Step Into Sport
Step Into Sport is an exciting national leadership & volunteering project which, encourages more young people to become involved in sport in their local communities. It is a joint partnership between Sports Leaders UK (formally the British Sports Trust), Youth Sport Trust and Sport England, and is funded by the Department for Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS).
The main aim of Step into Sport is to provide a structured pathway to attract young people into sports volunteering and to use their experience and talents to enhance sport in their local community. It concentrates on training a new generation of volunteers, mostly aged between 14 and 19 through a network of school partnerships .
Step into Sport builds on existing structures and programmes such as Sports Leaders UK Level 1 Awards, to encourage and generate greater volunteer links between schools and clubs.
What is it?
Step 1 Sport Education
Young people participate in Sport Education within their PE lessons giving them the opportunity to plan, organise and evaluate their PE experience. Teacher training and resources are provided to support this area.
Step 2 Sports Leaders UK Level 1 Award
Young people move onto the Sports Leaders UK Level 1 (formally JSLA). This is an award for 14-16 year olds and can be taught within curriculum time. The award develops skills in organising activities, planning, communicating and motivating. Teacher training will be provided to implement this award.
Step 3 Top Link
Young people gain practical experience in volunteering and use their skills to plan and run their own TOP Link sports festival for primary age children.
Step 4 Community Sports Leader Award
Volunteers progress onto Community Sports Leaders Award (16 yr. +), Higher Sports Leaders Award HSLA (18 yrs+) or develop their leadership skills in a specific sport through a National Governing Body (NGB). These can be taught within or outside curriculum time.
Step 5 Community Volunteering
Students aged between 16-19 years are encouraged to participate in active volunteering in their local community and sports clubs, supported by mentors. 20 students in each School Sports Partnership will be identified to attend a Volunteer Conference to provide them with information and guidance to assist them when they do their volunteering hours. They will be encouraged to complete either 50, 100 or 200 hours of volunteering throughout the year and when completed they will then be awarded with a nationally recognised Step Into Sport award.
The Conference
The aims of the conference are:
- To help young volunteers to develop and improve their leadership skills to use in their volunteer placements.
- To provide young people with information and guidance to ensure they have identified, or know how to identify, a good placement and are able to make the most of it.
- To provide young people with information and advice relating to their placement (including safety and child welfare).
- To provide an insight into volunteering in sport by signposting them to other opportunities.
- To create a rewarding, enjoyable and fun experience.
The outcomes of the conference are:
- To recognise leadership skills that can be developed and improved through volunteering
- To identify what to expect from a good placement
- To describe how to use their volunteer portfolio and log to record their volunteering
- To identify key factors relating to safety and child welfare
- To identify further opportunities for volunteering and training.
The benefits of Community Volunteering for young people include:
- Develops life skills, e.g. confidence, communication, organisation and self-esteem, transferable work skills and a chance to participate in action based learning
- Provides increased opportunities to undertake sports leadership training and volunteering
- Provides accreditation/certification and recognition for volunteering through the Step into Sport Award
- Provides opportunities and experiences to help students become better citizens, enhancing career and job prospects.