OPPORTUNITY UK: The Home countries and the English Regions

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OPPORTUNITY UKThe Home countries and the
English Regions

• Professor Margaret Talbot
• Chief Executive

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BACKGROUND

• JWG commitments to regional hubs
• Existing baalpe areas (variable activity)
• Previous PEA local groupings
• Worcester Reading offices (university campus
  locations, low cost, high benefits)
• Dispersed CPD delivery
• Home countries Wales baalpe area Scotland, NI

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WHY REGIONAL PRESENCE? 1. FINANCE

• Regional Development Agencies rapidly
  increasing budgets for economic regeneration and
  sustainable communities how can physical
  education CPD address these agendas?
• Government Offices in the Regions serve 10
  Government Departments, including DCMS. Total
  through GOs far exceeds SE UKSport exchequer
  budgets.
• EU regional funding often for infrastructure.
• Local authority budgets still exceed central
  government exchequer budgets.
• Regional or local structures for many other
  sources of mainstream funding, eg Learning
  Skills Councils, youth/childrens services (ref
  Childrens Commissioner. ECM).
• Change Up VCS funding through GOs.

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WHY REGIONAL PRESENCE? 2. PARTNERSHIPS

• Membership in the regions/Home Countries
  opportunities for leadership participation.
• New localism flagged by local strategic
  partnerships gt local area agreements.
  Indications that some LDAs already being funded
  through such sources.
• Local authorities increasingly hands off
  facilitating or commissioning delivery.
• Local level work between local authorities and
  voluntary sector appropriate for delivery.
• Education policy increasingly stressing links
  with community.

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WHY REGIONAL/SUB-REGIONAL PRESENCE? 3. POLICY
CONTEXT

• RDAs AND CSPs seen as infrastructure for
  community sport. Physical education has no
  formal interface with either. PESSCL, SSPs.
• Infrastructure organisations sought for regional
  capacity building - ?subject associations?
• CPA includes culture (incl sport and
  recreation) since 2005 Children Act 2004
  requires LAs to provide recreation for children.
• Workforce Reform.
• Relationships with client groups.
• Potential funding for infrastructure - ??pilots.
• Links
• Delivery systems.

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QUESTIONS

• Where is national policy on regions going? Will
  this affect devolution to local level?
• Can/should afPE provide presence, brokering,
  capacity-building and representation services for
  its whole membership at regional level and to
  develop local presence where appropriate partners
  can be found?
• Can afPE claim to be an INFRASTRUCTURE
  ORGANISATION AND WITHOUT REGIONAL PRESENCE AND
  LOCAL LINKS, CAN IT BE?
• ON WHOSE BEHALF WOULD afPE CLAIM TO BE AN
  EFFECTIVE INFRASTRUCTURE ORGANISATION?
• HOW MIGHT THIS RELATE TO THE GOALS OF
• SUSTAINING A NATIONAL CPD PROGRAMME, MEETING
  LOCAL NEEDS?
• SECURING SUSTAINABLE FUNDING FOR CPD?
• WITHOUT A REGIONAL STRUCTURE, COULD NATIONAL
  ACTIVITIES BECOME INCREASINGLY ISOLATED FROM
  REGIONAL LOCAL DECISIONS?

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THE ROLE OF afPE
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STRATEGIC GOALS

• Members support and services to develop and
  extend the existing range of member services.
• Professional leadership to reinforce the
  Associations position as the lead agency for
  physical education and active promotion of
  quality, through focus on inclusion and the
  process of learning.
• Representing, promoting, advocating and
  influencing the interests of physical education
  and those of our members.
• Establishing appropriate structures and
  governance for a charity with a wholly owned
  trading company. This goal should have been
  achieved by end 2007, and then will become part
  of goal 6, developing as an organisation.
• Building a business plan to ensure that the
  Associations finances are robustly managed and
  that its resources and income-earning capacity
  are appropriately developed and protected.
• Developing as an organisation to ensure that the
  Association has the right people, processes and
  structures for achieving its strategic goals, to
  support afPE and afPE Ltd, and help to
  demonstrate the Association as an example of
  continuous quality improvement a learning
  organisation.

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BEST ASSETS

• The distinctive role of physical education in
  childrens development and the school system and
  as a life-long experience.
• Our independence as a voluntary, member
  organisation a critical friend to government
  and its agencies.
• Our capacity to earn income for contracts
  provide extra services for members.
• Our members
• Their expertise and knowledge (eg HS, NC
  implementation, physical literacy, childrens
  development)
• Their position in the delivery system knowing
  the real position and our client groups
• Their energy and primary purpose.

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MEMBERSHIP WHATS IN IT FOR ME?

• Student introductory package.
• Being an active part of a professional community
  good practice, ideas, issues and problems.
• Up to date information, early warning of changes
  and new expectations.
• Insurance cover professional and personal
  liability access to expert HS advice and
  support.
• CPD opportunities, Annual Conference.
• Publications
• Physical Education Matters journal, 4x pa
• Regular e bulletins and news flashes
• Physical Education and Sport Pedagogy at member
  rates
• Range of guidance materials.
• Confidence that physical education is being
  represented with government and the media.

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DEVOLVED RESPONSIBILITIES EDUCATION, HEALTH AND
SPORT

• Welsh Assembly, Scottish Executive,
  Stormont/Westminster, Westminster. 4 sets of
  policies, ministers, civil servants, political
  agendas to learn.
• Shared issues and distinctive differences.
• Position of Westminster parliament and national
  politics.
• Differences of scale between England other Home
  Countries issues of capacity and role.
• UK in world physical education.

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BUILDING CAPACITY

• National strategic policy framework
  local/regional needs (PAG).
• Setting an agenda (leadership communication).
• Location institutional support.
• Administrative support.
• Delivery what, where, who how?
• Effective communities for physical education.