Sports Coaching Group

Sports Coaching Group: school sport, swimming and wraparound care in Cheshire and beyond

Sports Coaching Group (SCG) is a sports coaching provider founded in 2011. According to its own account, it began with two employees coaching at a handful of schools and has grown to employ more than 80 coaches at over 100 schools across Cheshire, Staffordshire, Stoke-on-Trent and Shropshire. The organisation operates under the umbrella of EMPHASIS Community Interest Company, alongside its sister organisation Sportscape Education.

Breakfast, lunch and after-school clubs

A central part of the offer is the delivery of breakfast, lunch and after-school clubs in schools. The group also provides wraparound care and childcare through its Tommy Tiger Time programme. These services are listed among the provisions available to schools and parents, alongside holiday clubs and birthday parties.

Swimming lessons through Pools to YOU

SCG teaches swimming lessons at 100 schools through its Pools to YOU programme, which brings lessons directly to schools and, in the group's words, removes travel barriers. The programme reports that more than 70 schools in Cheshire and Stoke-on-Trent already benefit and that 80% of 12,000 children have achieved a swimming award. Beyond school settings, the group offers private swimming lessons, fun pool sessions, private pool hire, private school hire, adult-only swim sessions, one-to-one swimming lessons and home education swimming lessons. Pool hire is advertised at £40.

PE provision, CPD and support for teachers

For schools, SCG provides curriculum-aligned PE sessions intended to ease teachers' workload, in line with government policy promoting at least two hours of PE per week. The services listed include planning, preparation and assessment (PPA) cover, continuing professional development (CPD) training, lesson observation, assessment days, sports days, supply cover and alternative provision. The group states that each school it works with is different and that it creates a bespoke service tailored to individual needs.

Holiday clubs and community programmes

During school holidays, SCG runs multi-sports and sport-specific holiday clubs, which it describes as very popular. It works in partnership with Cheshire East Council, Cheshire West and Chester, Staffordshire County Council and the Department for Education to provide #HAF provision during the Easter, summer and Christmas holiday periods, involving sporting and enrichment activities for the local community. The wider EMPHASIS group also covers youth engagement, early years programmes, positive parenting programmes, enrichment days, wellbeing and low-impact exercise activities, and fund-raising.

Structure and mission

EMPHASIS Community Interest Company is the parent company of Sports Coaching Group. The group states that both share a common mission to foster confidence, discipline and lifelong skills through sport, while each brings a different approach. EMPHASIS describes its role as providing strategic and operational support to partners across education, mentoring, health and wellbeing, early years and inclusive sports participation through Sportscape Education and Sports Coaching Group. SCG summarises its own aim as empowering young people through sports, building confidence and instilling discipline.

Feedback from a partner school

The site includes a testimonial from Lucy Wagstaff, Head of Cledford Primary School, which it says has used the services for the past five years. In that testimonial, SCG is described as delivering engaging PE that builds confidence, teamwork and a love of activity, with professional staff who raise standards, support competitions and positively impact pupils and the wider school community.