The benefits of Sports Coaches in a nursery setting

With the recent emphasis on physical development and on healthier childhoods, Kids Planet has employed sports coaches (Sports Development Officers) across some of our sites, aiming to get children more active and promote sport participation.

With sports being a strong passion for both men and women alike, we hope to inspire more men into the early years industry, which has historically been female-dominated.

At Kids Planet we believe we should be modelling the fact that looking after and educating young children should be a job for everyone, not just women.

Men in childcare at Kids Planet

We are nearing the end of 2022 and still only 3% of UK nursery workers are male. Thankfully, at Kids Planet we strive to combat this in our recruitment, training and career prospects, and are pleased that throughout our support teams and nursery facing roles, 17% of Kids Planet employees are male.

Our male employees play an important role in the care and education of children in our care. As a result, we are actively recruiting males for apprenticeships at Levels 2, 3 and 5, and also in our office support and Sports Coach roles.

Not only do we offer Sports Coach roles for people already holding their Level 2 qualification, last year, we begun partnering with Vocational Skills Solutions to provide a Traineeship Programme that supports sports coaches into early years settings.

Our Sports Coaches:

• Teach physical development and activity whilst working alongside other members of staff
• Plan, prepare, and lead outstanding activities in line with approved schemes of work and extra-curricular activities
• Keep up to date with government initiatives relating to the teaching of physical development and outdoor education, ensuring all projects are delivered in line with national priorities

Getting children outside and doing sports

Public Health England announced rising childhood obesity rates and rising numbers of children suffering from mental health issues, so now is the time to nurture our children to adopt and enjoy healthier lifestyles.

At Kids Planet, we are keen to meet our children’s development needs and challenge them physically, whilst also understanding how important getting outside is for children’s mental health.

There are many benefits of outdoor play for children, such as building a strong relationship with others, supporting physical health, promoting risk awareness, and language development and understanding of concepts.

Training Academy

In 2018, we launched our very own Kids Planet Training Academy. Now based in Knutsford with satellite locations across England, our academy provides training and the ability to progress in your early years career, for both Kids Planet and external companies.

The Training Academy is headed up by Gill Mason, Head of Training and Development, who has been a champion for building a gender-diverse workforce and actively recruiting men into Early Years Apprenticeships.

Gill Mason, Head of Training and Development at Kids Planet, said: “We’ve seen first-hand the positive impact of recruiting more men into sports coach roles to support our nurseries, championed by existing male staff. Research clearly shows the importance of play, sport, exercise, and learning outdoors for children which has become even more pressing following the impact of lockdowns.”

A word from our sports coaches

Speaking about the role of a sports coach, Nathan Cook commented: “Our role is getting the children outside, getting their physical development up, and the children love it. I think it’s the best thing that the nurseries have, the sports capabilities.

Whether the child is sporty or not, they all like taking part in the sessions we provide. We put pictures and videos up that the parents can see, and parents often comment that the children won’t stop talking about it – even the quiet children. It’s giving them the confidence to join in and is rewarding for us.”

Keiren Heron, Sports Development Manager, said: “The easy answer to tackling the lack of men in early years is to employ more men, but it’s getting them into something they are interested in firstly – such as sports, and then opening up their world to the possibilities of early years.

We’re male role models, and in lots of nurseries you don’t have that. The difference from when I started, you’d walk into the room and children would sometimes cry when they saw you because there’s a man in the nursery and they weren’t used to men being in the nursery. Now that we’re in and about the nursery and the babies and children see us all day every day, they’re not scared anymore.”

What benefits are we seeing in children?

Since introducing sports coaches to Kids Planet settings, teams are delighted that children have made significant progress across all areas of the curriculum. Staff and parents comment that children are happier, healthier, sleep better, and show increased enthusiasm to be active – not just at nursery but at home, with some even enjoying role-playing their favourite sports with mums, dads and grandparents at the weekend!

Get in touch

Are you a male or female looking for a new career route, or are you studying for GCSE’s and wondering whether an Apprenticeship could be for you?

Contact training@kidsplanetdaynurseries.co.uk or call 01942 932 050 to find out more about our apprenticeship and traineeship opportunities, for more information about the traineeship.

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