The English Federation of Disability Sport (EFDS)

Launched in 1998 the English Federation of Disability Sport (EFDS) is the umbrella organisation for disability sport in England.

The English Federation of Disability Sport brings together the nine regional Federations and five National Disability Sport Organisations recognised by Sport England:

• British Amputees and Les Autres Sports Association
• British Blind Sport
• Wheelpower - British Wheelchair Sport
• Mencap Sport
• UK Deaf Sport

The EFDS mission is "To be the united voice of disability sport seeking to promote inclusion and achieve equality of sporting opportunities for disabled people."

EFDS is supporting clubs in the disability sport player pathway through the creation of Clubmark for disability sports clubs. Clubs working through Clubmark receive hands on support from their local County Sport Partnership and download resources from the EFDS Club Development pages.

Resources to assist ‘mainstream' clubs to become more inclusive have also been produced and can be accessed from the EFDS website. There are also useful case studies for any clubs wishing to increase their membership of disabled people.

For information on the inclusion of all disabled people in sport please refer to the English Federation of Disability Sport : www.efds.co.uk  

sports coach UK

sports coach UK is a charitable organisation and is the lead agency for development of the UK Coaching System.

In order to encourage a positive approach to the issues of safeguarding children, equity and duty of care within the club environment we recommend that club members attend two sports coach UK workshops:

• 2 members to attend ‘Safeguarding and protecting children'
• 1 member to attend ‘Equity in your coaching'

These workshops are held on a regular basis at locations around the country. Participants can search for a workshop local to them or if a club or clubs has more than eight participants they can set up their own workshop. Details of both can be found on the sports coach UK website.

All participants at sports coach UK workshops receive a certificate of attendance. All certificates are sent to the participant after the workshop. Please allow 6-8 weeks (from the workshop date) for your certificates to arrive.

For more information visit the sports coach UK website - www.sportscoachuk.org

---

runningsports

runningsports is dedicated to providing skills and support for volunteers working in all sports. From quick online tips and tools, to fun and informative workshops runningsports is all about supporting sports clubs and organisations - volunteers working at local level - in clubs, teams or community organisations up and down the country.

runningsports workshops are practical, accessible, and recommended by more than 94% of volunteers who attend them. So they really do work. They are the ideal way to get to grips with all of the key issues facing you as a volunteer working in sport; and they also provide the perfect opportunity to swap ideas and learn from other people's experiences.

In order to encourage a positive approach to the issue of equity within the club environment, at least one club member must attend a runningsports workshop:

• 1 club member must attend ‘A Club for All'.

This workshop is held on a regular basis at locations around the country, and all participants receive a certificate of attendance at the workshop.

For more information visit the runningsports website - www.runningsports.org  

Sporting Champions

Sporting Champions brings world-class athletes face-to-face with young people in a community setting to inspire them to take part in sport.

Through the delivery of 450 visits per year within a community setting, young people learn from the experiences athletes have gained through sport.

Sporting Champions visits concentrate on 2 key themes:

• School and Club Links 
• Leadership and Volunteering

Sporting Champions has been developed and funded by Sport England.

We are looking forward to working closely with Sporting Champions in the future - with the support of such famous names we will surely raise the profile of Clubmark.

For more information about Sporting Champions visit www.sportingchampions.org.uk  

Volunteering England 

Volunteering England has been working with the private, public and voluntary sectors for years, now working closely with sport - everyone from local volunteers running clubs, to Sport England devising national policy.

For support on sport club volunteer management Volunteering England offers:

• A Good Practice Bank - a whole range of equality examples, articles and publications for managing volunteers
• A range of free Information Sheets about managing your volunteers which you can access on line in three different formats
• Our Information Line can answer your questions about involving volunteers in your work, call 0800 028 3304

For training and accreditation in volunteer management Volunteering England offers:

• Excellence in Volunteer Management - is designed around your needs and will enable you to gain an accredited qualification in volunteer management. The programme features e-learning opportunities, FAQs, a good practice bank, publications and information sheets (as described above).
• Investing in Volunteers - the quality standard for organisations that involve volunteers in their work. This standard has been mapped against Clubmark and the Equity Standard for sport and shows strong correlations.

Volunteering England was formed in April 2004 following a merger between The Consortium on Opportunities for Volunteering, The National Centre for Volunteering and Volunteer Development England.

Membership is also made up of Volunteer Centres: local organisations who can offer advice and practical support to local sport organisations. Click here to find your local Volunteer Centre. 

 For more information about Volunteering England visit www.volunteering.org.uk  

Sports Volunteering North West

Sports Volunteering NW is a new independent regional body, which has been developed to effectively represent volunteers and the voluntary sector in sport and physical activity in the North West.

The new organisation has been created by merging the NW Federation of Sport and Recreation with the NW Young Volunteers Programme, and is currently in the process of being legally constituted as a "not for profit" limited company with charitable status.

For more information about Sports Volunteering North West visit www.sportsvolunteeringnw.org