New or established sports clubs may want to consider achieving more formal recognition through a quality accreditation scheme. Such schemes provide clubs with a "stamp of approval" and can be good for the status of the club.
Although there is no national endorsement of the schemes listed below, accreditation demonstrates best practice.
Accreditation helps to demonstrate that your sports club is well run and formally recognised by a governing body of sport and/or a local authority. There are a growing range of sports club accreditation schemes:
Sports-specific accreditation schemes
Many British and Scottish governing bodies operate their own club accreditation schemes and this should be your first point of enquiry. The link below lists these schemes and signposts you to more information:
Link to accreditation schemes
Local Authority schemes
An increasing number of Scottish local authorities are now developing club accreditation schemes, particularly for those clubs to whom they provide financial, coaching or other support.
They are developing schemes to encourage clubs to gain accreditation by developing incentives such as access to grants, free coach education courses, priority booking at facilities. The incentives offered vary for local authority to local authority. The link below lists these schemes and directs you to where to go for more information:
Link to accreditation schemes
If your local authority is not listed , you can contact your Local Sports Council or Local Authority to find out whether an accreditation scheme is planned for your area. An index of Local Sports Councils can be found in the "see also" section in the right hand panel.
Your SGB and local authority may recognise other accreditation schemes to avoid unnecessary duplication. You should always check before you embark on a second process as you may be exempt from overlapping criteria.
Clubmark
Developed by Sport England, Clubmark is the only national cross sports quality accreditation scheme for clubs with junior sections in England. You will need to check if your SGB or local authority recognises Clubmark. However, in all circumstances, the Clubmark Resource pack and templates can be downloaded from the Clubmark website to help your club develop its policies and procedures. To find out more information, visit the Clubmark website – www.clubmark.org.uk
