The English Federation of Disability Sport (EFDS)

English Federation of Disability Sport (EFDS) is the national body responsible for developing sport for disabled people in England. 

It works closely with the National Disability Sports Organisations (NDSOs) recognised by Sport England to develop sporting opportunities for the 11 million disabled people in England:

• BALASA
• British Blind sport
• CP Sport
• Dwarf Athletics
• Mencap Sport
• Special Olympics
• UK Deaf Sport
• Wheelpower - British Wheelchair Sport

The EFDS vision is to create a world-leading, inclusive community sports system that offers disabled people the same opportunities and choices as non-disabled people to participate, stay and excel in sport. Key areas of expertise include:

• Providing advice, guidance and information on sport for disabled people
• Actively campaigning and lobbying to raise the profile of disabled sportswomen and sportsmen
• Influencing and supporting partners across the delivery system of sport to be more inclusive and to provide a greater range and quality of sporting opportunities for disabled people
• Attracting additional funds to sport for disabled people
• Working with partners to empower disabled people to take a more active role in all aspects of sport and physical activity
• Developing and rolling-out national programmes to improve access to sport and physical activity by disabled people, such as the Inclusive Fitness Initiative
• Providing a range of inclusive, high quality training and coaching opportunities to increase the number of disabled people involved in sport and physical activity
• Providing a comprehensive competition calendar through Disability Sport Events to increase the number of disabled people participating at all levels of the player pathway, and support the identification and development of talented performers

EFDS is supporting clubs in the 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 on the EFDS website. Resources to assist ‘mainstream' clubs to become more inclusive have also been produced and can be accessed on the 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:

• 2 club members attend the ‘Safeguarding and protecting children' workshop

This workshop is 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 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