Clubmark has been developed to provide everyone in the scheme with a dedicated, all-inclusive bank of relevant and up to date information, to share best practice and to learn from the many successes that we shall be celebrating.
Clubmark is a cross-sport quality accreditation for clubs with junior sections. According to research conducted by the Northwest Regional Agency in 2004, three fifths (60.5%) of young people belong to a sports club outside school. It is vital that these clubs serve young people well. Sport clubs that work with children and young people need and deserve support to improve the quality of work they do so we can:
National governing bodies of sport (NGBs) & County Sports Partnerships (CSPs) award Clubmark to proven high quality clubs. The national scheme has been in place since 2002 and there is now 2,500 accredited clubs across 25 sports. The aim is by 2010 this will have increased to 5,000 and that Clubmark will be the stamp of approval to which all sport clubs aspire, and is designed to ensure that all organisations involved work to a minimum operating framework and can prove it. This will help to establish Clubmark as the mark of high quality for junior clubs. All organisations involved in accrediting clubs will be subjected to a licensing process, following the Clubmark review in 2006. This highlighted the need for cross sport moderation robustness and integrity within the system. The licence will be rolled out in the next 18 months.
Guy Thompson (Clubmark Administrator BCC)
The Club has agreed to:
1. Be committed to Junior Development to an appropriate baseline of quality.
2. Annually update a club development plan on to the ECB online club development planning tool by 30th September and implement throughout the following year.
3. Attend District based meetings to support District activities, to share good Focus Club practice and pull ideas from other attendees.
4. Attend Focus Club Seminars (twice yearly) organised by SCB.
5. Meet with the Cricket Development Manager to assist with club development planning and data inputting the club development plan onto the ECB online club development planning tool.
6. Complete and submit any online club development surveys constructed by the Cricket Development Manager according to requested appropriate timescales.
7. Host District and County youth fixtures when available.
8. Support and host when appropriate, SCB junior coaching camps and events.
9. Achieve and maintain Clubmark status.
10. Establish and implement active links with local schools, as required by Clubmark and or Chance to shine.
11. Appoint club officials within the minimum required standards as notified by the ECB in the affiliation rules and notify the Cricket Board of any changes.
12. Appoint a Club Development Officer who will be the key club person responsible for club development initiatives and is the principle contact between the Cricket Development Manager, Shropshire Cricket Board and other key funding and sporting agencies. (This can be attached to another key official in the club, eg. Chairman, etc).
13. Appoint a club Welfare Officer who has attended the requisite Safeguarding and Protecting Children course and Time to Listen Welfare Officer Training course and enter into succession planning so there is never a time the club has no Welfare Officer.
14. Recruit, retain and reward volunteers in their roles at the club by supporting them to take part in the appropriate training and development programmes and courses. This has to be undertaken in accordance to club needs highlighted in the club development plan annually.
15. Commit to improving the quality of club fine turf and non fine turf facilities through groundsmanship training and Prioritised Detailed Assessment undertaken by SCB County Pitch Advisors.
16. Have at least one youth section age group team playing in competitive matches in 2009 and establish a minimum of two by the end of the 2010 season.
17. Support the identification of young talent through the nomination of players for district and county squad trials, and commit to the delivery of junior development programmes for specific groups, i.e. disabilities, women/girls and ethnic minorities. Wherever possible and appropriate, specific groups should be integrated into mainstream club groups. Clubs that do not have any specific groups, or the potential to have specific groups are encouraged to link with other Focus Clubs to meet demand.
18. Establish and implement active links with local clubs to provide maximum opportunities for all juniors to play competitive cricket - particularly in relation to the development of opportunities for girls and women's development.
19. Support and nominate volunteers for National and Local initiatives such as NatWest CricketForce and OSCAs and ECB Coaches Association recognition and Reward schemes.
Bridgnorth CC is one of 32 cricket clubs selected by the Shropshire Cricket Board on the basis that they fulfill the above obligations.
