Results for "apprentices" (67 Result)

AoC Sport partnership with Weston College wins national apprenticeship award

Weston College, AoC Sport’s training provider for the FA Women’s Football Apprenticeship, has won the ‘Promoting Apprenticeship Campaign of the Year’ at the 2021 AAC Apprenticeship Awards. Weston College was commended for its partnership with the FA and AoC Sport, to create and promote the apprentice programme, which aims to increase female participation in football. Ten apprenticeship vacancies went live in August 2020 and thanks to a strong marketing campaign, proved very popular with applicants. AoC Sport received 146 applications for the 10 vacancies by working in collaboration with the employing colleges, County FAs and other football stakeholders, and by…

English Colleges FA to partner with Active IQ to upskill FA Women's Football apprentices

The English Colleges Football Association (ECFA), the football delivery arm of AoC Sport, is delighted to be working with Active IQ over the next two years to upskill a diverse range of female leaders. Active IQ is an awarding organisation recognised and regulated by who design, quality assure and award a wide range of accredited qualifications. They also offer a broad suite of other products and services, including eLearning, Apprenticeship packages, Professional Recognition and Professional Career Development opportunities. Existing and prospective apprentices (activators) on the FA Women’s Football Apprenticeship programme will benefit from this partnership, as they will have access…

AoC Sport recruits apprentices for new-look FA Women’s Football apprenticeship programme

The new cohort of FA Women’s Football Development Officer apprentices have been recruited and will start in post this month. The programme is run by AoC Sport, in partnership with the FA and new training provider Weston College. Ten colleges will be employing an apprentice until 2022 as part of the FA’s new women’s strategy to grow the game and develop the future workforce. This year the apprentices were recruited via three selection events, which were designed so that candidates could experience a “day in the life of” a women’s football development officer. Candidates undertook a variety of activities including…

Recruitment under way for new-look FA Women’s Football apprenticeship programme

The first cohort of apprentices are now being recruited for the new-look FA Women’s Football apprenticeship programme. The programme is run by AoC Sport, in partnership with the FA and new training provider Weston College. Twelve colleges will be employing a Women’s Football Development Officer (Apprentices) from August 2020 until 2022 as part of the FA’s women’s strategy to grow the game and develop the future workforce. Weston College was selected via an open competitive tender process to provide the 22-month national training programme from August this year. They will be delivering the Level 3 Community Sport and Health Officer…

Weston College announced as football apprenticeship training provider

AoC Sport is delighted to announce that Weston College will be the apprenticeship training provider for the new FA Women’s Football Apprenticeship Programme. Weston College was selected via an open competitive tender process to provide the 22-month national training programme from August this year. The college, led by Principal and Chief Executive, Dr Paul Phillips CBE, has been named Bristol and Bath Apprenticeship Provider of the Year for the last two years and is an Ofsted grade one outstanding college. They will be delivering the Level 3 Community Sport and Health Officer apprenticeship to 20 apprentices in a blended learning…

FA Women's Football Apprentices begin their journey

The latest cohort of FA Women’s Football Apprentices have been welcomed at a three-day training event at Warwick University. It was the first time the 16 chosen apprentices have come together and were introduced to their roles and their personal development journey. Last year’s apprentices also took part, feeding back on their journey and taking part in group activities. What is the FA Women’s Football Apprentice training programme? The FA Women’s Football Apprentice programme is run by the ECFA (English Colleges FA), AoC Sport’s football delivery arm, in partnership with The FA. The apprentices are recruited as part of The FA’s…

National Apprenticeship Week: "To be able to engage girls to play football for a living is a dream"

AoC Sport is pleased to be supporting National Apprenticeship Week from 4 to 8 March 2019. This year’s theme is ‘Blaze a Trail’, which aims to showcase and celebrate how apprentices bring new energy and passion into organisations. The aim is to shine the spotlight on apprenticeships as a great path for people at any stage of their career. In partnership with The FA, AoC Sport runs the FA Women’s Football Apprentice programme So we spoke to one of the apprentices – Rosie May What is your current role and what does it entail? I am an FA Women’s Football Apprentice…

FA Women's Football Apprentices prepare for the year ahead

AoC Sport, in partnership with The Football Association, recently hosted a three-day orientation programme to prepare the FA Women’s Football Apprentices for the year ahead. The apprentices will be employed by colleges working through AoC Sport, for the 2018/19 academic year. The aim of the programme is to support The FA in doubling female participation but also to develop our future football workforce. Each apprentice is tasked with engaging female participants and leaders across the college sector and within the local community. The residential at The University of Nottingham involved various personal development workshops, as well as reflection and team…

FA Women’s Football Apprentices win top college awards

Two FA Women’s Football Apprentices have been recognised by their colleges for their outstanding achievements this year. Leah Burridge from Bridgwater & Taunton College received the award for Outstanding Individual Contribution at the college’s annual Support and Teaching staff Achievement and Recognition (STAR) Awards. Luci Hillier won the Apprentice of the Year trophy at the Isle of Wight College’s end of year awards. Both Leah and Luci are one of 17 FA Women’s Football Apprentices recruited by the ECFA to increase female participation in football. What these awards show is the positive impact the apprentices are having on their colleges…

Opportunity to Tender: research brief for Women's Football Apprentices

After a successful pilot year, the FA/AoC Sport Women & Girls’ Football Apprentice programme has been rolled out to involve 19 colleges, 17 apprentices and four interns. The project aims to create a workforce solution to driving participation in girls’ and women’s football both in the FE colleges and their local community, with a specific aim to increase the number of BAME participants. We are now looking for an organisation to conduct research to: Assess the impact of apprentices/interns on increased participation in the college within the female student population both within the college and surrounding community. Establish the extent to…

National Apprenticeship Week 2018: spotlight on Women's Football Apprentices

AoC Sport is delighted to be supporting National Apprenticeship Week, taking place 5-9 March. We are focusing on how ‘Colleges make Apprenticeships Work’ – for individuals, employers, local communities and the wider economy. AoC Sport has been working through FA College Grassroots Hubs to provide the opportunity for passionate young women to join the football industry via apprenticeships in sport development. Eighteen colleges currently host 20 apprentices, all working collectively to increase female participation in football, both in their colleges and local communities. As part of National Apprenticeship Week, we spoke to Women’s Football Apprentice and Yeovil Town Ladies player, Leah…

National Apprenticeships Week: How my apprenticeship provided invaluable, hands-on experience

To mark the 10th anniversary of National Apprenticeship Week, AoC Sport is celebrating sport apprentices and the positive impact they have in their colleges and communities. While the apprenticeship reform provides an opportunity for colleges to develop new provision and build new relationships, at AoC Sport we are reflecting on some of the excellent practice currently happening in colleges. We will also share some profiles of how apprentices have progressed into employment. To continue the week, we spoke to Sussex FA’s Children and Young People Football Development Officer, Michael Ryan. What apprenticeship framework did you complete? I completed a Level…

National Apprenticeships Week: Sports apprenticeship the right track for The Sheffield College's Hannah

To mark the 10th anniversary of National Apprenticeship Week, AoC Sport is celebrating sport apprentices and the positive impact they have in their colleges and communities. While the apprenticeship reform provides an opportunity for colleges to develop new provision and build new relationships, at AoC Sport we are reflecting on some of the excellent practice currently happening in colleges. We will also share some profiles of how apprentices have progressed into employment. To continue the week, we spoke to 22-year-old Hannah Lindley, who is an apprentice at The Sheffield College. What apprenticeship framework are you following? Last year I began…

National Apprenticeships Week: Female Football Apprentices helping to make strategy happen for The FA and AoC Sport

To mark the 10th anniversary of National Apprenticeship Week, AoC Sport is celebrating sport apprentices and the positive impact they have in their colleges and communities. While the apprenticeship reform provides an opportunity for colleges to develop new provision and build new relationships, at AoC Sport we are reflecting on some of the excellent practice currently happening in colleges. We will also share some profiles of how apprentices have progressed into employment. To kick-off the week, here’s a look at the work of our Female Football Apprentices. ‘People make strategy happen’, and we recognise the vital work FE staff and…

FA Women's Football Apprenticeship Programme

Workforce In partnership with The FA, we run the FA Women’s Football Apprenticeship programme. The programme runs for 22 months and 10 colleges will employ a Women’s Football Development Officer (Apprentice) to increase female participation in football. The apprentices have been recruited as part of The FA’s Women’s Football 2020-2024 Strategy, and are employed by colleges, working through Weston College and AoC Sport. Weston College are the new national training provider for the programme and will be delivering the Level 3 Community Sport and Health Officer apprenticeship in a blended learning approach through a series of national training events and…

Advanced Apprenticeship for Sporting Excellence scheme extended for another year

The Department for Education has confirmed the continuation of the current Advanced Apprenticeship for Sporting Excellence (AASE) arrangements for a further year, until March 2018. This short-term measure is mindful of the need for a solution which covers recruitment and funding for AASE in 2017-18. The news follows a lot of hard work by CIMSPA, the Sport and Recreation Alliance (SRA), and NGBs including England Handball, as well as AoC Sport and our member colleges who provided valuable feedback for SRA to take to the Minister for Sport. Sustainable successor arrangements for AASE, which fit into government’s policy on post-16…

AoC Sport membership

Membership of AoC Sport is available to further education and sixth form colleges incorporated under the 1992 Act, and any new corporations formed by the subsequent merger of these colleges as well as sixth form colleges which have converted to academies. AoC Sport members receive a wide range of benefits, including conferences, networks and training, competitions, and policy advice and curriculum planning, among other things. We support 211 members – which is 75% of all colleges and sixth form converters. We are the trusted voice for college sport and physical activity and have the power to shape the further education sporting landscape We…

Apprentice's view behind the scenes of the Lunar Challenge

Ciaran Bromley is four months into his apprenticeship role as an FA Women’s Football Development Officer at Hartpury College. Due to the pandemic, he has had to adapt and helped deliver the Lunar Challenge. So, we spoke to Ciaran to get a unique insight into his role in promoting the challenge, maintaining the interest, and creating a community. What was your role in the challenge? My focus was on the bigger picture -getting the leaderboard information and updating it weekly and advertising the challenge as widely as possible across the college. I sent it to the marketing team to promote…

New ECFA Activators get online support

The first ECFA Activator event of the academic year has taken place entitled ‘Leading the Leaders.’ The webinar was set up to provide online support to our cohort of 150 ECFA Activators who are based in colleges across the country. Each college is required to recruit two student Activators to support the development of football at the college and in the community as part of the ECFA Accredited College programme. In return, ECFA, the football development arm of AoC Sport, provides training and networking opportunities to support the development of these young leaders. Activators were given the opportunity to hear…

Impact report: shining a light on the FA Women’s Football Apprentice programme

The personal growth and individual journeys of FA Women’s Football Apprentices are showcased in a new report highlighting the impact of the 2019/20 programme. The report charts the journey of four apprentices and the marked differences in their skills, behaviour and knowledge by the end of the programme. Sarah Nickless, National Women’s Football Development Officer, said: “The FA Women’s Football Apprentice Programme has afforded the opportunity to find, support and create role models who are the leaders of today, not just the future. “We know the programme is a catalyst in the development of our apprentices as people and we’re…

AoC Sport coronavirus update - 12.11.20

The DfE has today (12 November) released some updated Autumn Term guidance for colleges to be read alongside the National Restrictions guidance released last week. Whilst current national lockdown measures prevent competition between colleges, there is good news for college students who will be able to benefit from competitive sport once the current national lockdown is over. The guidance reaffirms that sport and physical activity as part of education and training can continue during the current national lockdown. It is our interpretation that under the National Restrictions guidance, staff-led training and enrichment activities can continue as they are part of…

Solid foundations in place for football development in FE

As we come to the end of season four of our FA College Grassroots Hub strategy, our National Football Development Manager, Alice Kempski, looks back over the year. Despite it having to come to a premature finish due to COVID-19, many achievements and developments have been made within the FE sector that deserve to be highlighted. Our work to develop football through the College Grassroots Hubs has provided us with a number of key learnings. Importantly, we are now at a point where we have a solid foundation – a network of institutions who have developed their offers not only…

AoC Sport helps FA conquer female football target

AoC Sport is proud to have played an important part in helping the FA conquer their ambitious target of doubling female participation in football across the country between 2017 and 2020. https://youtu.be/LGH9tfECJ5w Nationally 3.4m women and girls are now playing football and 1,621 Wildcats centres have been established across the country, which is an increase of 715% from 2017. These centres have given nearly 34,000 young girls the confidence to give football a go for the first time. In partnership with the FA, AoC Sport has successfully worked with member colleges to develop football and futsal opportunities for their students…

Coronavirus Resource Hub

These resources have been prepared by AoC Sport to support you and your college during these unprecedented times. We are working continuously to provide guidance, share examples of best practice and offer adapted competitions. These can be found here, all in one place, so that colleges can concentrate on what they do best… protecting and supporting their staff, students and communities. Government Guidance (Updated 5 January 2021) The government has announced a new national lockdown to counter the steep rise in coronavirus (Covid-19) infections in England. The new regulations have implications for sport and physical activity in colleges. AoC Sport’s…

Applications open for FA Women’s Football Apprentice Funding 2020-2022

ECFA, the football delivery arm of AoC Sport, is excited to announce additional funding for 20 colleges to apply for an FA Women’s Football Development Officer Apprentice. As part of the FA’s Game Plan for Growth, the FA in partnership with ECFA are investing in 20 Women’s Football Development Officer (Apprenticeships) . The apprentice will be employed for a minimum of 22 months (August 2020-July 2022) and each apprentice will be tasked with addressing the drop-off in participation at ages 16-19 in female football. https://youtu.be/BHBdAyrZYDE Independent research has shown that the FA Women’s Football Apprentice model is an effective and sustainable…

FA fund for women’s football college staff – opportunity to find out more

Join our webinar at 10am on 4 March 2020 to learn more about how your college can secure a funded staff role to drive women’s football in your college. There is a new wave of FA funding to allow colleges to employ an FA Women’s Football Development Officer (apprentice) to grow participation in football and futsal across the college and within the community. Please note that any AoC Sport member college is eligible to apply for this opportunity. Find out more about the FA Women’s Football Apprentice programme. Your college does not have to deliver apprenticeships as this will be…

Invitation to tender for FA Women's Football Apprentice Programme

AoC Sport is seeking bids from registered training providers who wish to provide the training for the FA Women’s Football Apprentice programme commencing in August 2020. The FA Women’s Football programme supports 20 AoC Sport member colleges to employ apprentices in roles which develop the women’s football offer within their institution and local community. The apprenticeship standard to be delivered by the successful tenderer is the Level 3 Community Sport Health Officer apprenticeship. The aim of the programme is two-fold; to provide an FE staffing solution which develops individuals to be the future workforce for the women’s game, and to…

Skye Smith: "Women's football is an amazing community to be a part of"

Following the highly successful turnout for The FA’s inaugural Women’s Football Weekend, we spoke to one of our FA Women’s Football Apprentices to find out how they supported the initiative and what benefits football can have in the community. FA Women’s Football Apprentice Skye Smith is 19 years old and is an apprentice at Hartpury College. Journey so far My passion for football started when I was in infant school, as I was a bit of a tomboy and I wanted to like football to be more like the boys, so I started playing for my local girls’ team, Dursley…

Applications now open for additional 2019/20 FA Women’s Football Apprentice funding

ECFA, the football delivery arm of AoC Sport, is excited to announce additional funding for three more colleges to apply for a 2019/20 FA Women’s Football Apprentice. As part of the FA’s Game Plan for Growth, the FA in partnership with ECFA are investing in 23 FA Women’s Football Apprentices for the academic year. Each apprentice will be tasked with engaging 100 new female participants and 10 new female leaders, with tailored inclusion and diversity targets. Colleges are invited to apply to become a ‘host college’ for this academic year. If successful, the host college will receive a grant of…

AoC Sport continues partnership with Sports Leaders UK

Sports Leaders UK and AoC Sport have agreed to extend their long-term partnership to support colleges to develop students’ employability skills and gain recognised qualifications. Both organisations are committed to helping every young person realise their potential through the development of life-long leadership skills and behaviours, whilst increasing the number of students volunteering in sport and their local communities. The partnership will seek to continue supporting colleges to use sport and physical activity as a vehicle to achieving employability skills for life, gaining recognised qualifications, enhancing volunteering programmes and delivering on key Ofsted and character agendas. The partnership will seek…

ECFA women's football apprentice lands job at local primary school

FA Women’s Football Apprentice Maddy Ubee hopes her time at a Nottingham primary school has made an impact on girls taking up the sport. Maddy has been on the FA-funded sports development programme at Nottingham College this year, which is run by English Colleges FA (ECFA), AoC Sport’s football delivery arm. As part of the programme to encourage more girls to try football, Maddy held weekly sessions for years 5/6 and foundation year pupils at Old Basford Primary School. The sessions were organised with the help of student ambassadors, Olivia Willis and Libby Zommers and together, they arranged lots of…

International Women's Day: a spotlight on FA Women's Football Apprentice Maddy Ubee

AoC Sport is delighted to be supporting International Women’s Day – a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women – while also marking a call to action for accelerating gender balance. #Balanceforbetter is about creating a gender-balanced world so we thought we would highlight the work we are doing to help promote women’s football across the country. The week also coincides with Women’s Football Week and National Apprenticeship Week. Women’s Football Week is a great opportunity to get women and girls playing football at college. The national campaign will help The FA achieve its aim to…

One week to go until Women's Football Week 2019 (4-8 March)

AoC Sport is delighted to be supporting Women’s Football Week (4-8 March) – the upcoming national campaign to get more women participating in football. Women’s Football Week will be your college’s chance to join AoC Sport in a national campaign to raise awareness of all the incredible work the FE sector is doing to develop the women’s game. It is an opportunity to showcase what you have already got going on, promote your current activity across campus or maybe even kick-start a new programme. Lindsey Whitton, AoC Sport National Football Development Officer (Women and Girls), said: “Women’s Football Week is…

Applications open to secure funding for 2019-20 FA Women's Football Apprentice

AoC Sport is delighted to announce it has opened the window for colleges to secure funding for an FA Women’s Football Apprentice for the 2019/2020 academic year. As part of it’s women’s football strategy ‘Game Plan for Growth’, The FA, in partnership with AoC Sport, are investing in 20 FA Women’s Football Apprentices. Each apprentice will be tasked with engaging 100 new female participants and 10 new female leaders, with tailored inclusion and diversity targets. Independent research has concluded that The FA Women’s Football Apprentice model is an effective and sustainable solution to development the future workforce and drive all…

Women’s football apprentice Estelle Randall wins award for inspiring others

We are delighted to announce that one of AoC Sport’s FA Women’s Football Apprentices has received a national award at the recent Football Black List awards. Estelle Randall, a former student at South Gloucestershire and Stroud College (SGS), was recognised at the Football Black List awards, which highlights the contributions of people from African and Caribbean backgrounds to the game – a group that is under represented away from the pitch. She was highly commended in the Ugo Ehiogu Ones to Watch list as one of 30 talented people from across the football industry under the age of 30 who are…

AoC Sport launches 2017/18 Impact Report

AoC Sport is delighted to present the Impact Report for 2017/18, highlighting our work this year on behalf of colleges and students. We would like to thank you for your support, helping to cement our place as the lead organisation for college sport and physical activity. The Impact Report outlines our work in four key areas: policy, sport and activity development, football development and competitions. This is all focused on improving the education, employability and health of students. The report is available to download below. Our most significant developments included: · Producing AoC Sport’s first sport and physical activity strategy…

BLOG: Response to IFA review of Occupational Maps

AoC Sport’s Policy and Projects Officer Rachel Walker responds to the recent release of the Institute for Apprenticeships’ (IFA) response to the Occupational Maps consultation . It has been particularly disappointing for the sport and physical activity sector. With no route of its own, sport and physical activity largely remains a part of the health and science route, with Sports Psychologist being added as an occupation. However, very little else has changed, which is concerning as sport routes remain ‘apprenticeship only’ options rather than a combination of T-levels and apprenticeships. CIMSPA’s agreed occupational standards matrix is also not correctly represented in…

Personal trainer students raise the bar at WorldSkills UK Fitness Trainer competition heats

Over the last two weeks the team from AoC Sport has seen 30 competitors from 12 institutions across the UK compete in the live heat stages of the WorldSkills UK Fitness Trainer Competition. The competition manager, head judge, and team of expert judges have travelled the length and breadth of the UK to judge this year’s cohort of aspiring fitness professionals. Competition heats were held at the brand new City of Glasgow College’s city campus and the Radmoor Centre at Loughborough College, with each competitor working individually with their own client and being judged by a team of three independent expert…

AoC Sport supports Mental Health Awareness Week 2018

AoC Sport is supporting Mental Health Awareness Week (14-20 May), hosted by the Mental Health Foundation. This year the focus is on stress. Research has shown that two thirds of us experience a mental health problem in our lifetimes, and stress is a key factor in this. By tackling stress, we can go a long way to tackle mental health problems such as anxiety and depression, and, in some instances, self-harm and suicide. As part of our remit, we advocate the benefits of sport and physical activity to help improve our mental health through projects and partnerships. On our health page, we…

AoC Sport apprentice programme to undergo assessment

AoC Sport has commissioned Switch the Play to conduct an independent research project into understanding the impact of the Women’s Football Apprentice programme 2017/18. After a successful pilot year, the AoC Sport Women & Girls’ Football Apprentice programme, in partnership with The FA, has been rolled out to involve 18 colleges, 17 Apprentices and 4 interns. The project aims to create a workforce solution to driving participation in girls’ and women’s football both in the FE colleges and their local community, with a specific aim to increase the number of BAME participants. Since their appointment, this workforce has already engaged…

Applications open for FA Women’s Football Apprentice funding

AoC Sport is now inviting applications from colleges to apply for an FA Women’s Football Apprentice. The Football Association (FA) are investing in a new team of FA Women’s Football Apprentices, as part of their women’s football strategy, ‘The Gameplan for Growth’,to be employed by colleges working through AoC Sport, for the academic year 2018/19. Each apprentice will be tasked with engaging 100 new female participants and 10 new female leaders, with tailored inclusion and diversity targets. These apprentices will form part of a wider women’s football workforce in education and will enrol on a high-quality learning & development programme…

Policy and Projects Officer Matt Rhodes blogs about the sport sector and the Skills Plan

At last week’s Sport in the Curriculum Conference there was lots of discussion around the Post-16 skills plan and the future of sport departments in colleges. AoC Sport Policy and Projects Officer Matt Rhodes has written a blog about this with a call to action for colleges to respond to the current Occupational maps consultation. The intentions of the Post-16 skills plan and subsequent occupational maps are widely supported. Students, employers and providers currently face a confusing raft of qualifications and pathways to employment and further study. A model that provides clarity and parity for technical education is welcomed, however, the…

AoC Sport submits response to Occupational Maps Consultation

In November 2017 the Institute for Apprenticeships took ownership of occupational maps from the Department for Education, a resource which will help determine how occupations are categorised and in turn T levels are administered. They are now consulting on the proposed occupational maps to ensure they capture the relevant occupations in each route and that these are grouped coherently. AoC Sport has submitted the following response on behalf of the sport sector but urges colleges to also respond. a) Are there any skilled occupations you would expect to see on the map which are not currently included? The sport and…

AoC Sport Curriculum Conference – a reflection: a blog by Donna Thompson

Ahead of next week’s Sport in the Curriculum Conference Donna Thompson, Strategic Lead – Policy and Development at AoC Sport, blogs about her reflections on previous conferences and why 2018’s is not to be missed. This will be the fourth sport in the curriculum conference. How many of you, like me, have attended and thoroughly enjoyed all of them? As I reflect on the last few years I can see that so much has changed in the sector, yet nothing has changed. Back in January 2014 we had a keynote on employability and progression with a great discussion between colleges, employers and HE providers. …

AoC Sport Curriculum Conference - Wednesday 24 January 2018

The AoC Sport Curriculum Conference being held at Holywell Park, Loughborough University is the only national event dedicated to driving excellence in teaching, learning and supporting curriculum managers in sport and active leisure departments. The conference features workshops, presentations and discussions across a range of current issues for college sport, including: apprenticeships, the Post 16 Skills plan, preparing for exams and HE in FE. There will be a varied exhibition of organisations and companies with valuable offers for college sport staff. As ever, the conference offers the valuable opportunity to network with colleagues from around the country. By attending, delegates…

Loughborough College's Sarah Woodhouse claims WorldSkills UK Fitness Trainer Competition gold

Sarah Woodhouse of Loughborough College was named WorldSkills UK Fitness Trainer Competition champion on Saturday night, following two days of competition at the Skills Show. Matthew Pippard from City of Glasgow College claimed the silver medal, while Cambridge Regional College’s Harrison Fernandez came in third. Fourth-placed Ricky Raybould of Coleg Gwent was also ‘highly commended’. The AoC Sport-managed event, which ran from Thursday to Saturday at the NEC in Birmingham, was the culmination of months of competition which saw more than 150 entrants from across the UK whittled down to eight finalists, all of whom have recently completed their Level 3…

FA Girls' Football Week: "I found football as a way to communicate and begin my own journey" - Jordan, Women's Football Apprentice

AoC Sport is delighted to be supporting another FA Girls’ Football Week, taking place between Monday 6 and Sunday 12 November 2017. The FA Girls’ Football Week is a great opportunity to get women and girls playing football at your college. The national campaign will help The FA achieve its aim to double participation by 2020. Whether it be playing, training or simply learning about the beautiful game we want as many girls as possible taking part and having fun. Ahead of FA Girls’ Football Week, we spoke to one of our Women’s Football Apprentices, Jordan Reek. My football journey…

Personal Trainer finalists announced for WorldSkills UK Fitness Trainer Competition 2017

The eight finalists for this year’s WorldSkills UK Fitness Trainer Competition have been announced, ahead of The Skills Show in November. The Level 3 Personal Trainers will now head to Birmingham’s NEC Arena to take part in the showpiece final, where around 100,000 people are expected to attend across the three days. Over the summer, 40 students from 20 institutions around the country competed in live heats, and following a moderation and quality assurance process, have been whittled down to a final eight by our team of experts. This year’s finalists are: Bjorn Westman – Exeter College Chelsea Mears-Graham –…

Colleges set to capitalise on England Lionesses’ success as women’s football participation peaks

AoC Sport is set to see female football participation reach an all-time high in 2017/18, with a record number of teams entering its league and cup competitions. Following the recent success of the England Lionesses in reaching the semi-finals of the UEFA Women’s European Championships – and with more than four million viewers tuning in to their final match of the tournament – interest in women’s football has spiked over the summer. And it doesn’t look likely to diminish, with a record number of teams entering AoC Sport league and cup competitions ahead of the new academic year. The number…

Blog: WorldSkills UK Fitness Trainer Competition 2017 update and meet the judges - by Karen Stanton

Well, the Live Heats are all finished for another year and scores and marking has all been submitted to the WorldSkills UK Quality Assurance team. We are once again unbelievably two thirds of the way through another Fitness Trainer Competition cycle. The third and final stage being the very exciting action-packed event at the Skills Show in Birmingham during mid November. With a clear and dedicated focus on Personal Trainers for the first time ever, the competition has seen a fantastic array of approaches by entrants from all corners of the UK, which provided the judges with thoroughly enjoyable and…

World Health Day: College initiatives promote mental wellbeing through sport and physical activity

World Health Day is an awareness initiative started by the World Health Organisation (WHO), and this year focuses on the topic of depression. With research proving strong links between sport and physical activity, and mental wellbeing, it is fitting for AoC Sport to support World Health Day and help raise awareness. Futher education and sixth form colleges throughout the country are doing fantastic work in this area, so we have collated a number of small case studies, from which your college may be able to take ideas or inspiration. Blackpool and the Fylde College In partnership with Lancashire MIND and…

Local Partnerships

Within this section we will explore the different partnerships that colleges can make with community-based and educational organisations, to help support not only with their own delivery but also with upskilling the colleges’ football leaders, and also allowing outside organisations to use the on-site college facilities. Schools All schools could potentially be approached by colleges to create a partnership, but the ECFA would recommend that colleges look to primary and secondary schools within their own local vicinity to start as a base model for future networks. Once established within those, colleges can then start to look towards more and wider-ranging…

ECFA Committee

The ECFA Committee is one of three advisory groups to the AoC Sport Board. Its purpose is to advise the Board on: a) The strategy for growing and developing football competition and participation in colleges b) A cross college strategy for growing football and raising standards c) Building national partnerships, sponsors and community links; working towards AoC Sport vision of providing sport or physical activity for every young person d) The football budget set by the National Football Development Manager and make recommendations for obtaining additional sources of income and priority areas of expenditure e) The organisation of Category 1 leagues…

Education & Employment

Colleges are a key provider of the professional and volunteer workforce for sport – each year 100,000 students study an industry-related sport qualification at college and 25,000 students regularly volunteer in sport programmes at college. We work with partners such as Chartered Institute for the Management of Sport and Physical Activity (CIMSPA), ukactive, employers and awarding organisations to ensure and promote a clear line of sight to employment. Sport and physical activity plays an important role in developing the skills of all students, not just those studying sport. There is increasing evidence linking sport participation to enhanced employability skills and…

Contact us

Director Dean HardmanDirector of Sport and Student Experience 07341094942dean.hardman@aoc.co.ukLeading the strategic development and operational delivery of AoC’s work in supporting colleges to enhance the student experience both inside and outside the curriculum, including developing student participation in sport and physical activity, arts, culture, work experience, social action and citizenship. Competitions, Leagues and Cups Andy PerlejewskiCompetitions Manager01935 823444 / 07780 857153andy.perlejewski@aoc.co.ukResponsibilities: Development, structure and rules of all AoC Sport competitions Ian BarberSenior Competition Administration Officer01935 823444 / 07780 858520ian.barber@aoc.co.ukResponsibilities: Category 1 football and cups, football rep teams Vanessa BowenSenior Competition Administrator 01935 823444vanessa.bowen@aoc.co.ukResponsibilities: Hockey and netball national teams, National Championships and…

Policy

The AoC Sport policy team engage partners and decision makers on the issues that impact on our members’ ability to offer their students a diverse sport and physical activity offer and deliver a high quality study programme. Our reports and research seek to bring national attention to the important role of the physical activity sector in dealing with a number of societal issues, from inactivity and health to youth violence and employability. We advocate the wide-ranging role of colleges from engaging inactive young people from underrepresented groups, through to providing high quality support and opportunities for talented athletes. Colleges also…

Blog: Are students completing sport and physical activity courses really employable?

I sat with a group of employers last week – four of them will be levy payers – and they asked us to outline the amount of investment dedicated to training people in our sector, writes Colin Huffen – AoC Sport Strategic Lead (Policy). Our very rough calculations estimate it’s between £1.1 and £1.4 billion per year. As I said, my calculations are rough but broken down; 75,000 students in Higher Education – £600 million. 400,000 certificates issued by awarding organisations for short courses, a conservative estimate – £300 million industry. Employers invest £100-£300 million on internal staff training. EFA…

Weymouth College scoops AoC Beacon Award for Sport in the Curriculum

Weymouth College’s second AoC Beacon Award in three years for Sport in the Curriculum is “testimony to the tremendous hard work of the staff and students in the Sport and Public services team”, according to Head of School for Sport and Public Services Martin Oliver. The South West college was presented with the award – sponsored by VTCT – by comedian Jon Culshaw at last week’s AoC Annual Conference and Exhibition in Birmingham, for inspiring students to achieve, develop and excel through sport, health and fitness – a key feature of the college’s sport and public services curriculum. Martin Oliver,…

Girls' Football Week profile - Emily Simpkins

To celebrate The FA Girls’ Football Week, AoC Sport will be profiling a different member of the football community each day over the coming week. Today, we catch up with former college footballer Emily Simpkins, who is now a full-time professional in the FA Women’s Super League with Doncaster Belles. What was your involvement in football at college? From 16-18 I was on a two-year coaching apprenticeship with Derby County In The Community, delivering coaching sessions in schools and at the weekends. What roles have you had in football and what helped you get there? I got an apprenticeship with Derby…

Students and colleges recognised for outstanding achievements in AoC Sport awards

The winners of the College Sport Awards 2016 were announced during AoC Sport’s College Sport Conference at The International Centre, Telford, this week. Five categories were listed for this year’s awards, with colleges asked to nominate students and programmes over the last six weeks. These awards celebrate the very best of college sport, and this year the categories were: Inspirational Student of the Year Sport Apprentice or Student Activator of the Year Student Performer of the Year Outstanding Developments in a College Sport Programme Best College/Employer Relationship The nominees and winners for each category were: Inspirational Student of…

AoC Sport welcomes Lord Sainsbury report and new skills plan

AoC Sport, in partnership with the Chartered Institute for the Management of Sport and Physical Activity (CIMSPA), has reviewed with interest the Report of the Independent Panel on Technical Education, chaired by Lord Sainsbury, and broadly agrees with all 34 recommendations made. AoC Sport has concerns that the sport and physical activity sector isn’t given its own direct route within the plans, despite the fact it is key area of growth within the economy underpinned by significant technical knowledge and skills. The underlying principle of a single set of standards, developed by employers, for those studying academic or technical qualifications,…

Top reasons to attend the College Sport Conference 2016

The College Sport Conference 2016 takes place at The International Centre, Telford, later this month, with the ‘Fit for Work’ strand of AoC Sport’s ‘Fit for College, Fit for Work, Fit for Life’ strategy taking centre stage. The conference this year will run alongside the ukactive Flame Conference, on Tuesday 28 June. There are a few spaces still remaining to join us on the day, and here are the top four reasons to attend: Gain national sports development policy updates from the key agencies Be the first to hear about new initiatives and opportunities for the sector and discover…

Response to Sport England's new strategy: What does the future of sport and physical activity in colleges look like?

On 19 May 2016, Sport England launched its strategy to take us to 2021. It sets out their vision that everyone, regardless of their age, background or level of ability should feel able to engage in sport and physical activity. Further education is central to the delivery of the strategy. The strategy recognises that young people experience many transitions, physically and emotionally, including the move to further education. This will be a focus for Sport England’s work and investment. With funding in the right areas, colleges will be able to change the behaviour of the 200,000 16 to 19-year-old students…

College Sport Awards 2016 nominations now open

The College Sport Awards will once again be presented at The College Sport Conference on 28 June at Telford International Centre. These awards celebrate the best of college sport and we encourage you to recognise the many outstanding achievements of your colleagues, students and colleges by nominating them this month. The categories this year are: Inspirational Student of the Year Student Performer of the Year Outstanding Developments in a College Sports Programme Best College-Employer Relationship Sport Apprentice or Student Activator of the Year Best Sport and Physical Activity Provision in an Apprenticeship Programme Full details can be found on the AoC…

Register for the College Sport Conference 2016

One year on from the launch of the strategy ‘Fit for College, Fit for Work, Fit for Life’ The College Sport Conference will focus on the ‘Fit for Work’ strand to celebrate the outstanding work of colleges in developing appropriately skilled, fully rounded and resilient young people ready to move into employment or progress to HE. With the Government focus on apprenticeships and employability the conference will look at how sport can contribute to these agendas, both directly and indirectly. The conference will also consider the professionalisation of our sector, working with CIMSPA to ensure quality of opportunities and encourage…

AoC Sport trains and appoints judging team for the WorldSkills UK Fitness Trainer Competition

The WorldSkills UK Fitness Trainer Competition is the first of its’ kind for the active leisure industry and is developing strong relationships with industry partners such as CIMSPA, UK Active, Active IQ and Future Fit Training to name a few. As these relationships develop, so does the reach of the competition in all stages, not least in our judging team. AoC Sport, as manager of this competition, has recruited and trained a team of 22 judges drawn from across the sector who will work under Karen Stanton as head judge through our passive stage, live regional heats, UK semi-finals and…

AoC Sport launches refreshed national standards for college sport

AoC Sport is delighted to be able to present ‘Towards Outstanding’ – our refreshed national standards for college sport and physical activity. The document, launched at the AoC Sport in the Curriculum Conference, is a set of national standards and a self-assessment tool to share good practice, demonstrate the value of physical activity and sport to all curriculum areas, and develop and sustain excellent practice in colleges. This edition has been updated to reflect the 2015 Ofsted Common Inspection Framework and ‘Fit for College, Fit for Work, Fit for Life’, the 2015-2020 national strategy for college sport and physical activity.…