Back in 2005 the then Department for Education and Skills published the ‘common core’ – a document outlining the skills and knowledge required when working with children and young people in a variety of settings. This set of skills and knowledge covered areas such as effective communication and engagement, child and young person development, safeguarding and promoting the welfare of the child, supporting transitions, multi-agency working and sharing information.

As outline in the 2020 Children’s and Young People’s Workforce Strategy published in 2008, the Department for Children, Schools and Families announced a ‘refresh’ of the common core to examine the content and extent of implementation of these skills and knowledge, bring it up to date and making sure it is relevant, user-friendly and used by more people in the children’s workforce.

The Active Leisure and Learning Sector is one of the biggest sectors working with children and young people. Playwork aside, sport, fitness and the outdoors all have participation from children and young people and specific targets to get more of them engaged with physical activity and the outdoors. This is particularly relevant through the government’s specific social cohesion, obesity and grassroots agendas – engaging children and young people are high on the agenda at every level.

Through our role of ensuring we have the right people with the right skills to deliver across the active leisure sector, we have made sure that the current common core principles are embedded within national occupational standards – the competencies that job roles are based on. Meaning that those working in the sector should have the skills, qualification and knowledge required to do so. However, as the sector develops, so must the skills and training of the workforce. With this in mind, SkillsActive is working with key partners across the children’s workforce running a series of consultations to ensure that the common core skills and knowledge are appropriately updated.

It is crucial that employers and practitioners from sport, fitness, the outdoors, and caravan industry’s, as well as the playwork sector, have their say in these consultations, in order to influence the refreshed outcomes and provide a common core which is accessible and meaningful for those working with children and young people in the sector, so they can provide the best possible service for children and young people using their facilities and services.

For more information, or to take part in the consultation process, visit: www.skillsactive.com/commoncore. This is your chance to influence the future of the sector when it comes to children and young people.

As the Registrar of the Register of Exercise Professionals (REPs), I welcome the publication of stories like those of Dawn Elliot (in the Daily Mail) – the 46-year-old mother of four with chronic lower back problems who enlisted the services of a personal trainer but with painful consequences. That’s because Dawn’s experience raises key issues and illustrates just how important it is to ensure your personal trainer or fitness instructor is a member of REPs.

REPs is a register of qualified personal trainers and fitness instructors who have all met agreed National Occupation Standards developed by SkillsActive – the Sector Skills Council for Active Leisure and Learning. More than 28,000 individuals are on the Register – the largest membership based register in the world.

REPs was set up in 2002 to regulate people working in the fitness industry and to safe-guard the health of people like Dawn. The Register has strict entry guidelines developed in partnership with the industry and everyday turns away trainers and instructors who do not meet the standards. However, REPs membership is not a statutory requirement for those working in the fitness industry, which is why stories like Dawn’s are so common. It is true that anyone in the UK can set themselves up as a personal trainer and it is also true that these unregistered trainers and instructors carry out fitness sessions with individuals who may suffer from a range of chronic injuries or even serious medical conditions – all of which can be exacerbated through poorly designed exercise. And although the Register seeks to minimise risk by setting standards, it is not full proof. Like any industry – even the medical profession – there are professionals who act carelessly and fail members of the public. REPs works hard to minimise such cases in the fitness industry and the more aware members of the public are of the Register, the more effective it can become at protecting them.

It is also important to note here that personal trainers are not out to “wreck your health”; in fact, they aspire to do the exact opposite. They help millions of people around the UK everyday get fit, lose weight, reduce stress, rehabilitate and prolong their lives. They contribute to government agendas to combat obesity and they reduce the pressure on the public health purse by improving the health of the nation. Alarmingly, in the past six months the number of people reporting that they never exercise has increased from 11 to 14 per cent and of those that do, less than a third exercise four times a week or more. Furthermore, the percentage of adults who are doing the government-recommended 30 minutes of exercise each session has fallen significantly from 34 to 29 per cent. I believe Tuesday’s article not only misrepresents the fitness industry, but it was irresponsible as well. The media should not be giving Britons any more excuses not to exercise and instead, be encouraging members of the public to be more aware of the skills, qualifications and training required by the people that prescribe them physical activity.

There is no doubt that REPs has been a major catalyst in the professionalisation and up skilling of personal trainers and fitness instructors. When the Register was set up, there was no nationally recognised structure to regulate people working in the fitness industry and to safe-guard the health of people like Dawn Elliot. Now, everyone from highly qualified instructors working with cardiac rehabilitation patients to keep-fit teachers running classes in a village hall can be professionally recognised by joining the Register. It is my vision that all trainers and instructors aspire to gain entry on the Register and that the public are sufficiently aware of those that do not.

Recent research from Sport England and the CCPR certainly seem to suggest that is the case.

Volunteers are at the heart of most sports clubs

Sport England recently reported on their quarterly results for their Active People Survey, which provides the largest  survey of sport and active recreation undertaken in Europe. While the headline results showed promise, with 6,822,000 people (16 and over) now playing sport three times a week and regular participation holding firm since December 2008, as well as satisfaction with local sports provision increasing, there were some worrying trends including a decrease in volunteering.

Could it be that volunteering, along with competitive participation and membership, has suffered from the current economic environment?

With less disposable income it seems that participation in sporting activities, whether as a competitor or volunteer, is one of the things that suffers. A recent Times article, based on research by the CCPR, suggested that the recession could mean the final whistle for 6,000 community sports clubs due to falling membership.

The CCPR research noted that “volunteering is also being affected by the economic downturn, with more than a fifth of clubs saying that the circumstances have had a negative or very negative impact on attracting and retaining volunteers “.

Within our sector, volunteers play a crucial role in delivering activities across sport and active leisure, with volunteer hours equivalent to over 50,000 full time roles. These roles  can range from the obvious ones such as coaches and officials to many more roles behind the scenes such as those who maintain equipment or look after the finances.  One of the key barriers to volunteering, particularly in the front-line roles, is often the cost of training. With both clubs and volunteers currently suffering from a lack of funds this obviously impacts upon maintaining both the number of volunteers and their skills.

SkillsActive often plays a part in directing funding into the sector, and support a number of bursaries and projects which help those in the sector in funding their development. Our London and South West coaching bursaries were a huge success and there are a number of bursaries to coaches still available in some regions. In the East of England  the East-Links: Leading the Field programme provides opportunities in fitness and officiating as well as targeting coaches. Meanwhile in playwork, there is funding available for playworkers to undertake level 3 qualifications, allowing advancement of skills for those in or looking to join the sector.

For more information on volunteering, whether in sport or other areas, Volunteering England have a whole host of information on their website with a large section dedicated to sport. 

If you’ve seen the impact of the recession on volunteering, share your views below.