Oct 07 Monthly Blog

Welcome to our Blog for a month which has seen announcements by Government on their future priorities and spending plans through the Comprehensive Spending Review. What these plans and priorities mean for community sport is currently being worked out and we will publish details as soon as they are known.

Work continues on the new regional plan and I would like to thank those of you who have submitted responses through county and National Governing Body forums in particular.

I am constantly impressed by the good work that our partners do and I'm thrilled that one of our funded projects Fit @ Sixty (see Invest) has been both recognised and rewarded in this year's National Lottery Awards.

Chris Perks
Regional Director

Advise

New scheme gets Tendring on the move
A new scheme to get individuals and businesses in Tendring, Essex on the move was launched during September with the help of Sport England East, England Athletics East and Fitter Futures. More

Sport England Market Segmentation
Sport England market segmentation provides an insight into sporting behaviours and the barriers and motivations to taking part in sport or enjoying a more active lifestyle.

The segments are now live here and will prove really useful for those working in community sport. For further information please contact spencer.harris@sportengland.org

Sport playing its part
The latest quarterly Sport Playing its Part Newsletter has now been published

Creative Programmer appointed for region
Liz Hughes has been appointed Creative Programmer for the East. Liz is one of eight appointees across England who will take forward plans for the Cultural Olympiad in the run up to the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Contact: liz.hughes@goeast.gsi.gov.uk or 01223 372683.
More

Working Together to Excellence goes national
“Working Together to Excellence”, a pilot project developed by Sport England to test the viability and sustainability of a new peer supported approach to sport and cultural service improvement, is to be adopted nationally, following independent evaluation by the Improvement and Development Agency (IDeA).

The pilot project which took place between April and July 2007, involved 10 local authorities in Essex plus Sportessex. Key features of the project included:

• Values, habits and techniques of organisational excellence and continuous improvement, including self assessment and improvement planning


• A ‘peer challenge’ process to challenge and enhance each authority’s self assessment
  
• Management of improvement teams and managing change, including the use of coaching skills and techniques


• Methods of sharing best practice and learning between organisations (best practice benchmarking)


• Creation of an improvement network through a collaborative approach within and between Essex Local Authorities
  

For further information please contact Chris Cutforth chris.cutforth@sportengland.org


Invest

Fit @ Sixty project wins National Lottery Award
The Sport England funded Fit @ Sixty project in Bedford scooped first prize in the Best Sports category in the National Lottery awards. Fit @ Sixty, which has received National Lottery funding of £87,500 from Sport England, encourages older people in Bedford to participate in leisure activities on a weekly basis, improving their health and well-being.
More

£3.44m invested by Sportsmatch
By November, Sportsmatch will have allocated its total budget for 2007-2008 of £3.44 million. Together with match funding, this means investment of nearly £7 million into community sports projects since April – a major achievement.

As a result of unprecedented demand for funding, Sportsmatch is unable to accept applications for funding for the remainder of the financial year 2007-2008.

This fantastic investment is testament to the hard work of the Sportsmatch team and the commitment of its partners and sponsors. Most importantly, it means clubs across the country have secured funds and are delivering projects to drive up participation in community sport.
More

Sport England funding is pitch perfect
Hockey clubs in the East of England have been celebrating three new pitches as a result of funding from the Community Club Development Programme.

In Bedfordshire, the Bedford Sports and Hockey Centre has been awarded £100,000 by Sport England East to refurbish its double artificial pitch and to create top class facilities at its Chester Road site in Bedford. In Norfolk, Dereham Hockey Club received £60,000 and Harleston Magpies £35,000 for pitch improvements.


BIG Lottery gives the East a £3.9 million health kick
More than 130,000 people across the East of England are set to feel the health benefits of a whopping £3.9million investment to improve well-being and encourage healthier lifestyles in schools, homes, workplaces and communities throughout the region
More


£5 Million drive to recruit army of sports coaches
A campaign to recruit 10,000 voluntary community sports coaches in 70 of the most deprived areas of the country was launched in September by the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport James Purnell. More


Promote

Celebrate community sport with us at Wembley
Come along to Wembley on 13 November to help us celebrate community sport and hear more about Sport England's recent achievements and plans for the future at our Annual Open Meeting. You can also watch martial art demonstrations and go back stage on the Stadium Tour. More



Do you know an Unsung Hero?
The American Air Museum at Duxford will host the inagural BBC East - Sport England Sports Awards on November 12th 2007, where the region's top sports and community sports stars of the year will be announced. Some of the nominations will come from County Sport Partnership awards, while others are available for regional public vote, such as the BBC's Unsung Hero award.

If know someone who helps others take part in sport within your community why not nominate them for the BBC’s search for “Sports Unsung Hero of 2007” ?
More


BHF 30 a day toolkit
Earlier this year, the British Heart Foundation launched the 30 a Day campaign to encourage older adults to get active to safeguard their heart health. The Active for Later Life Toolkit is designed to be used by a wide range of national and local agencies and it can be accessed for free.
More

Forthcoming Events