Communicator Activator Coach

Occupation Overview

Leading and coaching fun, inclusive and engaging activities that help people of all ages to change their behaviour and adopt and maintain a physically active lifestyle.

Details of standard

The Community Activator Coach Standard will underpin occupations such as an Activator, Sports Coach, Activity Leader, Community Worker or Outreach Officer. These roles are predominantly employed by sport for social change charities; SMEs who operate in the sport and physical activity sector; local authorities; sports clubs; leisure centres; youth work agencies; housing associations and outdoor education centres and are deployed to primarily work with inactive groups of people. The wider sport and activity sector plays an important role in improving the health and wellbeing of the nation and provides a positive environment which supports (especially young) people to grow and develop through sport and physical activity. The Community Activator Coach promotes, delivers and coaches fun, inclusive and engaging activities that help whole communities to change their behaviour, adopt and keep to a physically active lifestyle. Community Activator Coaches are more than activity and sports leaders – they understand communities and customers. They will be equipped with the specialist knowledge needed to effectively work with one customer group (such as inactive teenagers) but also be knowledgeable about other inactive customer groups whom they may be expected to work with on occasions. When competent they will be experienced working with a range of different communities and all kinds of customers who are likely to be defined as inactive, sedentary or not doing enough physical activity in their lives. They also know how to make communities and lives better through physical activity, organised play and sport. The Community Activator Coach will be a positive role model who builds good rapport with customers - especially those who are young, inactive, or from low-income and marginalised communities. The Community Activator Coach often works alongside youth workers, the police and community safety agencies to make neighbourhoods safer and works alongside health workers to make residents fitter and healthier. The role is a flexible one and individuals can expect to work varied and unsociable hours, including evenings, weekends and school holidays.

The Community Activator Coach will apply this knowledge in work environments and be able to demonstrate the following skills:

Planning and adapting sessions and activities that respond to customer feedback and encourage customers to develop a lifelong activity habit.
Coaching or leading pre-planned sport or physical activity sessions that are attractive to the target audience(s) and develop motivational relationships with customers.
Promoting a physical activity offer, (including but not exclusively) organised play and sport in the community which supports individuals on their behaviour change journey.
Working collaboratively with sports clubs and other community assets – including volunteers, public services, youth workers, the police and community champions.
Supporting customers to co-produce rewarding volunteering opportunities.
Supporting families to participate together in sport and physical activity.
Working effectively with customer insight to overcome individual, community and societal barriers to participation in physical activity and sport.
Contributing to the employer’s design of activities and services and practising the employer’s organisation’s values, policies and procedures.
Contributing to teams that deliver community events and festivals.
Supporting organisations to evaluate, develop and promote sessions and other opportunities such as outdoor group exercise and informal social play.
Maintaining personal safety and wellbeing, as well as that of customers.
Managing disruptive behaviours from individuals within the group setting.
Encouraging customers to be regularly active – both formally and informally – within sports clubs or leisure facilities including open-space.
Effectively using social media and technology, appropriately, to deliver targeted messages to identified customer groups for example children, teenagers, adults and older adults.
Effectively monitor and evaluate activities, sessions and projects using technology platforms to maintain accurate records and produce timely reports.

Knowledge - The Community Activator Coach will:

Understand the benefits of physical activity and sport for individuals, families and communities, and know why adopting an active and healthy lifestyle is important.
Understand the basic principles of behavioural change when applied to sport and physical activity, and know how to keep customers active.
Know the importance of credible customer insight - listening to customers and understanding their motivations - to shape provision and leadership style.
Know the importance of effective leadership and coaching in the delivery of a physical activity or sports sessions.
Know the value of using informal spaces and ‘out of locality’ settings to encourage customers to develop the lifelong activity habit.
Understand the role of the coach in developing effective motivational relationships, how to build rapport with customers and understand what good role models look like.
Understand the tasks involved in delivering community level activation events and support their delivery, particularly in terms of providing equipment and activities.
Know how to support customer welfare and where required, manage disruptive behaviours by individuals within the group setting.
Know how to make best use of national and major events (for example the Commonwealth Games) to capture public imagination, raise activity levels and encourage community involvement in volunteering and social action.
Know how to work with community organisations to run tailored neighbourhood events that make best use of local assets to bring people together.
Understand the importance of accurate record keeping for monitoring and evaluation purposes; know about the tools available to help (e.g. Upshot, Views, Active Lives).
Understand the importance of using appropriate social media and technology to deliver targeted messages to identified customer groups for example children; teenagers; adults and older adults.
Understand fundamental principles of safeguarding, child protection, cultural awareness, first aid, mental wellbeing, inclusion and working with vulnerable adults.
Understand the different needs and priorities of your customers (such as teenagers, families, the disabled or older adults) and the best way to manage their expectations, recognising and knowing how to adapt your style to be highly effective.
Know how to coach and lead the key components of a successful activity sessions for specific audiences.
Know customer motivations for participation and how to help people overcome personal and societal barriers to participation.

The Community Activator Coach will model the following behaviours:

Honesty, sincerity and integrity by doing the right thing at the right time.
A positive attitude to work, be approachable and model an active lifestyle.
A concern for customer’s welfare and wellbeing.
Show a willingness to ‘go the extra mile’.
Enthusiasm to work as a member of a team and also to use his or her own initiative when leading or planning activities.
Adaptable and confident in one’s own ability.
Building meaningful and appropriate relationships.
A willingness to learn and a desire to contribute to their own continuing professional development.

English and Maths

Apprentices without level 1 English and Maths will need to achieve this level and take the test for level 2 English and maths prior to the end point assessment.

Duration

The Apprenticeship will take 14-18 months to complete.

Professional recognition

On successful completion of the Standard, all Apprentices will be automatically given CIMSPA (Chartered Institute for the Management of Sport and Physical Activity) at Associate Membership level.

Progression

Successful completers will be able to move into leadership or management roles within the Sector which may be aligned to an Apprenticeship at higher level. This progression will involve leading teams of people; acting as a mentor for staff; or specialising with the delivery of sporting and physical activity programmes to certain populations or communities.

Review

The Standard will be reviewed after 3 years.

Originally published on Gov.uk, this information has been re-used under the terms of the Open Government Licence.