A Hartpury University module designed to prepare students to coach children and young people has received industry endorsement from the Chartered Institute for the Management of Sport and Physical Activity (CIMSPA).
The Coaching Children module has been approved for CIMSPA’s Working with Children endorsement, recognising its alignment with the professional standards required for those coaching children and young people.
The latest endorsement adds to Hartpury’s growing portfolio of CIMSPA-recognised provision and further demonstrates the University’s commitment to ensuring students develop the knowledge, skills and behaviours valued by the sport and physical activity industry.
Through the Coaching Children module, students explore key areas including safeguarding, child development, communication and participant-centred coaching, helping them develop the skills required to create safe, inclusive and developmentally appropriate coaching environments.
The module is core for students studying BSc (Hons) Physical Education and School Sport and is also available as an optional module for BSc (Hons) Sports Coaching students.
Achieving the Working with Children endorsement provides external recognition that the module’s learning outcomes are relevant to current industry expectations, while supporting students’ employability and professional development as future coaches.
Gemma Sharples, Programme Manager and Senior Lecturer at Hartpury University said: “We’re delighted that our Coaching Children module has achieved CIMSPA’s Working with Children endorsement.
“Coaching children and young people requires a particular set of skills and an understanding of how to create environments in which participants feel safe, included and able to develop.
“This endorsement provides valuable external recognition that the content our students engage with reflects professional expectations within the sector. It also gives students confidence that the knowledge, skills and behaviours they are developing at Hartpury are relevant to their future careers.”
The recognition is the latest in a series of CIMSPA endorsements achieved by Hartpury University.
Earlier this year, Hartpury became the first higher education institution in the UK to achieve CIMSPA endorsement for a postgraduate programme against the Coaching in High Performance (Environment) professional standard. The University’s MSc Sports Coaching achieved 100% mapping against the standard and was awarded 10 CIMSPA Endorsed CPD points.
Hartpury’s BSc (Hons) Strength and Conditioning and MSc Strength and Conditioning programmes have also reaffirmed their CIMSPA professional recognition, providing students with clear links between their academic studies and professional pathways within the sector.
Hartpury is a CIMSPA Higher Education Partner and has a number of undergraduate and postgraduate programmes aligned with the organisation’s professional standards.
The latest Working with Children endorsement further strengthens that relationship and reflects Hartpury’s focus on connecting academic learning with professional practice, from coaching children and young people through to working within high-performance sport.
By embedding industry standards within its curriculum, Hartpury aims to ensure graduates leave with not only academic knowledge and practical experience, but an understanding of the professional expectations that will shape their future careers.
