Clubs
Clubmark
Clubmark is the Sport England cross sport quality accreditation for clubs with junior sections.
NGBs accredit clubs that comply with minimum operating standards in four areas:
- The playing or participation programme
- Duty of care and child protection
- Sports equity and ethics
- Club management
Clubmark demonstrates to partners, parents and young people that Clubmark accredited clubs are:
Clubmark Website
For more information on Clubmark in your sport, please click here.
To access Sport England club resources, please click here.
Young People - Our Sporting Future
Sports clubs that make provision for children and young people make an enormous contribution to the social and sporting life of our nation.
They do not just provide an opportunity for our youngest participants to learn a sport, they give them opportunities to socialise, to improve their self-confidence and self-esteem, and at the time ensure they enjoy the sheer pleasure of participation.
And when such clubs involve, motivate and coach young participants well, they give them a love for their sport that will remain with them for the rest of their lives and ensure that they develop to be the best that they can be.
But this alone is not enough. It is vital that sports clubs provide an environment that is safe. Recognising and meeting their duty of care and child protection responsibilities.
So the challenge to all clubs who work with, or want to work with, children and young people, is to provide a quality experience that is both safe and attractive to the participants and to those that care for them.
A nationwide promotion for sports clubs...
The Sport England Clubmark, safe, effective child-friendly scheme is a nationally adopted set of standards for enabling National Governing Bodies of sport (NGB's) and affiliated clubsto set and meet standards that will lead to better quality sports clubs provision for children and young people.
The Sport England scheme applies across a wide range of sports. It is promoted nationally to enable parents, carers and young people to quickly recognise a club that is committed to providing a quality experience.
Acknowledging the best...
Clubs that take up the challenge of developing their standards to the national benchmarks will work towards Clubmark accreditation, to meet the safe, effective, child friendly criteria. These cover four key areas of a club's provision: -
- The playing programme
- Duty of care and child protection
- Sport equity and ethics
- Club management
Clubmark is an ongoing programme to include a large number of clubs across a wide variety of sports. Accredited clubs will be able to display the Sport England Clubmark logo. Where a club is not accredited, those wishing to recommend a club to young people should seek assurance that it is working towards accreditation.
What are the benefits to sports clubs?
Clubs that work towards gaining Sport England Clubmark accreditation will be able to: -
- Receive support from Sports Development professionals.
- Improve the quality of coaches so that the club can be more appealing and competitive.
- Access workshops to gain knowledge in relation to motivating young people, protecting them and developing the club in the right way.
- Become a member of the Step into Sport volunteer programme, gaining access to specialist support and materials regarding the recruitment, management, retention and motivation of a volunteer workforce.
Clubs that gain Sport England Clubmark accreditation will: -
- Become better organised as a club and be prepared to further develop.
- Increase membership to ensure the future of the club whilst increasing the skill base of its members
- Become networked within local and national sports organisations that can provide further support to clubs with Clubmark accreditation
- Be promoted in within local community and on a national sports club database.