Richmond upon Thames College has developed its own student volunteering programme.
Local partners and national agencies have a key role in developing clear sporting and volunteering pathways.
To fit in with the objectives of the newly appointed FE Sports Co-ordinator, who is tasked to increase participation in sport and develop volunteering and leadership opportunities for young people within the college, Richmond upon Thames decided to offer a volunteering programme to its students.
The programme incorporated opportunities to train, support, and deploy young people and adults into appropriate, safe and rewarding sports leadership and volunteering activities.
The community volunteer programme enables those young people working towards their Sports Leaders UK Level 2 Award in Community Sports Leadership to complete the required 10 hours of leadership experience in order for them to achieve the qualification.
Prior to this, the achievement rates on the Level 2 Award were disappointing.
Thirteen young people from the college have so far received the training from Step into Sport to become a community volunteer. Three students were subsequently selected to attend the annual Step into Sport Camp at Loughborough University.
The four day camp brings together approximately 400 young people from a variety of schools/colleges and backgrounds. One of the main outcomes is to develop a network of young role models who have the skills and confidence to go back into their local communities and inspire others to get involved in sport.
‘This was the best experience of my life. I would invite anybody to do it, it allows you to meet new people and develop leadership skills in groups’. (Aaron Broderick, Step into Sport Volunteer & Young Ambassador)
Going further with the Get Set network
Learning to lead is one of the main aims of the Get Set Programme. The Step into Sport project is an example of excellent practice reflecting the Olympic and Paralympic Values, and could count towards Richmond upon Thames College’s application to be recognised as part of the Get Set network.
