7 Jun 2006 - Accreditation

UPDATE05 [10/09/07]

Date: 7th September 2007.
Time: 11:36

Email received off:

MATT BIRKETT
NORTH WEST REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT OFFICER
RUGBY FOOTBALL LEAGUE.

"To

Kelly Barrett and Andy Harland.

I can confirm that Halton Farnworth Hornets ARLFC have submitted the relevant documentation needed for revalidation.
I will forward copies to Kelly through the post for your records.
Please can you revalidate the Halton Farnworth Hornets club for a further 12 months.

Matt Birkett".


So the HFH Club has retained its accreditation status on its first anniversary. The whole club needs to continue working hard at ensuring the process and procedures put in place are adhered to.

Like the players on the field, everybody associated with the HFH Club must pull their weight, do their bit and help the club achieve its objectives. This is only possible with 'team' work ethics and everybody pulling in the same direction.

The HFH Club has a long history; let's steer the club towards building on those years.

NEXT ACCREDITATION REVALIDATION - September 2008 - so the work goes on!

[End]
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UPDATE04 [07/06/06]

Please see official letter (above) from Rugby Football League, confirming Halton Farnworth Hornets arlfc award of Sport England "CLUBMARK" Accreditation.

As you will see, this is just the beginning!!!

CLUBMARK has a FOUR-YEAR life span and will be due for resubmission in 2010.

In the mean time, there will be a necessity for HFH to submit the clubs 'Action/Development Plan' plus a 'Club Self Assessment/Declaration' form to the RFL once each year.

This will indicate to the RFL the clubs progress for the preceding year.

And progress means exactly what it says!

It's the implementation of the criteria outlined in the clubs 'Action/Development Plan' for progressing the club forward. It's about ALL the volunteer roles (Team Coaches, Team Admin Manager, Kitchen Staff, Committee Members, etc, to name but a few) working as ONE for the good of the HFH club and ultimately the good of the players themselves.

This can only be achieved with your help, assistance, co-operation and the willingness to work as ONE.

Thank You

[End]
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UPDATE03 [23/05/06]

Date: 23rd May 2006.
Time: 13:06

Email received off:

MATT BIRKETT
NORTH WEST REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT OFFICER
RUGBY FOOTBALL LEAGUE.

"I am emailing to inform you that Halton Farnworth Hornets ARLFC have been awarded Sport England Clubmark Status. The club will receive a letter of confirmation through the post.
Congratulations to the club.
I will be in touch to organise a presentation date".

[End]
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UPDATE02 [05/05/06]

As the finishing touches are made to the HFH Accreditation 'Evidence Folders', finalised dates have been fixed for handing-over the files to the appropriate bodies.

On Tuesday 9th May 2006, Halton Sports Partnership (Club Halton) will be collecting the folders (Volume I & II).

On Friday 12th May 2006, the Rugby Football League (Clubmark) will collect their folders, also Volume I & II.

All this, and the whole process was only registered on 26th September 2005!!! Accounting for the Christmas period and the recent Student Games, it's a remarkable achievement in anyone's estimation.

Assessment of the evidence in those folders will be vetted and investigated over a period of weeks, to see if the HFH Club have reached the standards required of an accredited club.

Within a maximum period of two weeks, the HFH Club will find out if all the hard work, endeavours and late night burning of mid-night oil has been worthwhile.

Lets hope the club is successful.......it can then move on to the next phase in its development.
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UPDATE01 [10/03/06]

Now that the Student Games have reached their conclusion (and a successful conclusion at that), HFH can now revisit Clubmark & Club Halton to re-energies the well-established progress made, prior to the planning, organising and running, with the Student Games.

With approximately one quarter of the criteria questions still requiring HFH action, a fair bit of time still needs to be deployed in this area.

A target date of the middle of May 2006 has been set as the date at which both Clubmark & Club Halton accreditations 'Evidence Folders' are completed, i.e. ALL criteria questions successfully answered.

At this stage, the 'Evidence Folders' will be handed to the accreditation bodies namely The Rugby Football League (Amateur Rugby League's 'National Governing Body' [NGB]), and to Halton Sports Partnership (Halton Borough Council).

Update number two will advise when this stage has been reached.

Remember: if you are still owing information to those people answering the criteria questions, please assist and get the information to them straight away.

Thanks
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Halton Farnworth Hornets have officially embarked on gaining 'Rugby League Clubmark' status.
HFH's intentions were logged with The Rugby Football League - rugby leagues 'National Governing Body '(NGB) - on 26th September 2005.

HFH will be working along side our NGB to raise standards and develop programmes to gain accreditation and hence public recognition for the work HFH undertakes.

If HFH gain accreditation from our NGB, there will be another added benefit......................

.................recognition by Sport England.

Sport England will recognise HFH as a safe and effective child friendly club.

What does this mean to children, young people and parents/carers?

The Sport England 'Clubmark' scheme has been developed to enable children, young people and parents/carers to recognise those clubs that are committed to providing a quality experience.

There are a set number of critical areas for which HFH need to comply:

1) DUTY OF CARE & CHILD PROTECTION
2) THE PLAYING PROGRAMME
3) SPORTS EQUITY & ETHICS
4) CLUB MANAGEMENT
5) FACILITIES
6) EQUIPMENT

There is no mistaking the situation; it's going to take a lot of hard and dedicated work. It also means there has to be changes in the way HFH operates, for without any changes, accreditation will not be achieved.

The Sport England 'Clubmark' scheme will be a national standard that every sporting club through out the country, irrespective of sporting discipline, will be working towards gaining.
In the future, sporting clubs which do not reach the 'Clubmark' standard will CEASE TO EXIST.

That is something that the HFH Committee will not contemplate hence HFH's commitment to working with our NGB to reach the highest standards possible.

Every single person involved with the HFH's club will be affected in one way or another. If you want to be part of this exciting new era in HFH's development and feel you have something to offer (voluntarily), then please get in touch with Ian Yates.
[You can find his details on 'The Peoples' contact list via the 'Home' button.]

On the other hand, if you are unable to help directly, you could help in another way!

When changes are to be made, when somebody asks you to provide something, such as a photocopy of a certificate, please understand why.

Without the club there is no HFH's, without the people there is no HFH's and without ACCREDITATION there is no HFH's. It's essential all three components synchronise and work together - for the good of HFH's.

AND IT DOESN'T STOP THERE!!!!!!

As the Incentive Scheme letter above suggests, Halton Farnworth Hornets have also officially applied to join the 'Club Halton' Accreditation Scheme.

Running in parallel with 'Clubmark', HFH's will also be working to attain a set of standards, which have been established by Halton Sports Partnership - in conjunction with Halton Sports Development and Merseyside Sport.

Similar to Clubmark, Club Halton accreditation will promote HFH as a safe, effective and Child Friendly environment.

Clubs that want to achieve the Club Halton status (as it is HFH's intention), will be committed to improving their club - THAT'S THE HARD WORK FOR ALL OF US.

So that's all there is to it! Two accreditation's but with the Club Halton offering an extra critical area - VOLUNTEER MANAGEMENT.

Hopefully all the above explains and answers the "WHY" questions but what about the "WHEN" question?

Answer: right now.

In both cases, HFH's have got 12 MONTHS in which to compile an 'Evidence File' (one each for Clubmark and Club Halton) to offer for assessment.

Finally, what about the "WHO" questions?

Answer: everybody.

Failure is not an option.