Children and Young People

Move With Us Leaders Academy

Supporting the next generation

Active Essex is committed to supporting the next generation of leaders, volunteers and coaches who would like to develop within the Sport and Physical Activity sector and beyond. The Move With Us (MWU) Leaders Academy was set up to offer additional learning and development opportunities for young leaders who are currently doing some fantastic work in supporting children and young people.

The Move With Us Leaders Academy programme offers participants further volunteering opportunities, recognition for volunteering hours, access to training and qualifications from a range of providers, and the chance to work alongside industry experts to build confidence and enhance their CV’s with references and a personal statement.

AE Whos it for
Who's it for?
13-16 year olds who are looking to develop as a young leader
AE Prime
Prime objective:
to provide an opportunity for young people who may not normally put themselves forward
AE Second
Second objective:
to gain experience and support their development into future career pathways

Active Essex recognised that many young people who have attended the Essex ActivAte programme over the past few years, have expressed their interest in wanting to take on more responsibility at the club now that they are old enough. Essex ActivAte works with many local partners across the county and the opportunity for young people to become young leaders, provides them with valuable experience in community sport settings to support their future career pathways, build their confidence and develop key skills further.

A Young Leaders programme was piloted with Essex ActivAte partners during summer 2023 who were already working with young leaders, to understand why they wanted to get more involved in their local club. From this pilot and working with the CYP team at Active Essex, it was decided that in summer 2024 it would be best to align this programme with the established Move With Us campaign. Resources were provided which included training support, and learning logs enabled the young leaders to document progress. Delivery notes to train and support organisations in mentoring young leaders were also created, and a trial training day was held at ATF by AEF’s David Streetly, which highlighted the qualities of a good coach.

 
12
organisations became MWU Leaders Academy mentors
92
young people were supported to become young leaders
70
young leaders supported at the Invincible Games
 

Active Essex’s role is to ensure organisations feel supported in developing their young people. Many organisations provide a safe and welcoming space for young people to attend, and hopefully this training enables them to help make a difference to a young person’s future.

Feedback is essential to the success of this programme, therefore it is vital that organisations, schools and their SGO’s feel they can share their thoughts and experiences of the programme. Reflections given have so far been presented as a serious matter at the Skills Advisory Board which includes representatives from CIMSPA, Football Association, Local Authorities and Essex County Council, highlighting the need to support young people in volunteering and ensuring that organisations are recognised with accredited qualifications.

Additionally, linking young leaders with career opportunities such as the Coach Core Apprenticeship programme and rolling out initiatives with schools via the CYP team and SGOs, has provided young leaders with the opportunity to support Active Essex CYP events.

 
Several of the Young Leaders have received free training and certificates for Food and Hygiene and First aid, and some have been given Jack Petchey awards for their work in the community. 4 individuals who started out as volunteers and young leaders have since become full time apprentices through the Coach Core programme and graduated to full time employment.
ATF deliverer

Active Essex are proud of their work with schools and organisations, and how together they are helping to develop their young people. Some of organisations have started to think about the young person’s future with them and have offered a space for these young people whether that’s through an apprenticeship, part time or full-time work.

One of the initiatives that Active Essex is working on with schools, is the Barclays Girls Football School Partnership, which aims to give girls equal access to football in schools. Through the Barclays ‘Game On’ programme, secondary school girls have the opportunity to develop their skills using football as the vehicle. This training equips them with the necessary skills to help deliver the Disney Inspired Shooting Stars programme, which supports the engagement of girls aged 5-11 years old in sport, through creative play and storytelling. In March, the Biggest Ever Football session returns, whereby a number of Disney-inspired festivals will take place across the county to help and inspire and empower the next generation through girls football in schools.

 
4
FA Girl training dates to take place in February 2025
9
Disney inspired festivals will be held across the county
700
Girls (pupils and leaders) approximately will take part in the sessions
 
The Barclays Girls Football School Partnership alongside Active Essex's Move With Us Leaders Academy, has transformed the opportunities available to schools across Essex. By combining football leadership development, Essex is not just encouraging participation, but also inspiring the next generation of confident, empowered young women who can lead both on and off the pitch.
Tom Weller, Assistant Relationship Manager
Tom Weller
 

Key Learnings

Skills

Career Development

Young people want to further their learning, which will support their career and enhance their CV...

Engaging

Engagement

The experience a young person receives, makes a difference in them wanting to give back to the cl...

Diversity

Diversity

Schools and organisations work differently and not one process will fit all

 
As a business, this is a great way for us to identify young people and spend time nurturing and training them to give them all the tools they need to help them to achieve their potential. In return, we are able to retain great staff who know our brand and want to work hard to progress.
Camp for Champs deliverer

The vision of Active Essex’s Sport and Physical Activity strategic priority, is to ‘support the development and growth of the sport and physical activity sector, in order to collectively increase opportunities for all’, and as part of the MWU Leaders Academy programme, we are ensuring organisations look at their young people as an opportunity to ‘grow their own’ and offer the next generation of coaches/staff. Many of these young people have been participants themselves, so they understand the experience and can give back to inspire the next generation.

 
 
 
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