It is recognised and supported that coaches need to have certain knowledge and skills in order to coach safely and effectively; and be able to help children, players and athletes at all stages of their development. The knowledge and skills a coach needs to have/develop depends on:
A review by sports coach UK of the recommended Minimum Standards for Deployment (MSD) for sports coaches has produced recommendations that look at:
The recommended Core standards for all coaches are:
Guidance is now available, providing greater details on these standards, an explanation of the rationale behind them.
This also provides advice to coach managers and those that are employing / deploying coaches to support the implementation of the recommended standards. This can be downloaded here Minimum Standards of Deployment Guidance Paper (Oct 2010).pdf (3Mb).
Further work is being undertaken by sports coach UK and key partners to develop guidance and recommendations on the Additional Training required. In the interim sports coach UK recommend that coaches continue to undertake the following courses (or their NGB equivalents):
For clubs who are working towards or maintaining a Clubmark or NGB club accreditation there is also a requirement to have members and coaches who have attended some of these 'good practice' courses.
First Aid: The requirement for an up to date First Aid certificate is not currently included in recommended Minimum Standards. However, First Aid is a requirement for many National Governing Body coaching awards and coaches should check with the relevant National Governing Body to confirm the requirements for their sport(s). Other organisations employing and deploying may also require this as additional training, but it will depend on the activity and setting in which the coaching is to takes place.
Of course attending an Emergency First Aid course is something that will be of benefit to all sports coaches regardless of whether they are required to hold a certificate.
For dates and more information on any of the minimum standard courses see our Coach Education pages.
Ultimately it is down to the organisation employing or deploying the coach. This could be the school, local authority, club, or private coaching provider that is employing or deploying the coach. The above standards are for general guidance to the sector.
Within West Yorkshire some local authorities run a registration / approval system for coaches wanting to work in schools or on local authority programmes in their district. For details of these and the minimum standards for each scheme see our Quality Assurance schemes page.
National Governing Bodies of sport are also starting to introduce coach licensing schemes and have minimum requirements that coaches must meet to keep their coaching qualifications valid. Further details of these are available from each sports NGB.
In addition to general guidance on minimum standards, West Yorkshire Sport has produced some guidance for coaches working in schools on the standards they need to meet in each district. and a quick reference guide to the appropriate qualifications for coachini groups in various sports. West Yorkshire Guidance and qualifications guide.