Clubmark

The Clubmark symbol is used as a kite mark - allowing parents the knowledge and confidence that their children are attending a safe, quality club and ensuring that young people reach their full sporting potential. For clubs with junior sections, being registered with Clubmark is an effective way of communicating commitment to good practice, safe procedures and quality coaching.

The scheme provides a set of standard criteria, which allow clubs to evaluate where they are and help develop the club infrastructure as well as other areas such as volunteering, membership and recruitment. Clubs are assessed against four areas - Playing Programme; Duty of Care and Safeguarding Children; Knowing Your Club and its Community; Club Management.

Is your club eligible?

All sports that are recognised by Sport England can become acredited with Clubmark. There are 2 ways to attain accreditation:

1. Via National Governing Body - Some National Govering Bodies of Sport (NGBs) have created their own version of clubmark. Check Clubmark's list of current licensed NGBs - if your sport falls into this category, you will need to contact your NGB to find out how your club can get involved.

2. Via Sport Hampshire & IOW - sports that are not listed in Option 1 above but has a Sport England recognised NGB can apply for Clubmark via Sport Hampshire & IOW.

Benefits for clubs

• Increased membership: Being able to demonstrate that you have addressed issues such as equity and child protection gives confidence to parents when choosing a club for their children.
• Retaining members: Clubmark helps to stimulate real thought about how clubs cater for all their members. The culture it promotes boosts the morale of both players and volunteers.
• Funding: Many funding bodies now state that applicants must be Clubmark accredited or at least working towards.
• Developing your coaches and volunteers: As part of the accreditation scheme, you'll be given help and advice in developing the skills of everyone involved in your club.
• Raising your club's profile: Once accredited, your club will be listed on the national database and in other sporting directories that will help you attract new members and to grow.
• Marketing and promotion: All clubmark clubs can utilise the Clubmark logo and take advantage of other brand resourcesas well as information to help generate more publicity.
• Links with schools: Increasingly, schools are looking for guarantees of quality and the presence of child friendly systems and procedures. Clubmark clubs are normally the first to be invited to work with local schools.
• Developing your club: The foundation for any club is its youth structure. So, by encouraging and attracting young members, you are building a strong future for your club.

Accredited clubs

The national Clubmark database lists all accredited clubs, as well as clubs working towards accreditation.

Clubmark sets core and common criteria for sports clubs to meet in four categories:

1.  The playing programme

• The club provides a coaching programme for a minimum number of hours and weeks in a year, determined on a sports specific basis
• The club uses the skills awards and other coaching resources of the NGB to enhance its coaching and assessment programme
• The club provides suitable intra and inter club competition according to NGB guidelines
• The performer: coach ratio for coaching/training sessions reflects NGB guidelines
• The coaches responsible for the programme are suitably qualified to NGB specified standards
• The coaches and volunteers responsible for the programme have job descriptions with clear roles and responsibilities assigned
• The coaches responsible for the programme hold professional indemnity and/or public liability insurance.
• All coaching and competition takes place at safe venues and uses safe equipment (as specified by the NGB)

2.  Duty of care

• The club has adopted the NGB child protection policy and procedures and is working to the guidance laid down (these cover issues like CRB checks and sports specific guidance on contact issues)
• At least two members of the club, one of whom must be a coach have attended recognised Direct Delivery Child Protection training
• The club has adopted codes of practice for all coaches, officials and volunteers working with children and young people
• The club has access to first aid equipment at all coaching and competition sessions
• The club has emergency procedures for dealing with serious injuries/accidents, including  ensuring contact through telephone/radio to emergency services
• The club has the contact details of parents/carers and emergency/alternative contacts
• The club has the contact details of parents/carers and emergency/alternative contacts
• The club has information on any medical conditions of its children and young people and informs coaches on a need to know basis

3.  Knowing your club and its community

• The club has an open/non-discriminatory constitution
• The club has adopted an equal opportunities/sports equity policy
• The club has an action plan identifying how it will recruit and retain members from its community
• One coach has attended a Sports Coach UK Equity in your coaching workshop
• The club has codes of practice for parents/carers and other supporters
• The club has a set of rules for children and young people

4.  Club management

• The club is affiliated to its NGB
• The club has public liability insurance
• The club has a specific membership category and pricing policy for children and young people
• The club communicates regularly with parents/carers
• The club has a Junior/Volunteer Coordinator to act as a liaison with, for example, its local School Sport Partnership, County Sports Partnerships and the National Governing Body
• The club has contact with at least one local school/youth organisation
• The club is committed to further development and outreach work

The criteria for Clubmark has been developed and agreed in cooperation with National Governing Bodies and is supported by the Child Protection in Sport Unit (CPSU) and sports coach UK.

Many clubs are finding that they have already achieved a number of the criteria, what they have not had to do before is provide hard evidence to prove that they do what they say they do. There are a lot of good clubs out there they just need to document the fact that they are good so anyone moving into the area can affectively see that clubs portfolio and witness for themselves that the club is progressive as well as safe, effective and child friendly.

To register your club for Clubmark please contact Heather Windust, Tel: 01962 846172.

You will be sent a Clubmark folder which can be used to record evidence required from the club to achieve each of the criteria listed. Once your folder is complete it will be assessed by Sport Hampshire & IOW officers.

There is also a resource pack that provides 17 templates for your club to use, which include:

• Code of practice for club officials and volunteers

• Guidelines for dealing with an incident/accident

• Incident/accident report form

• Attendance register

• Junior membership form

• Task descriptions for Head and Assistant Junior Coaches

• Risk assessment form

• Equity policy statement

• Constitution

• Code of practice for parents and junior members

• Development plan

All the above templates, along with the resource pack, can be downloaded from the Clubmark website.