The challenge

The main challenge for the Warrington School Sports Partnership is to ensure all clubs that are accessed by our children have minimum standards, to provide a safe, fun and high quality learning environment and to also provide information and pathways on all local clubs.

Key actions

Patrick Hendrie has been recruited as the school club link officer for Warrington School Sports Partnership (WASSP). His focus reflects the challenge detailed above. Initially working with clubs that have linked into Lymm High School, to formulate a process of minimum standards, which would then be rolled out across the remainder of the partnership and link clubs. Working with key club members and school officers related to specific individual sports since July 07, has allowed relationships between school and club to blossom and has enabled children at primary school level to access sports that otherwise they may have not been able to via the in school and after school coaching that the clubs have helped to provide.

The solution

• Open relationship between school and club
• Regular contact and feedback - negative and positive
• School club link officer providing liaison and representative from each club
• Guidance to clubs In relation to minimum standards/funding etc
• Auditing provision within the partnership and regular updates

The future

Working along side Knight Kavanagh & Page to help move the Clubmark process along within WASSP has to be one of the most important tasks in the short to medium future.

Increasing the number of clubs with clubmark from 22 to 30 is a target that the partnership has set itself, which further stabilises safe, fun and high quality environments for our children. Educating clubs to work with their local partner schools and formalising the processes is key.

Contact details

Patrick Hendrie - School club link officer - Warrington School Sport Partnership
Tel: 01925 755458 Extn 179 Mob: 07704 562499 Email phendrie@lymmhs.co.uk