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STA RECOGNISED ACHIEVER'
To celebrate and recognise the work of pool operators and swim schools that are committed to the STA's range of qualifications and services, Melissa Phillips, Head of Business Development will be profiling a ‘STA Recognised Achiever' in each issue of Swim & Save over the course of the next year.
"Hopefully by launching this NEW ‘STA Recognised Achiever' column in the December 2008 issue of Swim & Save, we can promote examples of best practice and exchange new ideas in the process," says Melissa.
Launched in the December issue of Swim & Save, the STA’s new Recognised Achiever award has been introduced to celebrate and recognise the work of pool operators and swim schools that are committed to the STA’s range of qualifications and services. In each of the magazine issues this year, Melissa Phillips, Head of Business Development will be nominating a ‘STA Recognised Achiever’.
December 2008 Achiever / February 2009 Achiever / April 2009 Achiever / July 2009 Achiever / August 2010
August 2010 - STA Recognised Achiever
Laura Bower, the STA’s Regional Sales Manager has taken over the STA Recognised Achiever column, which sets out to recognise the work of pool operators and swim schools, and promote examples of industry best practice. In this first column, Laura recognises the achievements of the Coventry Sports Foundation and speaks exclusively to Kayle Burgham, the Foundation’s Senior Sports Development Officer, to understand how the STA has played a key role in their success.
Let’s start by providing a brief potted history to your relationship with the STA...
The Sports Foundation first contacted the STA about 8 years ago, as they were looking for more cost effective ways of delivering Swimming Teacher training. At the time the remit was to train more Swimming Teachers and to expand the Aquarius Swim School.
Today we use all the STA’s Swimming Teaching, Lifeguarding and First Aid qualifications. Every year we run four STC(B) and two STC(F) courses as well as four Lifeguard courses.
We also organise First Aid courses for our Duty Managers, Sports Staff and Sports Coaches, and provide annual refreshers for all of our staff.
How has your relationship with the STA developed during this time?
Since speaking to the STA in 2002 the Partnership has gone from strength to strength. Significantly, a full time Swimming Development Officer post was created which enabled us to significantly grow our swimming lesson programmes. In fact, with the support of the STA, we have increased the allocation of local schools swimming from 3 to 42 schools, and we now host 195 after school swimming classes a week, each with 8 to 10 children.
What about growth in other areas?
Initially our relationship with the STA was very much focussed on training, developing and sustaining Swimming Teachers and Lifeguards. However, it quickly became apparent that the STA had a lot more to offer, and we are now using the STA’s range of First Aid courses to train all of our Sports Centre staff Duty Managers and Sports Coaches across the Foundation.
Such as been the success of the STA’s courses that my role has also evolved from Swimming Development Officer to Senior Sports Development Officer. I am now responsible for coach development, and the qualifications and ongoing training for all staff across our three sites.
How important has the STA been to this success?
At Coventry Sports Foundation we have identified that in-house training is the key to obtaining significant cost savings, and raising standards and the STA continues to play a vital role in helping us achieve this.
By investing in training for me as an individual, the Foundation is saving themselves thousands of pounds every year. As an STA Tutor across a number of disciplines, I can run all the courses in-house including Swimming Teaching, Lifeguarding and First Aid and specialist areas like disability swimming, manual handling and customer care. I’m also able to run external courses and bring in additional income to offset the cost of my position, which helps to make my role a self sustainable one.
The STA also gives us the freedom to schedule courses to suit our needs, there are no restrictions placed upon us in terms of when we can run our courses or how much we charge. Significantly, there are no additional costs to pay to become an approved training centre.
Under the STA’s model it is the Tutor, rather than the venue, that is accredited. This means that to run STA courses the only cost to Coventry Sports Foundation is the cost of the Candidate Manuals.
What about the support you receive from the STA?
The support that we receive from the STA’s Course Department and the Business Development Team is truly world class, and I would have no hesitation in recommending their products and services to any leisure operator.
Have you found any other benefits of working with the STA?
Yes, we achieve ongoing cost savings by working with the STA. The nature of the Leisure Industry means that we have a very high turnover of staff, and as a consequence we have to run courses on a continuous basis in order to train new staff members. We find that the STA’s prices are very reasonable in comparison to other providers in the market, and we still achieve the same high quality training and qualifications at a fraction of the price.
What do your staff / external customers think about the new STA qualifications?
They all agree the STA qualifications give Lifeguards and Swimming Teachers the underpinning knowledge that they need to get straight on with the job. The STA deliver high quality courses which are fit for purpose and provide excellent supporting materials and resources.
Moving forward, what are the priorities for your team?
Coventry Sports Foundation already runs a large number of in-house and external training courses, but we are always on the lookout for new and innovative ideas. This is where we really benefit from our relationship with the STA, as they are receptive to our new ideas and pro-active in developing new courses. We are especially interested in the new Snorkelling and Sea Scooter programmes.
Ultimately the goal is to have more STA Tutors at Coventry Sports Foundation. To achieve this, my ambition is to reach National Tutor Status so that I will be able to run training courses for STA Tutors.
July 2009 - STA Recognised Achiever
Continuing our series of 'STA Recognised Achievers', Melissa Phillips, the STA's Head of Business Development has this month nominated John Lyon Swim School, London. Here, Melissa speaks exclusively to Jo Cooper, the Swim School Co-ordinator and who is also responsible for organising Swimming Teacher Training courses, Lifeguard training and lifesaving training for the company's Swim Teachers. Jo Is also the STA's new Regional Organiser for London.
Let's start by explaining the qualifications and services that the STA provide your organisation
John Lyon Swim School teaches 700 pupils every day of the week and we limit the class sizes to suit the standard of each of the 12 levels, from just a maximum of 5 for the under fives and beginners, increasingly progressing to a maximum of 11 for the advanced groups. As a result, we manage a large team of staff and so use the STA's STC (B) and STC (F) qualifications to ensure the highest standards of teaching.
Why did you choose the STA's Swimming Teaching Qualifications?
I am in the business of training teachers to teach swimming on the poolside. Nearly all of our team have been trained by me at some stage, thus providing continuity in teaching methods. And we find that the STA programmes are more conducive to the teaching of swimming and preparing people to go onto the poolside with a group of children and teach them the basic strokes and safety techniques competently.
The content of the STC (B) and STC (F) is relevant tot he teaching of learn to swim programmes. It covers all aspects of teaching, including child development, delivery, teaching principles etc, but the main focus is on the strokes and skills, i.e what a teacher actually delivers to pupils on poolside.
We also like the structured 'flexibilty' of the programmes as each STC (B) or STC (F) course we deliver is different given the diversity of the candidates. There may be ex swimmers, lifeguards, university graduates, students, parents and those who simply want a career change. On my last course there were three children whose first language was not English and I have candidates whose learning has been hampered throughout their life through dyslexia. Therefore, every course has to be adapted to meet the needs of those in front of me and not restricted to a set of slides, which will not suit all.
Health and Safety is also upmost in the running of our pool and we applaud the fact that the STA do not award their teaching qualifications unless the candidate has a certificate that states they could rescue a pupil if necessery. We firmly agree with the fact that this rescue qualification is kept up to date and we are glad that the teacher's qualification only continues to be valid if this is renewed bi-annually.
We also like the individual assessment of the candidate's 'aptitude to teach' at the completion of the course, as we feel that only those with the capability to instruct pupils competently and safely will qualify.
What about the support you receive from the STA?
The staff at Anchor House are always helpful. I know when I ring they will give me an answer. For example, when I first took on the STC courses I found the paperwork involved in running a teachers course extensive, but there was always someone from the STA available to guide me through this. Courses are also processed efficiently and candidates receive their certificates quickly once they have finished the course.
Do you feel you made the right decision converting over to the STA over 12 months ago?
Yes. The STA swimming teaching courses lead the way; they are designed to produce teachers that are proficient and confident in their teaching skills. We are also now currently reviewing our Swim School programme with the idea of changing to the STA Learn to Swim awards programme.
Moving forward, what are the priorities for your Swim School?
John Lyon Swim School runs a "bespoke" swimming teaching service. Our mission is to teach competently and to assess fairly. Fair assessments mean that in each group there are children of the same ability. This then means that the teacher can focus on progressing pupils and not be held up by weaker swimmers. We listen to parent's comments and address any issues arising from them. We have built up the swim school on our reputation by word of mouth alone. We do not and are not allowed to advertise in any other form.
April 2009's STA Recognised Achiever
Continuing our series of "STA Recognised Achievers', Melissa Phillips, the STA's Head of Business Development has this month nominated Kent County Council (KCC). here, Melissa speaks exclusively to Sharon Denney, Teacher Adviser for PE at the Advisory Service Kent, Kent significance of adopting the NaRS Pool Safety Award across all of its region.
Why did you first adopt the NaRS Pool Safet Award?
The introduction of this Award followed a re-evaluation of our existing pool safety policy "Safe Practice in School Swimming and Water Safety" which identified a need for any school staff, who attend or participate in teaching or supervising swimming lessons, to have achieved a minimum level of skill training in pool safety. This review indentified how much more robust our swimming policy needed to be, and at that point we took the decision to conduct a major overhaul and contacted the STA.
In 2007, KCC launched a new Health and Safety policy for School Swimming and Water Safety for its 600 schools, and the Pool Safety Award was written into his specification as the minimum requirement needed by schools staff responsible for children's swimming lessons.
KCC has been working with the STA since this time to qualify teachers so that they can provide lifesaving cover during school swimming lessons, and to better equip secondary teachers who take swimming lessons. KCC has also introduced a rolling programme of STA teacher training courses including coaching and safety qualifications and Continual Professional Development (CPD) sessions.
Why did you initially choose the STA's qualifications?
Apart from the fact that the STA was the only organisation in the country providing this type of pool safety qualification for the education sector, the STA's courses are also recognised by the QCA. Importantly they have also been specifically designed for educationally trained and practicing teachers, so they are not too legnthy or onerous. The distance learning option for the Secondary Teachers course also made this ideal choice for teachers who worked full-time in schools.
How have the teachers reacted to the new training?
In general, feedback has been very positive. Teachers have found the Pool Safet Award very straightforward and ideal for preparing them for the role of lifesaver during a school lesson. In the case of the Secondary Teacher's Certificate, there were some reservations initially from teachers questioning the value of this course, but after attending they reported that they felt much more confident in their teaching, and that they had really benefited from completing the course. They were also pleased to have the recognition of a certificate.
What do you believe you have achieved?
We have been able to create a real step change in the knowledge and experience of our teachers in relation to the delivery of school swimming lessons. We believe that pupils in Kent are now safer and better taught then ever before when they participate in school swimming lessons.
Have there been any other benefits?
The open and development approach of the STA has enabled us to engage in some very frank discussions about the specific requirements of our organisation, and to befin to explore the possibility of developing their existing qualifications structure to better suit our needs. This has been a refreshing approach, and we believe that it has enabled both organisations to respond to the need for change within the education sector.
And, your plans for the future?
Having tackled the largest obstacle of developing the knowledge base of hundreds of teachers, we are now looking towards structures to enable teachers to access continuing professional development for swimming. This should ensure that our teachers are regularly updated on best practice within this area.
BACKGROUND
In 2008, Kent County Council, which has the responsibility for the education of over 200,000 children in primary, secodary and special schools across its geography, adopted the STA's Pool Safety Award as a standard across all of its 600 schools.
The joint initiative, which was the first of its kind int he UK, followed the Council's re-evaluation of its swimming safety policy "Safe Practice in School Swimming and Water Safety". As one of the Uk's leading QCA accredited awarding bodies concerned with swimming teaching and water safety, the STA designed the Pool Safety Award in response to the gap in the training experience of many school teachers and staff. It is a fit-for-purpose qualification that provides all the necessary life saving and rescue skills teaching staff need to deal competently with poolside related incidents.
Roger Millward, STA's Chief Executive, said: "The issue regarding teachers completing their teaching degree, and having limited swimming and/or water rescueskills remains a real concern. To date many of the awards that have been available to teachers have had limited success, because they have not been designed with the school teacher in mind; in general terms they have been pool safety awards that were created for other professions and then adapted."
"Therefore STA is leading the way with the Pool Safety Award, as no other qualification currently exists that has been specifically developed for school teachers."
Roger added: "Kent is one of the largest Councils in the UK with a CPA "excellent" rated, so training needs to meet high expectations. We are delighted to be working together with Kent to form this partnership and to introduce the STA's market leading scheme, which will ensure that the schools and their teaching staff are appropriately qualified whilst supervising structured swimming activities."
"From a management perspective, the introduction of the Pool Safety Award will also help Kent County Council address issues of due diligence and compliance with HSG 179 and BAALPE "Safe Practice in Physical Education and School Sport", " he concluded.
February 2009's STA Recognised Achiever
This month it is the turn of the Community Leisure Association of Whitworth (CLAW), and here Melissa speaks exclusively to Shirley Henderson (Director on Board of Trustees) and Michelle Barker (Swimming Teacher) about their partnership with the STA. But first, here is a brief background which illustrates the organisation’s extraordinary beginnings and subsequent growth.
About CLAW
Following the closure of Whitworth Swimming Pool, the Community Leisure Association of Whitworth (CLAW) was formed in 2002 by a group of local volunteers. The initial aim of the Association, which is a registered limited company with charity status, was to obtain grants, funds, donations and other financial assistance, and to apply these to the repair and improvement of Whitworth Swimming Pool to enable it to be re-opened. This was successfully achieved in June 2003.
Part of the agreement with Rossendale Borough Council (RBC), on the re-opening of the pool, was to incorporate the running of the Civic Hall. However before an agreement could be finalised, the Civic Hall was destroyed by fire in December 2003.
Following the fire, CLAW with the backing of the local community, actively sought an agreement with RBC to rebuild the Civic Hall on its original site. Finally in February 2005, RBC agreed to rebuild the Civic Hall, now The Riverside, funded mainly through the insurance money.
Today, the objectives of CLAW, which is made of a Board of Trustees who are all volunteers, is to provide a professional and effective management of the facilities at the Whitworth Leisure Centre and The Riverside that will secure the confidence of users, investors and the Local Authority. To achieve this and be successful, the Association is dependent on its ability to:
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Develop a working relationship with Rossendale Borough Council as a representative body of the community of Whitworth.
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Give confidence to the local community that the Association has the ability to secure the future, and develop the Leisure Centre and The Riverside.
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Ensure that as a team it has the energy, enthusiasm and willingness to carry out its objectives.
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Ensure that it provides effective communitcation with the local public, to ensure they have full awareness of the Association's actions and their consequences.
CLAW's Organisational Chart
As part of this forward- looking strategy, CLAW engaged the support of the STA in December 2007 and adopted the STA's Swimming Tutor and Teaching qualifications at the Whitworth Swimming Club.
In just a few short years, CLAW has gone from an Association initially set up by volunteers to stop their local pool closing, to an organisation that has the significant responsibilities and objectives to achieve.
Taking these factors into account, why did you choose to work with the STA?
Initially we reviewed our swimming teaching courses and qualifications because of the spiralling costs, which is when we were first introduced to the STA. Then on reviewing your first proposed development plan, we soon recognised that the STA was a forward thinking organisation, like ourselves, and was interested and cared about what was happening in swimming. There were many other practical reasons too, like the fact that you are able to provide quality and cost effective teaching courses and CPD seminars locally.
What do your staff/external customers think about the new STA products and services?
The response has been very positive, especially because of the support we have received from you Melissa and the team at Anchor House. The new awards and badges have also been received very well by our teachers and parents, with teachers liking the fact they are meaningful and parents appreciating their affordability. We also think the SwimShop is great, and we have utilised the special offers on equipment many times! One of the biggest benefits though, has to be the STA website; with all the information we need in an easy downloadable format it has made life much easier for all the swimming staff here.
Since joining the STA, have you seen any specific service or business improvements?
As a swimming club, we have been able to provide cost effective, local training and attract new teachers. Existing teachers have also benefitted by being given the opportunity to renew and learn new skills through the conversion courses. Insurance is another huge benefit thanks to the very reasonable cost of STA membership. And again, from a business efficiency point of view, I must mention the website again; it is full of useful information, it’s easy to use and find information like the contact details for STA staff – it really has proved to be an excellent support tool.
Have there been any other benefits?
Yes, the swimming club now has a fresh new approach in its teaching methods, and with this new lease of life, everyone is very excited about the future. Furthermore, the club’s new changes and successes have had a positive knock-on effect with other organisations in the region. For example, the Leisure Centre has now fully converted over to the STA and three other organisations that form part of our Rossendale Swim Forum have made enquiries.
Moving forward, what organisational goals and priorities does the club have?
The immediate priority is to provide CPD’s on-site, so that volunteers do not have to incur personal costs for external courses and development days.
Any final comments?
To support the Association’s objectives, our goals are to provide training for our young poolside helpers, to encourage more volunteers to gain qualifications, and to ensure all of our swimmers gain key life saving skills and meaningful qualifications.
Emily Hedley, Dale Blezard, Alyssa Barker & Samantha Law are all Poolside Helpers at WSC
December 2008's STA Recognised Achiever
The first ‘Recognised Achiever' to be nominated is Barnsley Premier Leisure (BPL), and here Melissa exclusively speaks to Joanne Loy, Training and Development Manager about their partnership with the STA.
Let's start by explaining the qualifications and services that the STA provide BPL?
Okay. We converted to the STA earlier this year and we have already successfully taken on the swimming teacher qualifications, the disability teaching qualification, Aquacise and all the NaRS first aid at work awards. At the end of October we also officially integrated the STA's Learn to Swim programme into both school and private lessons throughout the organisation.
There are also plans to start running the STA's Manual Handling and Golf Specific First Aid courses in the near future.
What influenced your decision to convert over to the STA?
BPL previously used the ASA swimming teaching qualifications, but we weren't happy with the route that the ASA were taking with the development of the new UKCC qualifications. We felt that their new qualifications were becoming too academic with not enough practical teaching application.
We wanted a ‘softer' rounded approach for our teacher qualifications; a qualification that was ‘fit for purpose' but with the same degree of quality, which is what prompted our discussions with the STA.
As an organisation we felt that the STA provided the right tools for our swimming teachers to become better qualified and have an improved understanding about teaching. We felt that the course content and delivery was better all round.
What do your staff / external customers think about the new STA qualifications?
They all agree that the STA deliver high quality courses, the content is relevant and that the course materials provided are excellent.
Since joining the STA have you seen any specific service or business improvements?
Fundamentally, the STA has given the organisation a ‘one stop shop' for all its training needs. This has helped tremendously in terms of the number of training qualifications we are now able to offer and deliver, and not just for our own in-house staff but also to the wider community.
We now do more in-house training than we ever did before, providing more staff with more qualifications, which is beneficial to both the individual and the organisation. And, as a result of the STA's keen pricing structures we are able to be very cost competitive when promoting our training services to the community, which is increasingly important in today's economic market and especially because we operate as a Trust with a ‘duty' to provide public services.
Another knock-on effect to all this extra training is that we are now finding that we are recruiting more teachers from our courses so we have no shortage of teachers. This means that we do not struggle anymore with swimming lesson cover and this is having a positive impact on our income.
Have there been any more benefits?
Yes, we have seen an increase in attendance at swimming lessons, and we hope this will continue as we start to promote the new Learn to Swim programme.
Also, in line with adopting the new qualifications we have instigated regular swimming teachers meetings and set up a development group. This provides an opportunity to inform everyone about the latest developments, they can share and feedback their views allowing them to be part of the decision making processes - we now have a really motivated team as a result.
In addition, BPL has developed a new 1-1 mentoring scheme which provides new teachers with a mentor pre and post training. This has proved immensely successful and has had a really positive impact on our service delivery standards.
Moving forward, what are BPL's goals and priorities for the future?
Firstly we want to promote and further expand our first aid training programme to a wider non -leisure business community. In 2009, we also need to review the additional services that the STA can offer the organisation as part of its ‘one stop shop' service, like the NaRS lifeguarding programmes.
The ultimate goal for BPL over the next 12 months is achieving STAmark accreditation, as this has underpinned all the activity that we have so far implemented with the STA.
Any final comments?
Just one more point that has not been mentioned! We would like to highlight the STA's support and service. Since joining the STA, we have found the ease of access to staff unsurpassable; there is always someone at the other end of phone that can help or advise - this has been an incredibly important factor as part of this whole transition process. As a result of this and the quality of the STA's qualifications, we now actively advocate the STA to the wider community and neighbouring authorities.
Dave Redfern, Area Manager for Barnsley Premier Leisure added: "BPL has embraced Swimming Development as part of its culture. Not only does it cross-cut many of the company's strategic aims, it also serves the Barnsley Borough to promote swimming as a key life skill. I feel that BPLs' partnership with the STA from the very onset of this journey has been instrumental in achieving some of the excellent outputs we are currently experiencing."
