Welcome to COMPASS
Community of Providers of Physical Activity and Sports
COMPASS is a trade association representing and promoting the interests of providers in schools and communities. Members will come from public, private, commercial and charity/voluntary sectors.
Following a series of national and regional meetings, more than 100 providers have completed and returned expressions of interest in becoming members of COMPASS, which will be a trade association. Members will be organisations offering services in physical activity and sport. Trade associations can address issues of common concern, for example curriculum review, safeguarding regulations, national developments in employment and qualifications links.
There is widespread agreement about the need for a trade association to represent the needs of quality providers of physical activity and sport. Providers from all sectors not only share the same market and client groups, but also share the same concerns for quality and accountability.
Because of action taken by the COMPASS Interim Board, the collective contribution of providers has now been recognised by government and national agencies.
There has been a very positive response to the opportunity for the industry to take steps to regulate its own affairs, rather than do nothing and allow Government to legislate. Representatives of Government agencies and departments, and Ministers, have supported this development.
People attending meetings have commonly identified issues including:
- Lack of national occupational standards
- Lack of recognised/accredited qualifications, especially for multi-skill/physical literacy deliverers
- Patchy quality of delivery, including some very poor delivery from "rogue traders", with better quality providers disadvantaged through pricing & school contractors' ignorance of H&S, quality, curriculum requirements etc.
There is agreement about the need for clear, transparent quality benchmarks, which commissioners of services can use to ensure that services provided are of good quality, and which are safe for both client groups and the places where service is delivered. afPE, SportsCoachUK, SkillsActive, Sport England, the Welsh Football Trust, Sports Leaders, The Dept. for Educaation, and Sports Wales support this shared objective. The Department for Education welcomes the prospect of collective action by providers to ensure that head teachers and school governors are accurately informed about appropriate standards and qualifications: this will support the current policy of local commissioning and deployment.
"An organisation founded and funded by businesses that operate in a specific industry. An industry trade association participates in public relations activities such as advertising, education, political donations, lobbying and publishing, but its main focus is collaboration between companies, or standardisation. Many associations are non-profit organisations governed by laws and directed by officers who are also members."
SkillsActive, SportsCoach UK and the Association for Physical Education support the COMPASS agenda, and welcome the development of a trade association to represent and promote the needs of providers of physical activity and sport, in schools and communities. Each of these partner organisations has provided expert advice, brokered contacts or meetings, and/or provided meeting venues. There is shared commitment between the four organisations to improve and support complementary services around curriculum physical education and school sport by developing the workforce; and have agreed to collaborate towards a shared framework for professional learning and qualifications.
The unique collaboration between COMPASS, the physical education subject association and the lead body for coach education is now leading to a collaborative offer for a new category of afPE/SportsCoachUK membership for individual staff delivering PAS.
