Coach Insurance £50?

[SeanC]

I was intrigued by a comment in Bill Melville's letter in CompassSport that coaches who wanted to avoid the UKCC route for whatever reason could get their own insurance for £50.

Is it really this cheap, and how would such a policy compare with BOF insurance? What would be the risks?

At this kind of price I might be tempted to just pay it myself if and when I got back into coaching, rather than trying to sort out the lapsed UKCC level 1 qualification (and definately attractive if the level 2 is needed). I'd expect my club to still want CRB check and possibly a first aid qualification.

Perhaps Bill is reading this and might send me a PM?

[andypat]

You might also want to wait until you hear from BOF Coaching needs work group which is now due to report to BOF in June rather than March as far as I can gather. I'm pretty certain they are at least aware of the issue as described by BM in Compasspoint.

[HilaryQ]

Would an insurer perhaps be interested in whether you were qualified to do what they were covering you for?

As a point of fact, your coach qualification doesn't lapse, only your licensed status. See http://www.britishorienteering.org.uk/p ... ed_coaches

[aiming off]

I wonder how many of the 2000+ people who have achieved orienteering coaching qualifications are currently with an active licenced status?

Anyone know?

[aiming off]

The current BOF Continuing Professional Development requirements are OTT, and a huge disincentive to becoming a qualified orienteering coach. Coaching clearly has not yet been sorted properly. For the last few years, you need to be UKCC Level 3 to coach above Green, and how many of those courses have we yet seen??

This will lead to lower numbers of active qualified coaches, due to a combination of sky high cost of courses and over-onerous renewal requirements.

Some other sports (where the existence of qualified coaches is absolutely essential) refused to go down this UKCC route due to concerns about it leading to a dramatically smaller actively qualified coaching base, which in turn would have inflicted terrible damage on the sport.

[roadrunner]

The current BOF Continuing Professional Development requirements are OTT, and a huge disincentive to becoming a qualified orienteering coach.

They're certainly out of step with the corresponding athletics coaching requirements: CPD is strongly encouraged and expected, but you don't have to submit proof to keep your licence.

[greywolf]

As a point of fact, your coach qualification doesn't lapse, only your licensed status. See http://www.britishorienteering.org.uk/p ... ed_coaches

Every time I consider coaching I look at this page and give up in despair

given that BOF seem to think that it's illegal for under 18s to drink alcohol you have to wonder how much else of it is all that well-informed

[bewildered]

SportsCoachUK membership gives insurance for coaches at £88 per year and can cover multiple sports, apparently.

[SeanC]

I don't think the SportsCoachUK membership will work. It looks like you need to be a qualified coach approved by the governing body, (ie BO, and therefore would be insured anyway). See quote below..

What is interesting about Bill's letter is that he is suggesting that anyone can go and coach if they pay the £50 insurance (though to who?), even if they are not qualified. Still hoping this is possible.

For balence, three points:

- The UKCC level 1 course was really good. I think orienteers should be encouraged to go on these courses, and they should be subsidised / paid for by someone... probably clubs. It's making them (and other restrictions such as continuing professional development logs) compulsary which is the problem.

- I do think coaches should have a regular CRB check if coaching children. That seems reasonable and parents expect this these days.

- There's probably been more orienteering coaching in the last few years in the UK than ever before. BO can take its share of credit for this (eg the club night initiative, development fund supporting junior regional squads).



T's and C's ,,,

COACH/INSTRUCTOR/OFFICIAL” means an individual who is accredited and qualified in accordance with the requirements of the sport(s) nominated in the Schedule abiding by the guidelines for that award as issued by the awarding body and is defined as follows:
(i) A Qualified Coach/Instructor is defined as any person who holds a current qualification issued by a Home Country Sports Council recognised National Governing Body (NGB) for their sport or an S/NVQ in coaching.
(ii) A Qualified Official is defined as a person who holds a current officiating qualification issued by a Home Country Sports Council recognised Governing Body of their sport as long as the person is also holding a coaching qualification as defined in (1) above.

[bewildered]

COACH/INSTRUCTOR/OFFICIAL” means an individual who is accredited and qualified in accordance with the requirements of the sport(s) nominated in the Schedule abiding by the guidelines for that award as issued by the awarding body and is defined as follows:
(i) A Qualified Coach/Instructor is defined as any person who holds a current qualification issued by a Home Country Sports Council recognised National Governing Body (NGB) for their sport or an S/NVQ in coaching.

I haven't checked with SportsCoachUK, but the above says holds a current qualification - not is "licensed". And you only get insured with BO if you register every activity that you hold - which is yet another extra that you don't have to do with, say, Athletics.

[SeanC]

ok, that might be possible then, thanks.

There's still the problem of what UKCC level 1 qualifies you for, but for local orienteering, teaching people to get up to light green standard, and for younger juniors, it's good enough.

We'll see what comes out of the coaching review.

[awk]

- There's probably been more orienteering coaching in the last few years in the UK than ever before. BO can take its share of credit for this (eg the club night initiative, development fund supporting junior regional squads).

Are junior regional squads really meeting more than once a month on average, with additional one to one coaching for a majority, plus Lakeside weekend, and a significant number going on tours (run by BOF but serviced mostly by coaches from regional squads) which were run at all age groups from M/W14 upwards, which is what we were doing back in the 80s and 90s? I'm impressed if they are, but are they?

If there is more coaching going on, I wonder what the coaching base is: British Orienteering weren't able to find a coach for our proposed club night, which thus fell through, not least because pretty much all of our qualified coaches (apart from one already very committed individual) had let their licenses to practise lapse (including me!), and there was a shortage of people further afield. Other clubs have relied on bought in coaches from outside, and seen little coaching development in-house. Others have been more successful, and there are pockets of real activity. Maybe, if there is more going on, a case of fewer coaches but each doing more, some of it paid?

[Lard]

I'm a lapsed level 4. There are too many hoops to jump through to keep my qualification "licensed" - Life's too short.

Which ultimately means........ I officially don't coach.
I'd be doing more for the sport if getting licensed wasn't such a hassle

[aiming off]

And Lard is not the only one.

You need old Level4/5 or UKCC Level 3 to be insured to coach Short Blue, Blue, Short Brown, Brown or Black. Also to coach in complex woods or moors.

The BOF plan requires 138 of these coaches nationally!!

Hard data is hard to come by, but the current reality is
No one, please correct me if I'm wrong, is qualified at UKCC Level 3 nationally (no course yet, still awaiting pilot)
NEOA has one old Level 4/5
EMOA only one club has licensed coaches at old level4/5
and we are losing volunteers at this level by the month, because of very silly CPD requirements. Something needs to be done urgently.

[keever]

No one, please correct me if I'm wrong, is qualified at UKCC Level 3 nationally (no course yet, still awaiting pilot)

We have at least one.