Developing Effective & Sustainable Community Use Sports Provision Colin Grogan, Sport, Health and Inclusion Development Manager, Suffolk County Council Duncan Wood-Allum, Director SLC 1 December 2011

What we’re going to cover today Introductions Background to Suffolk CC Community Use Pilot Key findings, outcomes and learning Key challenges and opportunities The Community Use Support Framework Key considerations Q+A. 2

Background Suffolk County Council’s aspirations for health and wellbeing - ‘More and better services to communities for less’: 1. Broadening community access to sports facilities on school sites 2. Improving the quality and consistency of service from community use facilities 3. Making the management of community use more efficient for schools, operators and funding partners 4. Asset rationalisation of facilities where there is duplication of provision in a location or over supply of facilities exists 5. Improving the sustainability of community use in individual schools. 3

Background 4 Stage Pilot 12 Schools in across Suffolk schools in South West Ipswich and South Suffolk – also known as the SWISS pilot area. Project objectives To identify the current state of community use of school services within the pilot area To assess the scale and potential of improvements to community use of school services in the pilot area to develop To identify efficient frameworks and a programme of improvements to make this happen within the pilot area. 4

How the Pilot worked Stage One - community use audit and current state analysis of Pilot area (November 2010 – March 2011) Stage Two - Development of a support strategy, Community Use Support Framework and recommendations for schools to consider progressing (April 2011 – Sept 2011) Stage Three - Implementation of improvements through the Community Use Support Framework ( Oct 2011 – March 2013) Stage Four - Dissemination of learning from the Pilot. 5

Key activity in Stage 1 Consultation with school headteachers, business managers and staff Audit of current arrangements and performance Workshop with Pilot Schools to identify shared issues and opportunities for collaboration Development of current state reports and improvement plans for schools. 6

Key Stage 1 Findings 7 Lettings Based Schools Inefficient bookings, administration and cash collection processes Constraints on the limits of community use due to condition, design and location of facilities Lack of understanding of catchment and target markets Pricing that is not optimised for commercial or community users.

Key Stage 1 Findings 8 Community Use Operations Limited objective setting and performance management Poor financial performance Isolation of operational staff – lack of development opportunities Lack of clear strategy and objectives Inefficient bookings and administration processes Pricing that is not optimised for commercial or community users Lack of understanding of catchment and target markets Limited or no marketing activity Limited or poor operational systems and procedures.

Stage 1 Outcomes Encouraging dialogue Awareness raised of financial performance Understanding the wider contribution of community use makes Staff engaged Raising the awareness of Community use to Councils and wider partners. 9

Stage 1 Lessons learned The need for flexibility School senior management time spent on community use Approach with schools One to one support. 10

Key activity in Stage 2 Schools with Community Use Operations Benchmarking of community use operation schools’ performance Market research to identify catchments and market opportunities using Sport England’s market segmentation toolkit Consultation with NGB’s of Sport to identify future opportunities. Lettings Based Schools and Community Use Operations Schools Development of the Community Use Support Framework (CUSF) through consultation with schools. 11

Key Stage 2 Findings 12 Benchmarking reinforced Project Team’s view Market Research highlighted a number of opportunities to develop programmes and revenue Consultation with NGB’s highlighted a number of initiatives and opportunities for schools Lettings based schools very keen to explore shared booking facilities Schools enthusiastic about the CUSF, but wary about any additional costs.

Stage 2 Outcomes Each school owning an improvement plan which they can prioritise themselves Awareness amongst stakeholders Positive support from local authorities such as Babergh DC in supporting and funding the CUSF Increased morale and confidence amongst community use staff Improved focus of the role Suffolk County Council can play moving forwards in enabling sustainability within community use Potential creation of a market for social enterprises Schools started to open up to the process and lose their initial distrust and scepticism. 13

Stage 2 Lessons learned The need for flexibility and treating each school individually Schools often need time to reflect following a review Some schools began to advocate the process to those still uncertain of the perceived benefits The consistency of approach and personnel by the Project team was crucial to build trust. 14

Key Challenges and Opportunities 15 ChallengesOpportunities With 12 Pilot Schools, 12 different ambitions, attitudes and perceptions To capture the vision for the school and enhance this through the Community Use offer Conflicting priorities within each school’s SMT in relation to resourcing and strategic issues – eg conversion to Academies Provide support to enable schools to address longstanding issues in a SMART way Many staff operating the sites were in isolation and their perception of quality and good performance often differed from industry norms To support staff in building their capabilities and skills to enable them to improve the site’s performance Avoiding appearing to be critical of the current approach being taken Focus on potential improvements and financial performance – building on current operation

The Community Use Support Framework 16

Review pricing a Refine Programme Develop better marketing The Community Use Support Framework 17 Lettings Community Use Schools Simplify Bookings Systems Computerise Bookings Shared Booking Systems Understand market Refine Programme and pricing Develop better marketing Improve operational systems Establish a quality system Implement Quest™ Develop a Brand Improve customer information Target services

Review pricing a Refine Programme Develop better marketing The Community Use Support Framework – typical support 18 Specialist marketing advice and support Health and fitness operational advice Assistance with programming activities Assistance with securing specialist coaches or sports leaders Health and safety advice Project development guidance Advice on funding streams and applying for funding Support in developing and sharing a Direct Debit collection system Support in developing operational procedures and systems Support in developing staff, improving management and communication.

Review pricing a Refine Programme Develop better marketing The Community Use Support Framework – Support Network for Schools 19 Local Authorities Suffolk Sports Partnership Suffolk County Council - Culture, Sport and Communities National Governing Bodies of Sport Sports Development and Funding Agencies – Sport England.

How the CUSF operates Governance Funding 18 month contract period with the selected CUSF provider (Abbeycroft Leisure Ltd) Regular reviews of progress Development of joint opportunities. 20

How the CUSF operates 21 Community Use Subsidy from School 1 Community Use Subsidy from School 1 Community Use Subsidy from School 2 Community Use Subsidy from School 2 CUSF Budget Draw down Support for 12 Schools CUSF operator Schools move to a sustainable operating position within 18 months

Key Considerations Time - the process can take a long time to get right – its all about establishing trust with schools Resources – it will take some time for you to see a return on the investment in establishing the Framework, but improvements will deliver better financial performance Establishing real costs of operating community use can require a great deal of persistence! Understand that many staff involved are not specialists; you need to understand things through the eyes of an educationalist, initially not as a ‘leisure professional’ Understand that schools are legally unable to subsidise the community use operation, so business planning and forecasting has to be realistic There is a lot of support out there for schools wishing to optimise their community use operation. Finally, the engagement and leadership of the Headteacher is fundamental to success! 22

Contacts / Further Information 23 Duncan Wood-Allum The Sport, Leisure and Culture Consultancy Colin Grogan Suffolk County Council