Community Sports Outreach workers develop links with local clubs, groups, agencies and individuals with the aim of improving and increasing the number of opportunities for participation in local areas.

Club and group development

The Community Sports Development team offer a wide range of support for clubs and community groups. This may include support to develop mentors, assisting with recruiting volunteers, obtaining funding, making clubs sustainable through club structures or support to gain national Governing Body Club mark accreditation and the Bolton mark accreditation. One of our main aims is to increase sport and physical activity opportunities in local communities.

Social inclusion

The Community Sports Development team work in targeted areas of Bolton to ensure that people who may experience barriers to participating in regular sport or physical activity, have access to a number of opportunities in their local area.

Education and training

The Community Sports Development Team provides a number of opportunities for local people to access relevant training and support. They will support people to access training run by outside organisations such as the Youth Service or CVS, as well as organising and delivering sports specific leadership and coaching courses.

Partners

The Community Sports Development Team have positive partnerships with a number of agencies, groups and individuals, locally, regionally and nationally.

It is important that the work we do reflects the broader issues affecting local people. We ensure that we have strong links with organisations working in the health, education, social services sectors. It is also important that we link with the private and voluntary sector.

Participation

Sport England have highlighted that participation levels are traditionally low among certain groups including women and girls, people with a disability and among BME communities. There are a number of barriers that exist for these groups which contribute to this low level of participation. Sport, Health and Inclusion aim to work with relevant groups and organisations groups to ensure that opportunities for participation are increased and that people are supported in overcoming these barriers

Clubs and groups

Sport and Active Living work with sports clubs and other community groups to ensure that they are fully inclusive in their membership and their organisation. We will support clubs and groups to make sure that their coaches and leaders are suitably qualified, they have relevant policies and procedures and that the facilities they use are appropriate and suitable.

Social inclusion

Widening access also means that we work towards reducing the impact that social exclusion has on the people’s ability to access sport and physical activity. By working in the most vulnerable areas of Bolton and by supporting capacity building within communities, the number of sport and physical activity opportunities available to people will increase.

Facility development

We will work with relevant partners to ensure that any barriers to participation in relation to facilities and equipment are addressed.

The Sport and active living team are committed to ensuring that access to sport and physical activity opportunities are available to all people in Bolton.

What is sport?

The decision to award London the 2012 Olympics has put sport well and truly back on the nations agenda. The overarching aim is to support the people of Bolton to Start, Stay and Succeed in their sporting careers. The sports development team work closely with the National Governing Bodies of sport to develop their whole sport plans from grass roots to elite level performers.

Club development

The sports development team offer a wide range of support for clubs to gain national Governing Body Club mark accreditation and the new Bolton mark. The sports development team also support the Greater Manchester School to Club links scheme that support clubs and schools making sustainable links with coaching and out of school learning

Competitions and festivals

The sports development team each year supports primary and secondary intra and inter school festivals, Bolton teams participating in county, regional and national events and young people that may be participating on an individual basis.

Strategic partners

The Sports Development Team has a number of key partners that it works with to develop sport; these include Greater Manchester Sports Partnership, Sport England, National Governing Bodies, Bolton Wanderers trust, Bolton Lads and Girls Club, Schools, etc.