June 2014 |
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Dear Head Teacher,
Welcome to the latest edition of the Compass newsletter – your source for everything you need to know about external school sports and physical activity providers for your school. We’ll bring you the latest updates from the sports and activity industry, from best practices to new legislations that you need to be aware of.
In this issue:
- Sitting – the new enemy?
- Meet our new Board
- Competition in school sports – is it healthy?
- Find out what our members have been up to
As ever, we would love to hear from you on the things that matter to you. You can follow our Twitter accounts - @COMPASS_UK or @COMPASS_CEO.
The Compass Team.
Sitting is the new enemy
No doubt over the past month, you would have seen cryptic newspaper ads with the tag line: ‘Sitting is the new enemy’.
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#Move1, launched last month is a new social media campaign backed by Lord Coe, and is committed to getting children active for one hour every day, to help put a stop to the physical inactivity epidemic.
So, why 1 hour? Because, according to studies, all it takes is 1 hour of physical activity a day to make the difference of a lifetime. The campaign is part of the wider Designed to Move initiative, and comes off the back of the first report from the All-Party Commission on Physical Activity. |
For Compass, this campaign is at the very heart of what we want to achieve - to get children and young people leading a healthy and physically active lifestyle across the UK.
Working closely with our members across the UK, we recognise that fostering a love of physical activity at a young age is important for tackling obesity, as well as other health problems, and helps to develop social skills to help children perform better in school, as well as later in life.
Compass News
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New Chair and Board members
Congratulations to Dean Horridge, CEO of Fit For Sport, and newly elected Chair of the Compass Board. We’re looking forward to sharing Dean’s vision for Compass with you over the coming months. Read Dean’s Bio. |
We are delighted to announce three new members who have joined our established Board. We welcome Andy Mulligan, CEO Sports of Plus Scheme; Peter Ackred, CEO of Disability Sport Coach, and Greg Sayer, COO of Planet Sport.
Take a look at our new Board
Political News
Government extends Annual Investment Allowance
The doubling of the AIA to £500,000 and extension to 2015, as well as the lowering of corporation tax will come as a relief to many small and medium businesses in the UK looking to extend their growth aspirations. CEO Martin Gallagher commented: “The increase of the AIA and the extension to 2015 is most welcome and good news for many of our members who are SMEs in the health, sport and leisure activity industry...
Read more
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Find a Compass member
Finding a qualified, expert and reliable provider can be like finding a needle in a haystack. So if you require a school sport or physical activity provider for your school, then take a look at our founding and general members. Alternatively, please contact us if you would like advice on finding a quality provider in your local area.
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Why choose a Compass member?
Our commitment is to provide a safe environment for children to enjoy sports and activities, and means that Compass members can be trusted to provide a quality service in a safe environment, giving you piece of mind. Find out more |
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Look for the Quality Seal
All Compass members who have passed the rigorous audit and inspection process will be awarded the ‘Quality Assurance Seal’. The main benefits of the Seal are:
- Minimises risk to providers
- Provides peace of mind to parents and teachers
- Provides credibility to government and local authorities
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Keep up to date with Compass
Keeping up to date with the latest news has never been easier. As well as our website you can follow us on Twitter via our main feed, and also through our CEO's.
Don't forget that you can drop us a line.
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Industry News and qualifications
- Register to attend regional afPE Quality Mark half day workshops that are taking place in Nottingham, Plymouth and Oxford this term. afPE's Quality Mark for Physical Education & Sport has been recognised by the Department for Education. The award recognises, through a succinct self-review and evaluation process, the strength and quality of physical education and sport in schools.
- AfPE announce June 14 2014 for the afPE Yorkshire and Humberside Conference. This conference is a great opportunity to make the most of the latest announcement of the extended Primary PE and Sports Premium funding.
- Active IQ helps Compass launch two new QCF qualifications – the Level 3 Certificate and the Level 3 Diploma in Supporting the Delivery of Physical Education and School Sport, which also form part of a new Apprenticeship Framework for Supporting Teaching and Learning in PE and School Sport.
- Developed in partnership with Active IQ, 1st4Sport Qualifications with the support of afPE, the Compass Physical Education and School Sport Suite is a set of qualifications that introduce learners to a number of roles in providing physical education and school sport.
Health News
Obesity – the new norm?
It’s scary to think that the being overweight is increasingly seen as the norm. Well that’s what England’s chief medical officer, Dame Sally Davies says in her annual report. Worryingly, the report suggests that many people; including parents of overweight children do not recognise that they have a problem. Despite the Government’s attempts to make the nation’s food and drinks healthier, Dame Sally’s concern lies with adults and children in general ‘consuming too much sugar’.
Read the full report here.
Shake up of U-11 school sport
Following The Telegraph’s recent article on the new generation of specialist PE teachers amid fears hundreds of thousands of under-11s can barely run, jump, throw or catch because of poor standards, Compass Chairman, Dean Horridge shares his views.
Is competition healthy?
Does the competitive element of school sports dampen the enjoyment factor? Following a recent survey from sports charity Chance to Shine, and Marylebone Cricket Club, two thirds of the 1,000 children surveyed responded that they would be relieved if winning or losing was not a factor.
Compass CEO Martin Gallagher says, “Whilst some children will strive when taking part in healthy competition, others will shy away. We should be supporting children, who wish to compete in sports, and setting realistic goals, as well as supporting those who just wish to enjoy getting active. After all, without a level of competition in school sports, future generations wouldn’t have the likes of British Olympians such as Jessica Ennis, Mo Farah and Rebecca Adlington to look up to.”
Read the full article here.
Member News
Our members never tire of championing school sports and physical activity, here's a roundup of recent activity from some of them:
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Founding partner, Premier Sport has been asked again to present at the forthcoming Westminster Briefing to be held in Leeds on Wednesday 16th July. The topic up for discussion is ‘Improving the Provision of School Sport: Maximising use of Funding & Resources’, and with changes to the PE curriculum and additional funding (for primaries), schools have a great opportunity to increase the quality and breadth of their PE and sporting provision. Schools across the country have the freedom to decide how to use their allocation, and it is vital that they are given the information and tools to make well-informed decisions. Premier Sport will be delivering a presentation on: Engaging the least active children & promoting active lifestyles, which is a key area for the UK’s largest coaching company to be commenting on, as they are well placed to provide schools with useful and practical guidance on this subject matter. |
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RuggerEds is the UK’s first rugby related educational programme specifically designed for 3-9 year olds. Located in Sheffield, RuggerEds currently teach over 1,000 children per week in the Yorkshire and Leicestershire area. Last year the received the Successful New Business of the Year Award at the South Yorkshire Business Awards.
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Double Olympic gold medal winner Rebecca Adlington, OBE made waves as she welcomed 1,000 children from schools across Basildon to a Fit for Sport Legacy Games Day at the Everyone Active Basildon Sporting Village on Thursday May 15, 2014. The 25-year-old swimming sensation joined in the mass warm-up and then spent time with each group of children as they took part in a series of sports activities and healthy games. Fit for Sport, in partnership with Everyone Active are continuing their legacy initiative. The initiative recently won the coveted ‘Inspired by 2012 Mark’ from the Cabinet Office, which is awarded to organisations whose successful projects and events have been inspired by the London 2012 Games and their legacy. They will be offering local schools’ PE teachers, head teachers and support staff a free-hosted Engagement and Activities Forum at Basildon Sporting Village in early July.
Find out more about the Legacy Games here. |
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London based sports charity; Disability Sports Coach has received a £500,000 boost for disability sport. The funding will see an increase in the opportunities available for people living in London to participate in disability sport. Building upon the interest of the London Paralympics, new DSC Community Clubs will provide 10,000 people over the age of 11 with structure sport and physical activity. Each DSC Community Club project provides a supportive environment for young disabled adults to have fun and learn more about the Paralympics sports they may have watched in 2012.
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South West Athletics Academy (SWAA) is a major provider of specialist athletics coaching in schools located in the South West. This year alone, SWAA has worked with four large groups of schools, and most of these have booked more sessions. The Academy runs Mini and Junior Athletics clubs for young children between the ages of 4-11 years old designed to make athletics fun, bright and energetic for young children.
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Ilford based Foundation Sports have had their coaching manual published worldwide. ‘101 Youth Football Coaching Sessions’ by Tony Charles and Stuart Rook is available in the UK, and due to its popularity is now available in Spanish to cater for the Latin American market, and also in Russian. The manual outlines comprehensive training sessions for young footballers, including warm-ups, skills training, games and final practice drills. Ideal for teachers or coaches who are looking for a fully planned session, this contains everything you need to build up the skills of young players and ensure they have fun and remain safe.
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Get on yer bike! Congratulations to Progressive Sports who have raised over £1500 for Sports Relief with a charity bike ride. MD of Progressive Sports, Eddie Ray said: “The cycle challenge was a huge success, and we were overwhelmed by the support that we received from schools throughout our journey. We have also exceeded our target to raise over a £1000, which is great news.” The bike ride, which took place on Friday 21st March, saw 12 members of staff visit 52 local schools across Staffordshire, Walsall and Wolverhampton and covered 127 miles. Well done guys!
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