Oxford City Council’s awardwinning sport and physical activity team works with a broad range of partners, including an external provider which operates the city’s sport and leisure facilities. Targeted programmes, projects and events are helping to increase participation among key community groups.
Oxford City Council recognises the value of leisure in supporting community cohesion, cutting across social divides and improving physical and mental health. The council takes a local leadership role, knitting together all the providers into a coherent offer to maximise value for local residents.
In 2009, a charitable leisure trust won the contract to operate and manage Oxford’s sport and leisure facilities, which include three leisure centres, an outdoor pool and an ice rink. At the time, there was discussion around whether the council’s sports development function should also transfer. This option was not taken up, due to the value and impact the in-house team was demonstrating within the city.
The sport and physical activity team is made up of six officers (one externally funded) who deliver programmes, projects and events to help Oxford’s residents become more active and lead healthier lives. Much of this work is aimed at target groups such as younger and older people, black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) people, disabled people and residents of deprived neighbourhoods.
The team costs approximately £220,000 each year but works hard to bring in additional revenue, for example through activities delivered to schools and fitness classes in parks and green spaces. External funding of almost £1.5 million has been brought in over the past eight years.
To ensure an effective joined-up offer within the city, the team works closely with the outsourced provider to improve and develop the leisure facilities and services. Sports development is a key agenda item at the monthly council/client meetings. Objectives and priorities are agreed through an annual service plan. The team also works with a wide range of partners, including the Oxfordshire Sport and Physical Activity Partnership, Sport England, national governing bodies of sports, schools, sports clubs, charities and the voluntary/ community sector, to ensure sport and physical activity is accessible to everyone.
Outcomes and impact
Strong partnership work between the council and its partners is bearing fruit. The past eight years have seen:
- year-on-year increases in regular adult participation in sport, reaching 31 per cent in 2016
- over 6,700 disadvantaged young people have participated in the council-run ‘Youth Ambition’ programme
- evaluation using Social Return on Investment (SROI) methodology showed a gain of £13 million through Youth Ambition in 2015/16
- more than 116,000 attendances at activities and events organised by the sport and physical activity team
- approximately 1,000 women engaged in the council-run ‘Active Women’ sport and physical activity programme
- a £13.18 return on investment for every £1 spent on the social rounders league
- a 53 per cent increase in participation at leisure centres, from 896,000 (2009/10) to 1,370,000 (2016/17), and a 40 per cent increase in visits by the target groups.
The work of Oxford’s sport and physical activity team has been recognised by Quest accreditation, a continuous improvement tool and quality scheme for sports development overseen by Sport England. In 2017, they were the first in the country to achieve an ‘excellent’ Quest for Active Communities score. The team won the 2014 Association of Public Service Excellence award for the best sport, leisure and cultural service team of the year.
Councillor Linda Smith, Portfolio Holder for Sport, Leisure and Parks, said the inhouse team plays a critical role in raising activity levels. “Participation rates in Oxford are high thanks to their work on attracting inward investment and their ability to work closely with colleagues from across council departments, and wider external partners, to provide affordable and inclusive opportunities for physical activity.”
Key learning points
- Ensure a clear, joined-up vision of where you want to be across leisure services and facilities, sport and physical activity.
- Work together as an effective team and encourage a culture of innovation.
- Put customers and communities first and understand their needs and priorities.
- Embed continuous improvement at the heart of what you do.
- Look for where you can collaborate or develop existing/new partnerships around mutual priorities.
- Demonstrate impact: this will put you in a stronger position to make your case, whether it is for internal or external funding, partnership work, promotion of what you do or quality assurance.
Contact
Hagan Lewisman
Active Communities Manager
Oxford City Council
[email protected]