Coaching North West was proposed as a concept in late 2005/early 2006 and by a newly formed multi agency regional coaching management group. This group was established at the wishes of the Regional Sports Board in response to the board's desire to ensure that the needs of coaching and coaching and in response to the challenges that were emerging from the UK Coaching Framework.
The Coaching Agency Pilot was the first and to date most significant initiative emerging from the Coaching North West group. The agency project was developed in response to a number of regional workforce surveys which identified that the demand for suitably qualified paid and unpaid coaches will increase dramatically over the next 4 years. The SALSPA Action Plan identified that coaching vacancies were common place across the region and that there will be an increased demand for as many 3500 full time equivalent coaches by 2012. This estimate has recently been exacerbated by the demands that will be placed on the region as it responds to the challenges set by the five hour offer*. The same research also reinforced the fact that currently 80% of the coaching workforce are volunteers and that we had little knowledge about who they were or what they did or how they are currently being supported.
In order to implement the pilot, Cross Rocks CIC* submitted a bid to Sport England for funding from the community investment fund and began work in partnership with Sport England, Sports Coach UK, the county sports partnerships of Greater Manchester and Merseyside and a number of Regional Governing Bodies to develop a pilot system that is embodied in this web site.
The pilot was due to run to August 2008 but has recently been extended to March 2009 to ensure that the local authorities, sports, schools, sports clubs and commercial operators currently working with the pilot are provided with an ongoing service until the eventual operators of the project are able to take the service forward.
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* SALSPA - Sport and Active Leisure Skills and Productivity Alliance (Action Plan 2006 - 2012)
* Five hour offer -The Five Hour Offer is for five to16-year-olds with the objective of providing two hours high quality curriculum PE and three hours of sport beyond the curriculum delivered through a range of school, community and club providers.
* Cross Rocks CIC - A community interest company which supports the development of individuals and organisations in the sport