Report Subject: Female Sports Volunteers

Transcription

1 Report Subject: Female Sports Volunteers briefing paper Title: A good practice guide for the engagement and development of female sports volunteers in areas of high deprivation The Context Young women aged between 16 and 24 years who live in low income households have much lower volunteering rates than the average rate for their age group. As the Volunteering Equity Index below shows, Females from low income households have a volunteering rate of just 60.1, which is significantly lower than the average volunteering rate (100) for young people aged year olds. towards training and qualifications, supporting their attendance at conferences and residentials and celebrating However, despite this context, many StreetGames projects their achievements at a local, regional and national level. have been able to engage female volunteers, particularly those which have benefited from the Co-operative StreetGames Young Volunteer (CSYV) Programme. This briefing paper aims to identify good practice for developing young women as volunteers. It has been based on the findings of the four annual evaluation reports of Since 2008 the CSYV Programme has supported the development of almost 1,000 new female young volunteers by helping to provide resources such as kit, funding the CSYV Programme which has been based on both quantitative and qualitative research with the emphasis on face to face interviews with young volunteers.

2 Volunteering equity index Why young females want to volunteer Our research has highlighted that there are many reasons why young females get involved with sports volunteering Males from high income Young people from high income Females from high income Black males White males Young males White young people The reasons include: They love sport. They see it as a part of coming to the sessions playing and helping out/ volunteering go together for them and make them feel as though they belong. They enjoy the social aspect of volunteering being with their friends and making new friends. They want to make a difference to their own community. They like working with young people and want to give them the opportunity and experience that they have had. Index 100 Average volunteering rate for year olds They want to be like the project manager and the other coaches running the sessions who are their role models! 93.3 Asian males Some of them want to become a paid or voluntary Males from low income White females Black young people Young females Young people from low income Asian young people Females from low income households Black females Asian females coach at the session and/or develop a career in sport. Some of them see it as good for their CV and a good way of improving their skills, doing training, getting qualifications, and getting experience ready for applying for a job. The impact of volunteering on young females Volunteering can be life changing for many young women and it can give them a range of positive experiences. It helps them in a number of ways:- Source: Sport England Active People Survey Data (KPI 2: Regular Sports Volunteering)

3 Improves their confidence Volunteering can help young females to develop the confidence to do things that they thought that they wouldn t be able to. It helps to build their confidence as a leader/ coach especially for mixed sessions if the main sports are traditionally male such as football or cricket. It gives them a supportive environment to try out new things and to get feedback on what they have done well and how they could improve. This helps to increase their self esteem and boosts their self image. Improves their communication and listening skills Volunteering helps them to improve how they communicate with young people, the volunteers and the staff they work with. It can be very daunting to talk to large groups of young people but volunteering at sessions helps them to get used to speaking to large groups of young people on a regular basis. Helps to build new and existing friendships When young females take part in sessions as a participant, research has highlighted that the social aspect of the sessions is usually very important. In our experience, this remains the case, when they progress to being a volunteer - they often develop new friendships especially with other volunteers and coaches. Improves their playing skills Volunteering can help young females to both widen the range of sports they play and can also improve their playing skills. Qualification courses often strengthen their technical ability which may improve their own performance if they play competitively in a club/team. This may also help to keep young women playing sport as they get older. Helps to give them a new direction For young females who have been getting into trouble at school or out on the streets, volunteering can give them a positive experience and help them to change direction helping them to change friendship groups, providing a different environment, giving them positive role models and showing them that they can succeed. Supporting their CV Volunteering gives young females the skills, experience, qualifications and confidence to become sports coaches in a relatively male dominated profession (69% of all sports coaches are male Sports Coach UK research, January 2011). 18% of female volunteers on the CSYV programme were NEETs and so volunteering has a positive impact on supporting their applications to enter further/ higher education or employment by demonstrating experience and qualities such as leadership and decision-making, organisational skills and qualifications.

4 Female Volunteer Case Studies CASE STUDY NO. 1. JAMIE, THE NORTH EAST MUSIC FACTORY Jamie hadn t been that interested in sport at school but Jamie said: I m so pleased that I took that first step into dance and am really grateful for the opportunities NE Music Factory have given me. It has given me a goal for the future and I know that they will support me and help me to be a dance teacher so I can help other kids in the community decided to have a go at hip hop dance classes at the North East Music Factory. She enjoyed it so much that she started attending dance classes regularly and after a couple of years she knew that she would love to be a dance teacher. Jamie asked the project manager, Anna, if she could start volunteering so that she could get some experience. In October 2007 she completed her Level 1 award in Dance Leadership and went on to do further training in Street Cheer and First Aid. Jamie now volunteers as an urban dance teacher five times a week at sessions for 4-12 year olds as part of NE Music Factory s Community Dance programme. She is planning to complete her Level 1 Urban Flow certification in Urban Dance later this year. Jamie has gone back to school to study BTEC Dance, Health and Social Care and Business, and is keen to develop a career in Community Dance working with the NE Music Factory which has offered Jamie part time paid employment while she studies. CASE STUDY NO.2. STACEY, SHELFIELD COMMUNITY ACADEMY, WALSALL Stacey first started volunteering when she entered the sixth form at Shelfield Community Academy. She already knew Beth, the project manager, and so she found it easy to talk to her about getting involved as a volunteer. Stacey was attracted to being a volunteer because she loved football and she had always wanted to be a football coach. When she became a qualified football coach, she volunteered at lots of community sports sessions and

5 she also went out with the Football Development Officer s community coaches to help them run sessions at schools during lunchtime and after school. that volunteering had definitely helped her to stay out of trouble. Better at playing sport. She said that, doing the coaching qualifications and coaching kids helps you to Stacey coached the U16 girls team at West Bromwich Albion once a week and when she worked in schools, the pupils often asked if she played for a team the boys say that girls can t play football but when I do my demos they are impressed girls love me as a good role model. Stacey thinks that girls playing football is more put down and when they see me play, it encourages the boys to play more football with the girls and she was really pleased that some of the boys from her sessions had started to watch the England Women s football team play. learn different positions. I normally play right midfield but if my manager needs me to play in a different position, I can. Helped her CV. Volunteering had helped to put loads of things on my CV and helped her to get paid work. Adults saw her differently. She said, my teachers underestimated me, I got into trouble at school, now I ve got qualifications, they see me more as an adult. Some of the coaches knew me when I was on the streets at 11 yrs old and they ve said I ve improved, so much better as a person, my family love it, especially that I ve had paid work Volunteering at the sessions helped Stacey in lots of ways:- Better communication skills. She said that she now and my parents know the coaches and so they all see me as a better person. talked differently to the kids, got on better with them, and let the kids do the warm ups. Better team working and negotiation skills. She felt that she had become better at working as part of a team, and that she had developed lots of different techniques for negotiating with young people and her peers at her sessions. Better listening skills. She said that she now listens to everyone in the team and before this she thought she was the only one who knew. More confident. She said that she felt more confident, had made a lot of new friends, felt healthier and fitter and

6 Key Success Factors Through our research, we have found that there is often a wide range of factors that have contributed to the successful engagement and development of female sports volunteers in areas of high deprivation. Some of the key factors are set out below: 1. The best way of developing new volunteers is to support existing participants to become volunteers. Some might want to help out just a bit but others might want to get more involved in helping out and become more formal volunteers. 2. For many female volunteers, a good project manager/ coach is important to encourage them to start volunteering and to continue volunteering. Good male project managers/ coaches can work well as role models. However, it is also very positive to have good female role models in a profession such as sports coaching which is perceived as traditionally male. Female volunteers often feel that a female project manager/coach is more approachable and they have a deeper respect for what they have achieved. There is a sense of she has done it and so can I. to be seen as one of us and an ordinary person and less likely to judge them than someone from the outside. (Although this is not always the case in tight knit communities!) 4. It is important to ensure that the right coach mentors young female volunteers. S/he must be an experienced coach with the right skills, knowledge, personal qualities and values. The mentor coach needs to be aware of his/her role as a mentor to the female volunteer so that s/he helps to build confidence and supports the female volunteer to also become a role model. 5. Many female volunteers recognise their own importance as role models not just for female participants but also for male participants especially in traditionally male sports such as football. They recognize that there is a duty (even if it is self-imposed) to show that women are good coaches, have a good technical knowledge and can run a good session. This recognition helps them to develop their confidence in themselves, it increases the desire to improve and learn new skills and it motivates them to become even better role models. 3. Female participants are more likely to consider becoming volunteers and coaches if they have role models and can see that other women like themselves have also done it. It also tends to work better if the women coaches come from the local area as they are more likely 6. Female volunteers need to be given the opportunity and encouragement to become qualified leaders and sports coaches. It is important for them to gain the organisational skills, technical knowledge and for this to be accredited as part of the qualification course. 21% of the

7 female volunteers on the CSYV programme have taken part in leadership training which is often the first step towards coaching. 24% of female volunteers have factors: firstly, the love for a particular sport and/or the sports that are played at the sessions where they volunteer. successfully gained a range of NGB qualifications. Qualifications give them the confidence to start to lead sessions as they know that their skills and knowledge have been validated and they are good enough to run the sessions. They also know that their qualifications cannot be challenged, especially the NGB coach qualifications. 7. Some female volunteers may only want to gain qualifications in one area of sport such as dance. Many women start with the SLUK level 1 award for dance and then specialize in other areas of dance such as Street 8. For a significant number of young female volunteers the NGB level 1 in football is important. Football is often the main sport for many multi sports sessions and this qualification is more likely to lead to paid work than many other sports specific qualifications. Many female volunteers have found that their own football playing skills improved as a result of taking the NGB level 1 in football and this has helped them to gain respect from boys in particular where they lead/assist football/ multi-sports sessions. Cheer and Urban Dance. However, many female volunteers often gain a range of sports qualifications. They start by gaining their SLUK level 1 or 2 in sport and are then keen to get a range of different sport specific leadership and NGB coach qualification awards. The range For more information please visit the StreetGames website Or call can be extensive and often includes sports such as football, netball, rounders, handball, dodgeball, rugby, hockey, volleyball, basketball, athletics and boccia. The choice of sports qualifications is often determined by two StreetGames StreetGames is a national partner of Sport England and a centre of expertise for developing doorstep sport in disadvantaged communities. The charity supports community based sports projects that deliver sport and volunteering opportunities to young people living in the 20% most deprived wards in the UK. StreetGames works with National Governing Bodies of Sport to establish and develop links between community and mainstream sport. Recognised by the London 2012 Olympic & Paralympic Games Inspire Mark, StreetGames is creating a lasting legacy of doorstep sport in the UK.