|
Contrary to popular belief, research conducted by the Institute for Volunteering Research highlights that many young people, whilst disliking the term ‘volunteering’, believe in the value of voluntary work both to their local community and as a development tool for themselves.
Youth volunteering has risen dramatically up the political agenda. This has led to the creation of new opportunities and incentives. For example, ‘citizenship’ will become part of the national curriculum for schools from January 2002, encouraging young people to be aware of and to become involved in all kinds of local community activity.
Sport has a great deal to offer to young people and they have a great deal to offer in return. They are generally encouraged to get involved in sport as participants and performers. Such an investment in sport encourages them to:
- develop as individuals and team players
- establish a strong code of fair play
- establish life long habits of exercise and activity for their physical well being.
Sport should be fun and should cater for all young people, whatever their level of ability, but it does not only provide the opportunity to play - lots of young people enjoy being involved as organisers, officials, time-keepers, referees and administrators. We need to captivate this enthusiasm and interest so that we can build the next generation of skilled, and experienced sports volunteers.
The main purpose of involving volunteers is to reduce the workload, not to increase it. At first, it may appear that the extra planning required to recruit and manage young volunteers will outweigh the benefits. However, once a club has established a system that is attractive to its volunteers, the benefits of their skills and knowledge will soon begin to show through.
This factsheet aims to:
- identify the benefits of recruiting young people as volunteers
- explain what young people want from volunteering in sport
- highlight existing barriers for young volunteers
- introduce you to some of the programmes that exist to support the development of young people as sports volunteers
- explain how best to recruit young people as volunteers
Benefits of recruiting young volunteers
What can you gain by employing young people as volunteers? Think about the following contributions they could bring to your organisation:
- a wider base of volunteers to choose from
- new and fresh ideas
- new skills, particularly in IT
- an investment for the future
- energy and enthusiasm
- they can relate to your younger club members
- they may attract younger members who may stay to become team champions
What do young people want from volunteering in sport?
According to the National Centre for Volunteering, obstacles preventing young people from volunteering can be grouped under five main headings. The good news is that the Institute for Volunteering Research shows us how we can overcome these obstacles by listening to the things young people have said they want from their volunteering experience.
|
Obstacle: Young people are unaware of the considerable personal benefits volunteering can bring to them. |
|
How to overcome: Incentives
There are many demands on a young person’s time. Clubs need to be able to offer young volunteers some incentive, eg a reference, a qualification, training in a specific skill, or a certificate to show to prospective employers or to use as part of their university application. It is up to you to explain what young volunteers can expect to receive, and don’t forget to mention the intangible benefits such as confidence and self-respect. Present volunteering to young people as an opportunity they cannot afford to miss. |
|
Obstacle: Volunteering is seen as ‘boring’ |
|
How to overcome: Provide experience and variety
Young people need to see volunteering as a vehicle to broaden their experience, learn new skills, to face new challenges and to enhance their personal records of achievement. Varying the type of work and roles will potentially extend a young person’s time commitment and motivate them to do well. Adopting a team approach by getting a group of young volunteers to work on a variety of jobs would mean responsibilities would be shared and more flexibility achieved. It would provide a much wider range of experience than a ‘one-person/one job’ approach. |
|
How to overcome: Provide a few laughs
Although volunteering has its serious side, it also has to be fun or young people will vote with their feet. Most of us prefer to work with like-minded people and have some fun now and then – volunteers are no exception. A team of young people working together will develop a social side to their voluntary involvement. |
|
Obstacle: Volunteering has a reputation for being badly organized |
|
How to overcome: Organisation
Young people want to feel that their time is being used effectively and efficiently, that they are working within a safe infrastructure, where they know what is expected of them. Too often, young volunteers are thrown in at the deep end and left to sink or swim. They do not want to be regimented or heavily supervised, but they need to know where to go for advice and support, and how to take the opportunity to progress to new levels of responsibility when they are ready. A well-organised system for supporting and managing volunteers is best achieved through the role of a volunteer coordinator and by providing proper induction training for new volunteers (please refer to VIP Good Practice Guide 2 for more information on the role of a volunteer coordinator). |
|
Obstacle: "Volunteering is only for white, middle-class, middle aged women with time on their hands – not for people like me." |
|
How to overcome: Legitimacy
Volunteering isn’t ‘cool’ – it is often seen as old fashioned, philanthropic, and only associated with ‘worthy’ causes. For young people, being a sports volunteer needs to have a positive image. Take a look at the way you promote volunteering in your club:
- Is it about committees, commitment, formality and older people, or is it accessible and attractive to youngsters?
- What is the average age of the volunteers in your club?
- Do some older members have a negative attitude to young people being given responsibility?
- Can volunteers relate to the person recruiting them?
|
|
How to overcome: Ease of Access
Lots of young people don’t volunteer because they don’t know how to and no one asks them!
Meet David, a 16 year-old Community Sports Leader who has just completed his award at school. He has played sport in school clubs, enjoys cricket and appreciates that he is not going to achieve great heights as a player. He really enjoyed organising the school cricket tournament and working with the younger children from the local primary schools in the TOP Link Cricket Festival. He’s moving on to the Sixth Form College next year, doesn’t know anybody in the local cricket club and finds it very difficult to pluck up courage to just ‘go along and volunteer’.
The cricket club is crying out for volunteers to help with their Kwik Cricket programme, but they’re only looking within the club. If only they had made the link with the local secondary school which runs Community Sports Leader Award courses! |
|
Obstacle: Volunteering is expensive and time-consuming |
|
How to overcome: Flexibility
It is important to be flexible, particularly about working hours. Young people have many demands and pressures in their lives – school, exams, earning money, family - and many different ways to spend their leisure time. If a club is going to benefit from some of the young person’s time, it will need to be able to offer some flexibility and an element of choice.
This does not mean that young people will not commit themselves to volunteering on a regular basis. It may be that they could job-share with someone else, or take on a role that doesn’t require a regular time-slot – for example, maintaining a database, working from home on their own computer, or organising two or three social events each year for the juniors. Clubs could organise teams of young volunteers so that the responsibility for getting the job done rests with the team, rather than on one individual.
Although money is an issue, if the benefits are highlighted, young people will be willing to give some time as a volunteer. The repayment of expenses would help to ensure that they are not out-of-pocket as a result of their volunteering. This good practice should be extended to all volunteers, not just the youngsters. |
National award programmes for young people in sport
There are a number of programmes that help young people to develop their skills as sport leaders, making them ideal for voluntary (or paid) roles within sports clubs.
Teaching leadership through sport, the British Sports Trust offers four programmes, which produce skilled young sports leaders. These courses are run by secondary schools, colleges of further education and many local authority sports development units.
The Junior Sports Leader Award is aimed at 14-16 year olds, introducing them to leadership roles in sport through courses run in schools.
The Community Sports Leader Award is open to anybody over the age of 16. This course prepares young people to take on a range of roles within community sport, covering:
- organisational skills
- safety in sport
- know your friends (local sporting networks)
- fitness for sport
- event and competitions
- improvisation of activities
- games and activity experiences and culminates in 10 hours voluntary service in the community.
The Higher Sports Leader Award course takes over 120 hours to complete including 30 hours of voluntary work. It covers:
- leadership in the community
- introducing children to sport
- older people and sport
- disabled people and sport
- health and fitness
- first aid
- a national governing body award
- organising and running a sports event.
The Basic Expedition Leaders Award focuses on leadership in the outdoors, with 90 hours of instruction and practical work, covering topics such as leadership and party management, planning and preparation, conservation and access, followed by 30 hours of voluntary work in the community.
Complementary to these awards is the TOP Link programme, run by The Youth Sports Trust in partnership with schools. This programme supports young people to lead the way – creating opportunities for them to put their leadership and organisational skills into practice, by running a festival of sport for pupils from local primary schools.
The Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme is a programme of practical, cultural, and adventurous activities, designed to support the personal and social development of young people aged 14 to 25. It is a four-section programme with three progressive levels (bronze, silver and gold), which all require young people to spend time in the community. The sections include service, expeditions, skills, physical recreation, and a residential project (gold only).
The Millennium Volunteers programme (16-24 year-olds) challenges young people to commit a minimum of 100 hours of voluntary service, with a target of 200 hours to achieve a national award. This is a Department for Education and Skills programme, and it encourages volunteering across a wide range of community activities. The Youth Sport Trust, the British Sports Trust and the Millennium Volunteers Sports Network North West (Sport Cheshire) run programmes to encourage Millennium Volunteers (MVs) in sport. MVs will almost certainly already have, or be working towards, their Community Sports Leader Award.
Experience has shown that the young person and the community placement (club, after school club, holiday play-scheme) benefit most where mentor support has been available. Programme mentors, such as teachers, help the MV to find a placement that can offer high standards of safety, a range of experiences and somebody who can provide support if it is required.
National Governing Body Young Leader Awards are currently offered by:
The Amateur Swimming Association
Badminton Association of England
British Gymnastics
English Hockey
English Table Tennis Association
Squash Rackets Association
The Rugby Football Union
The Football Association
Other sports planning to introduce awards include netball, basketball, cricket, tennis and rowing. During 2001 and 2002, more governing bodies will be offered encouragement and support to develop awards for young leaders.
The Youth Sport Trust and British Sports Trust have supported governing bodies to develop these awards as a ‘next step’ for Community Sports Leaders, building on their existing skills and helping them to develop sport specific knowledge. Each award aims to provide the first step on the ladder to coaching, officiating and administration within the sport. They will teach young people how to plan and deliver a safe coaching or practice session, officiate to keep a game/activity running safely and fairly, and organise an event appropriate to the sport and help players develop their skills.
Governing bodies are encouraged to link the holders of these awards into local sports development programmes, so that the young leaders can quickly become actively involved in leading their favourite sport, rather than just ‘collecting certificates’.
Governing bodies will be able to provide information about club accreditation schemes, ‘mentor’ training, and young leader awards.
Setting Standards
A good experience as a sports volunteer can lead to a life-long involvement for young people. A bad experience will definitely turn them off! Clubs must ensure that they can offer a safe and sound infrastructure for all their members, and there may be some special considerations for young volunteers.
The same requirements apply to young volunteers as to all young members, so the club must ensure that it implements its child protection policy. It is not possible to ‘police check’ a young person under the age of 18, so club personnel should follow good practice guidelines when working with young people. For example, making sure that nobody is left alone with a group of children away from other adults and provide adequate levels of supervision to ensure that no children are being bullied.
Clubs should set out a code of conduct that they expect young volunteers to follow and this should establish the levels of supervision appropriate for different activities. Broadly speaking, young people under the age of 18 should work under the guidance of a responsible adult, particularly when leading any physical activities. Make sure that the club has procedures for reporting accidents and incidents and that it complies with health and safety regulations. (Your local authority environmental health department should be able to advise you).
Check club insurance policies and refer to your national governing body for details of insurance linked to leader awards or coach awards for young people. The British Sports Trust can provide information about insurance available to Community Sports Leaders.
Action Plan: What you can do to recruit young volunteers
- Start within the club by finding out which schools your junior members attend and try to form a school/club link.
- Target young people who have already shown an interest in sports volunteering through one of the national programmes mentioned above.
- Find out which local schools are involved in TOP Link, Millennium Volunteers, and the other Sports Leadership award schemes (your Local Authority Sports Development Officer should be able to provide information about the most appropriate schools in your area to contact).
- Promote your volunteering opportunities to the Duke of Edinburgh Awards ‘operating authorities’ in your area, e.g. schools, youth clubs etc. (visit the Duke of Edinburgh website or call the main switchboard to find the operating authorities in your area – details below).
- Think about the way in which you encourage (or discourage) your junior members to take on voluntary roles – even if it’s only pouring the drinks at the end of the match, taking in the corner flags, tidying the changing rooms.
- Make volunteering flexible, legitimate, accessible, varied, and well organised.
- Highlight all the benefits to volunteering including the fact that it can be fun!
- Set appropriate standards and policies.
Where to go for further information:
Citizenship
To find out more about citizenship and what it really means for school pupils, teachers, parents and community organisations, visit the Department for Education and Skills website at: www.dfes.gov.uk/citizenship.
For sports leader awards and general information about the national governing body leader awards, contact: The British Sports Trust at Clyde House, 10, Milburn Avenue, Old Brook, Milton Keynes MK6 2WA, Telephone 01908 689180 www.bst.org.uk.
For more specific information about young leader awards in your sport, contact your National Governing Body. Contact details for your National Governing Body can be obtained by visiting the Sport England website (Gateway) www.sportengland.org or by calling the Sport England Information Centre on 020 7273 1700.
TOP Link programme - contact the Youth Sports Trust at: Rutland Building, Loughborough University, Loughborough, Leicestershire, LE11 3TU. Telephone: 01509 228293. www.youthsport.net
Millennium Volunteers
Information about the Millennium Volunteers programme can be found on their website at www.millenniumvolunteers.gov.uk, or by contacting the MV helpline at 0800 9178185. If you would like to receive their information pack, please write to: MV Unit, Room N2, DfES, Moorfoot, Sheffield S1 4PQ. For information on the Millennium Volunteers Sports Network North West, please visit: www.mvsport.co.uk or MVSNNW, Freepost NWW4908A, Northwich, Cheshire CW8 4YR. Telephone: 01606 871812 extn 240.
Duke of Edinburgh Awards
Gulliver House, Madeira Walk, Windsor, Berkshire SL4 1EU. Telephone 01753 727400 info@theaward.org
Child Protection Policies and Good Practice when working with children
Child Protection in Sport Unit. 3 Gilmour Close, Beaumont Leys, Leicester L34 1EZ.
VIP Factsheet No 2 provides additional information on screening volunteers (call the VIP hotline 0800 363 373).
Insurance
The British Sports Trust – for information specific to insurance available to Community Sports Leaders. The British Sports Trust at Clyde House, 10, Milburn Avenue, Old Brook, Milton Keynes MK6 2WA, Telephone 01908 689180 www.bst.org.uk
References
Institute for Volunteering Research, (1998) What do young people want from volunteering?
The National Centre for Volunteering, Filiz Niyazi, (1996) Volunteering by Young People, a route to opportunity.
|
