Trowbridge's sporting chance (From This Is Wiltshire)

Trowbridge's sporting chance

1:00pm Thursday 24th December 2009

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For three years Trowbridge Town Council has been quietly blazing a trail with its sports apprenticeship scheme and now, after being shortlisted for a number of prestigious awards, it looks set to be rolled out across the country.

What started as a small venture costing the council £20,000 in its first year is now bringing in £85,000 a year as well as smiles to the faces of countless youngsters across the county.

In 2007, the town council decided to employ four apprentice sports coaches to run sports sessions in local schools. The scheme was designed to offer an opportunity to young adults who were not in education, employment or training, as well as promoting healthy living.

Along with another £17,000 from the Government and organisations such as Sport England, local colleges and the Trowbridge Sports Forum, the programme took off and the first four apprentices started work that April.

They were put through national training courses and worked towards their NVQ in Sports Development as well as coaching qualifications. The take-up by local schools was so dramatic, to meet demand the council had to employ another three coaches within the next two months. Four months later they had employed 13 more. There are now 21.

Steve Nash, community services director at the town council, said: “We still haven’t met the demand in Trowbridge alone.

“Private contractors were charging schools an arm and a leg because it was a niche market.

“The immediate effect to schools was to reduce their costs by 70 per cent and increase the number of activities they were able to provide by 50 per cent and in some cases even 90 per cent – we now provide 310 sessions every week.”

The coaches run breakfast, lunch and after-school clubs as well as teaching sport. Training in coping with behavioural problems means they can also offer one-to-one supervision of excluded youngsters and hopefully get them engaged in sport.

Mr Nash said: “I know in one case in particular a child has been kept in primary school much longer than was anticipated in part due to the work of the sports apprentices.”

The coaches run sessions in each of the five towns in west Wiltshire as well as Calne, Frome and Colerne. There are also clubs for pre-school children in Sure Start Children’s Centres across the district, as well as 85 free sports roadshows a year.

During the school holidays they also look after 200 children every day, giving parents the opportunity to go back to work.

“Once they are trained, the sports coaches are self-funding,” said Mr Nash. “It’s win win all round – the schools are paying less, we’ve got more staff which generates income for us and more activities are provided.”

The council won the top award at the 2009 South West Market Towns Awards, also winning the social and community category, and it was shortlisted in the BBC West Sports Awards and the Healthy Living Awards in 2008.

Mr Nash has also been invited to sit on the South West regional Development Board for Train to Gain/ National Skills Academy.

“We are hoping we are trailblazers,” he said. “We are offering this as a franchise to other local councils. But at the end of the day it’s not about the money, it’s about providing local young people with employment and a valuable service to schools and the community.”

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