Workforce Governance & Registration Scheme Project - Update December 2024
The Workforce Governance and Registration Scheme Project is a sector-wide piece of work commissioned by Sport England and UK Sport following the recommendations of the Whyte Review, with the objective of supporting, safeguarding and regulating the workforce to allow everyone taking part in sport and physical activity to enjoy safe and high-quality experiences, and to be supported in achieving their goals in a positive environment.
Introduction
The project is being led by CIMSPA (the Chartered Institute for the Management of Sport and Physical Activity) working in partnership with Sport England and UK Sport, the National Governing Bodies of Sport, other sporting bodies and key stakeholders.
CIMSPA is committed to the success of this project, and we will be providing regular updates and engagement with all stakeholders across its duration.
For further information please check the Workforce Governance section of the CIMSPA website or view our Frequently Asked Questions.
For any direct queries you can also email: workforcegovernance@cimspa.co.uk.
Project update: December 2024
Back in May 2023, CIMSPA launched ‘Phase 3’ of the Workforce Governance & Registration Scheme Project, with a firm belief that an integrated, systemic approach would be the most effective strategy to protect participants from harm, promote safe sport and support the workforce.
This phase was broken down into four strands of focus:
- Workforce evaluation
- Standards, policy and stakeholder engagement
- Support, auditing and action planning
- Workforce registration scheme
This phase aimed to build on previous CIMSPA Workforce Governance consultation and research projects (Phases 1 & 2) and followed Sport England and UK Sport’s policy response to the Whyte Review.
A year and a half on, significant progress has been made on all four strands, thanks to the support and collaboration from over 70 National Governing Bodies (NGBs) and wider system partners.
Pilot Register and Workforce Audits
In September, the project introduced two parallel running workstreams that aimed to understand and test the processes, structures and systems needed for a nationwide system. A small number of sports governing bodies were selected to test various components and policies as part of the registration scheme pilot, whilst a broader number of sports governing bodies continued to work with us to identify areas of challenge and development through integrated workforce audits and wider support exploration.
The pilot workstream’s progress was displayed and discussed at the most recent project update event, at Eastwood Hall, Nottingham on the 13th November, where representatives from NGBs and other safeguarding organisations were in attendance.
Alongside inputs from Sport England, UK Coaching and representatives from the insurance sector, workshops were also run to allow deeper exploration of the pilot’s accreditation standards and criteria, along with a ‘hands-on’ demonstration of the prototype register, helping delegates understand how the digital aspects of a registration scheme may operate and to offer an opportunity to feedback on the key stages a coach could pass through.
The deadline for NGBs to provide evidence on meeting the criteria for inclusion on the prototype register, alongside their feedback from the digital testing process has now passed, and work has now begun in earnest on analysing the data and feedback that has been collected and delivering an interim report, which is due to be submitted to Sport England in February 2025.
Coach Professional Standard
Throughout the project, the focus has been placed solely on the role of sports coach, as defined in the Coach Professional Standard within the scope of current NGB systems and club structures.
This month, we have launched a partner and public consultation on the next phase of the review of eleven CIMSPA Professional Standards, including Coach.
Partners, members and the public are invited to provide feedback on the standards, to ensure they fully meet the sector’s needs and consultation will remain open until Friday 24th January 2025.
Coaching Insight
In parallel to this, research work is ongoing to expand our understanding of the policies that currently exist in relation to harm prevention and reporting in a sports coaching setting, outside of the NGB ecosystem.
This work will include online consultations with coaches that aim to expand upon themes that were explored within an initial online survey.
Sports Club Research
We are also engaging in an aligned period of consultation directly with sports clubs.
Some research literature identifies local factors, such as club culture and accepted behaviours, as having the greatest influence on informing coaching practice. This could lead to limitations on the impact of any systemic level initiatives that could be introduced.
Further exploration of this area, in collaboration with clubs, will aim identify any barriers in governance systems and also generate solutions to ensure any future implementation of new initiatives are more likely to land successfully at club level.
An Integrated Approach
The importance of connection and ensuring an integrated approach remains key to the continued progress of this project, as proposals and recommendations for what the sector’s future governance landscape could look like begin to take shape, with the final report and recommendations due for submission in spring 2025.