 For our second Sector Spotlight on Sports and Leisure, we hear from Carolynn Leslie, Co-ordinator of Active Schools Orkney. Active Schools is a network throughout Scotland which aims to promote healthy, active living and sports in schools. Keep an eye on our website and social media this Monday to find out which sector we'll be spotlighting next! Can you describe a typical day in your role as Active Schools Co-ordinator?
The role is really diverse however, the main focus is to promote extracurricular activities, this can be in school or the local community. Building school to club links, training volunteers, monitoring data, promoting governance, identifying the inactive and providing support to those pupils. Curricular programmes such as Bikeability and Sports Leadership are often delivered on behalf of partnership organisations. [At time of interview] we are currently delivering an Orkney 2025 Programme to support the Island Games. Organising events such as The Orkney Sports Awards, Transition Sport Festivals and Young Ambassador Conferences, is another part of the role, which makes it very varied and exciting. How did you end up in this role? Throughout school, I always had a passion for sport. Taking part in programmes such as ‘Sports Leaders UK’ sparked my interest in coaching and volunteering at community clubs. I went away to University but came home to complete placements and worked at holiday programmes, coaching for Active Schools. After leaving University, I was employed as an Active Schools Co-ordinator for Moray Council, before returning to Orkney. What is the best thing about your job? For me, it’s the little things that mean the most. Pupils who don’t take part in sport or physical activity having a go. A pupil who’s excluded in other circumstances taking part. A child who ‘doesn’t like sport’ finding an activity that they enjoy. Most of all, pupils having fun while, sometimes unknowingly, benefitting their physical and mental health. I’m lucky to see these things everyday in my job, that’s what keeps me so engaged in the role. What is the worst thing about your job? As an external member of school staff, you see participants on a less frequent basis than if you’re working in one school all the time. You have limited time with participants to achieve outcomes. However, it also makes it really exciting going into the school and seeing how much pupils develop week to week. What skills do you need to undertake your role? Active Schools is all about working with people therefore, communications skills are essential. Whether it’s connecting with schools, clubs and partnership organisations, or delivering sessions to pupils and volunteers, it’s vital to build positive rapport and be confident in presenting. Active Schools Co-ordinators work jointly to deliver large scale programmes across Orkney however, there’s also a lot of individual work, so competence in both is desirable. What qualifications do you have? I have a BSc Honours Degree in Sport Development from the University of the West of Scotland, which allowed me to apply for my Active Schools role. Since beginning in my post, I complete regular ‘Continuing Lifelong Professional Learning’ and did a ‘Personal Development Award’ to allow me to tutor for sportscotland and partnership organisations. Would you recommend this job to young people? If so, why? I would highly recommend Active Schools, or a profession within the Sport and Leisure team to young people, as the role is so diverse it gives you experience in many different areas of work. Mostly, the job brings a lot of joy, and I believe creates fantastic opportunities for children and young people in our local community. Visit Active Schools Orkney on: Website: https://www.orkney.gov.uk/our-services/leisure-and-culture/sport-and-leisure/active-schools/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/activeschools.orkney.01/ Comments are closed.
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