Hertfordshire Clubs Conference 2024

Hertfordshire Clubs Conference 2024

The Herts Sport & Physical Activity Partnership Annual Clubs Conference for 2024 is being held on Friday 11th October at the Fielder Centre, Hatfield. Given the recent investment from Sport England, high-profile news stories, as well as in depth reviews into various sport's culture and practice; this year's conference will be themed on welfare and safeguarding.

We are delighted to be welcoming former Child Protection in Sport Unit CEO and current Wiltshire and Swindon Sport Director Steve Bocock, who will be delivering the keynote address.

Each attendee will have the opportunity to attend two workshops, one in the morning session and one after lunch. Please see the selection of workshops below, please note several of the afternoon courses are accredited courses and as such have limited capacity and may incur a cost for failure to attend.

Schedule

09:30 - Arrival

10:00 – Welcome & Introductions

10:05 – Keynote – Steve Bocock (Former CEO - Child Protection in Sport Unit)

10:30 – Club Panel

11:15 – Break

11:30 – Morning Workshops (More information on workshops)

12:30 – Lunch & Marketplace

13:30 – Afternoon Workshops (More information on workshops)

16:30 – Finish

Morning Workshops - 1 1:30-12:30

1) Introduction to Sport Welfare - The emphasis on welfare and safeguarding in sport has never been more prevalent. Since the Whyte Review into British Gymnastics, Sport England have provided funding to all Active Partnerships to focus on improving welfare standars. This workshop, delivered by the newly appointed Sport Welfare Officer for Hertfordshire, will highlight practical advice and guidance to help raise welfare standards in your club.

2 ) Volunteering - Volunteers are the lifeblood of any sports club. This workshop, delivered by GoVolHerts, will highlight steps to make recruiting volunteers that little bit easier as well as providing tips to make your club more attractive for any prospective volunteers and help share the load.

3 ) Marketing Fundamentals - How to promote your club to a wider auidence - This workshop will cover the fundamental elements of marketing and putting your club in the best possible light. As well as highlighting some tangible marketing and promotional tools to modernise and simplify your marketing.

4 ) Developing Links with Schools - Delivered by Tanya Angus one of the leading School Games Organisers in the county, this workshop will help you to build mutually beneficial relationships with schools and provide first-hand examples of good practice.

5) How to Increase Female Participation within your club - Female participation in sport has come a long way in recent years but there is still much more to do. This workshop will highlight what clubs can do to increase the amount of female participation as well as tangible tips to make your clubs more appealing to aspiring women and girls of all ages.

6) Engaging with Disabled People - This workshop will cover how your club can effectively reach and engage more disabled people through inclusive practice and utilising more accessible, improved communication.

Afternoon Workshops - 1 3:30-16:30 (Afternoon workshops vary in length)

1) Engaging Your Community - Understanding and engaging with your community is a vital part of club sustainability. This workshop will guide you to understand who your local community are and how you can effectively engage with them to maximise the benefit for both the club and the community.

2 ) Mental Health First Aid - This workshop is for people who would like to increase their knowledge and understanding of mental health and how concerns may manifest within a sports club setting and give you the confidence to signpost to the appropriate support.

3 ) Safeguarding & Protecting Children - (Accredited Course) - This workshop will raise your awareness of the tell-tale signs of abuse and give you the tools and confidence to deal with any issues sensitively, appropriately and effectively. (Please note this is an acredited course and failure to attend will incur a £35 charge)

4) Funding - This workshop will cover some of the more accessible funding pots that are open to clubs at the moment including the recently released Sport England Movement Fund. As well as covering what to include in a strong funding application.

5) SNAP Sponsorship - SNAP Sponsorship's aim is to help clubs identify and nurture long-term partnerships with sponsors using advanced web-tools to make life easier for those seeking and running partnerships. This workshop will allow you to find out more about the platform which will allow your club to enhance the brand and reach greater, more engaged audiences whilst also providing clubs with best practice and tools to maximise sponsorship revenue.

6) Moving More Activity Finder - Moving More is Hertfordshire's online activity finder tool, providing a one stop shop for members of the public, as well as referring healthcare and community professionals, to find local opportunities to be physically active. Join this workshop for an introduction to Moving More and to find out how you can use this free tool to grow your clubs membership by reaching new audiences.

Host or Publisher Herts Sports Partnership/University of Hertfordshire