate the complex asylum
process on just £37 a week is complicated. When people have
to choose between eating a meal and catching the bus, a bike
can play a vital role. The Bike Project take second-hand bikes,
fix them up and donate them to refugees and asylum-seekers.
A small proportion of the bikes received go on to be sold
through an online bike shop providing The Bike Project with income.
In five years, 3500 bicycles have been donated, each
one coming with safety accessories (lights, helmet and lock)
and lifetime repairs. The Bike Project also offers volunteering
weekly in its bike workshop to develop skills and talent, and runs
a programme of cycle training for refugee women called ‘Pedal
Power’. Every bike beneficiary is offered the chance to meet up
with their local ‘Bike Buddy’, a volunteer who can help share
safe cycle routes and build confidence cycling in their neighbourhood.
Having fled persecution and atrocities in their country
of origin, refugees can arrive in London with absolutely
nothing so a bike helps them access support from legal advice
to food banks as well as healthcare, education and much more.
If lucky enough to receive official refugee status, a bike can also
help to find employment.
‘C’ is seeking asylum in the UK. She received her bike in 2017,
and began volunteering at The Bike Project’s weekly workshops.
She has gone on to train and qualify as a National Standards
Cycling Instructor, while volunteering every Thursday and assisting
at the Pedal Power cycling lessons. She says: “I was already giving
up on life because I felt lost and couldn’t hold on any more, before
I came in contact with The Bike Project. This was my first point of
recovery and it continued to help me cling on to life as it made me
to feel that I really belonged to a strong community. Little did I know
that it was a journey to my full recovery, with The Bike Project
enrolling me for a course to make me a fully-qualified instructor. My
life now has a purpose and I can proudly say I have become a
useful person to the world at last. What I have learned so far is that
you should never waste any opportunity that comes your way. Keep
going, keep pushing... don’t stop pedalling whenever you are riding
on the bicycle of life!”
@The_BikeProject

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Produced by ConnectSport on behalf of the Sport for Development Coalition, Autumn 2018.
To register your organisation for free on the ConnectSport directory, contact hello@connectsport.co.uk
www.connectsport.co.uk
@ConnectSport