Essex Professional Coaching

Essex Professional Coaching: PE, wraparound care and football for primary-aged children

Essex Professional Coaching (EPC) is a children's activity, education and childcare provider founded in July 2017 by co-directors Adam Hampson and Karl Andrade. The organisation works with primary schools across Essex and Suffolk and describes its purpose as inspiring and educating children through PE, sport and physical activity. Its stated aim is to encourage the next generation towards healthier, happier and more active lifestyles.

The company reports that its PE and physical activity work reaches 5,047 children each week and that 400 children stay active through its school-holiday programmes. It also states that it partners with 36 primary schools to enhance PE, school sport and physical activity (PESSPA).

What schools can commission

EPC's schools offering is organised around several strands that a school can take up individually or together:

• Curriculum PE delivered within the school timetable.
• Extracurricular clubs.
• Wraparound care, including a dedicated booking page for Earls Colne Primary School.
• PE mentoring and training for staff.
• Workshops, resources and continuing professional development (CPD).

The site also provides an instant quote route for schools seeking PE and club provision.

Holiday clubs and the Holiday Activity and Food Programme

Outside term time, EPC runs holiday clubs split into football holiday clubs and activity holiday clubs. It also takes part in the Holiday Activity and Food Programme. Ofsted information relating to the holiday club provision is published on the site, and bookings are handled through a dedicated holiday club booking page.

Football pathway: progression centres and academy

Football development is a distinct part of the business. The Football Progression Centres are presented with an overview, a syllabus explaining what participants can expect, and a set of frequently asked questions, with sessions bookable online.

The Football Academy is structured by age group, covering U6–U8, U9–U11 and U12–U13. Prospective players can apply for a trial or book open trials, and the academy also invites clubs to organise a fixture against it. An academy overview and success stories are published alongside the age-group pages.

Team structure and roles

The organisation publishes its staffing structure in some detail. Adam Hampson and Karl Andrade are co-directors. The senior leadership team includes Kane Hipkin as Head of Coaching, while the management team comprises Lee Skelton (Select Academy Manager), Annabelle Abbott (Education Manager) and Dan Boxell (Holiday Activities Manager), with Encya Vitelli as Marketing Manager.

Administration, marketing and finance are handled by Ellen Watts and Tiffany Reeves as admin assistants and Jess Hampson as finance assistant. A delivery team of PE and sport educators includes Tom Pullen-Appleby, Josh Martin, Jack Mackenzie, Kurt Beaumont, Louie Falco, Kiera Chittenden, Joe Suttle and Tiffany Reeves, supported by junior PE and sport educators Michael Scott, Josh Dennis, Oscar Warnes and Jacob Revill-Neilson. Wraparound care is staffed separately, with Rosie Storey and Morwenna Palmer-Brown as ECPS settings leads and Rosely Calisin, Jazka Ballisat, Stacey Ives and Natalie Hughes as play leaders.

Recruitment and editorial content

EPC states that enthusiasm, passion and care shape its recruitment process, with the intention of aligning its workforce with the organisation's mission and values. The company also maintains a blog; among the posts listed are a guide to running a successful PE lesson, advice on choosing a holiday camp provider and tips for ball mastery with young players.

Feedback highlighted on the site

The site reproduces several parent reviews dated between March 2022 and October 2023. They describe a half-term camp that a child asked to return to, an academy that supports skill and technique development with regular two-way feedback between parents and coaches, and after-school clubs where coaches were said to have taken extra time to understand a child with special educational needs. These are individual accounts rather than an aggregate rating.