"I would like to thank all the coaches for their dedication, hard work and making my son's week fun and enjoyable! Thank you very much...10/10"
"It's such a relief to leave my son knowing that he is in a safe, fun environment. Thank you Sportstars!"
"The staff were extremely friendly and had a great rapport with the children."
"A really good week - excellent value, the girls were really happy, we knew they were safe and the performance was great! This is our second time and we'd definitely come again."
"I brought four children to the scheme, ranging from 5 to 10. They all loved coming and ran in every morning. Excellent...10/10"
"I was a bit concerned about leaving my son as he's only just four, but the coaches were so friendly and confident it put my mind at ease straight away. Thanks all. 10/10"
"The coaches have all been fantastic with the children - an excellent balance of fun, learning and discipline. They really manage to communicate with all the children regardless of their age or ability - very impressed indeed!"
"(Sportstars) supply extremely high quality planning, preparation and assessment cover and after school activities, all at a reasonable cost to already stretched school budgets".
"As a Headteacher I have been challenged by the latest educational reforms of providing good quality cover for staff while they have their 10% Planning Preparation and Assessment Time. I tried a range of providers before and themes for the pupils before employing the services of Sportstars... I have now decided to use Sportstars to cover all the schools PPA requirements for next year and have been very impressed with the company...the services they provide have been a real godsend to Headteachers and the quality of staff are of a high standard".
"Sportstars has been working in Kitchener Primary school for the past year. The enthusiastic and energetic coaches are well trained and motivate the children in a wide variety of sports during the year. Sportstars also provide end of year reports for the teachers with whom they have been working."
"Sportstars is very well organised, has excellent coaching personnel, offers a diversity of sports and is excellent value for money! Sportstars has addressed the Health and Safety issues and the coaches have a code of conduct - both of which are so important where the safety and security are concerned'.'The work being done by Sportstars in schools and in holiday clubs, will play a major role in the fight against obesity and also encourage children to take a more active role in sport".
"We are a small school and it's been fantastic to receive fresh new faces bringing in their expertise. Sportstars is a very dependable company and we have never been let down. We had been having great difficulty covering PPA in the past but now we have no worries."
"I have been extremely impressed by the professionalism and enthusiasm of the staff of Sportstars. They enthuse and engage the pupils which will lead to them continuing to enjoy the benefits of sporting activities throughout their lives."
"We have been working with Sportstars since September 2006, when financial pressures meant we were unable to fund a qualified teacher to provide PPA cover. Coaches work closely within existing school policies and frameworks. They have proved extremely popular with our pupils and are highly respected by staff as they bring extra specialities into our school routines."
"The qualified coaches of Sportstars are making a significant contribution in our school, both through covering classes for PPA and also by raising standards of achievement across all year groups. With their detailed planning, accurate assessments and good class management, they have quickly won the respect of teachers and the trust of pupils. I recommend them highly."
"Sportstars is a well organised and very efficient service. They have excellent coaches who cover the full range of the PE curriculum. Detailed lesson planning is provided and is tailored to suit our school's individual needs."
Stop Press! - SportStars in the TES!
20/02/07
‘Young gun with an army of sports coaches is set to make millions covering for teachers'
An award-winning young entrepreneur is on course to create a multi-million pound business from the deal to cut teachers' workload. James Taylor, a child psychology graduate, spotted a gap in the market when he realised that some primaries would struggle to offer their teachers half a day a week for lesson preparation and marking.
His business, Sportstars, offers a solution by providing professional sports coaches at a rate that undercutts the cost of qualified teachers and frees them up for PPA (Planning Preparation and Assessment). Taylor, 25, said; ‘I read about PPA time in the TES and on the internet. I had spoken to heads and knew it was going to be a massive headache for them. I told them we will not only cover PPA time, but also deliver the sport curriculum to a very high standard. With all the concerns about childhood obesity, it just fell together perfectly'.
Now, just over a year since PPA entitlement came in, he has 28 schools on his books, representing 30% of Cardiff's primaries. Annual turnover is already £350,000, and from next February the company will expand across South Wales and South West England, offering everything from Football to Cheerleading. Taylor, 2006's Welsh young entrepreneur of the year, expects to have made a similar impact in every single authority in England and Wales by 2011.
‘We have got a winning formula', he said. ‘There are music and drama specialists floating about, but they tend to be a one man band. We have 150 coaches on our books so that we can send any number to schools, which means all teachers can take their PPA at the same time and collaborate'.
John Tobutt, head of Gabalfa primary, began using Sportstars in September after money to pay for an extra teacher to provide PPA ran out. He said, ‘two coaches come in every morning and take pupils from the nursery right through to Year 6, who absolutely love it.' The deal costs 40% less than a full-time teacher.
Tobutt said ‘It is early days, but my first reaction is that the coaches are very able indeed. They are very popular within the school and are regarded now as members of staff. This allows us to provide something that some colleagues might not be keen on teaching. Primary teachers are known for their expertise in just about everything, but sport is often something you are either passionate about or have a strong dislike for'.
Mr Taylor believes he has a ready supply of young sports coaches to tap into as his business continues to grow. ‘There are thousands of graduates coming out of sports coaching and sports science courses in universities across the country' he said. ‘They trained to do this job, but there is no outlet for them. They are just ending up in dead-end jobs. We can enable them to use their skills', he said.
Mary Bousted, general secretary of the Association of Teachers and Lecturers, said ‘ As long as schools are clear that sports coaching does not replace timetabled good quality PE, then this seems like a helpful way forward'.
John Bangs, head of education at the National Union of teachers, said the union did not have a problem with using skilled coaches in schools, but the needs of the curriculum should come first'.