16/04/13 Job Vacancy: Youth Employment & Training Tutor
Sport 4 Life have received funding to deliver the FutureWise project – a sports-themed personal development and employability programme designed to support young people aged 16-25 who are NEET (not in education, employment or training) to find a job, re-engage with education, or access training. Young people who join the programme attend our centre once per week for 20 weeks, and participate in a day (4.5 hours) of group-based activities including personal development workshops (e.g. team-work), employability training (e.g. CV writing clinics), and a Sports Leaders UK Level 2 qualification. Alongside these regular activities, young people also receive one-to-one mentoring and support to help them progress and develop in their careers (e.g. sign-posting them to volunteering opportunities). We are looking to recruit a highly skilled candidate to deliver this project. The newly appointed Youth Employment and Training Tutor will be responsible for positively engaging and building relationships with NEET young people, and for delivering all of the group-based workshops and qualifications and the one-to-one mentoring for NEET young people. The tutor will be employed on a part-time basis for 15 hours per week on an 11 month fixed–term contract from July 2013 – May 2014, and will earn a salary of £19,000 per annum pro rata. Sport 4 Life are looking for an exceptional candidate, who has real passion, skill and charisma for working with and alongside NEET young people through employability programmes. Ideal candidates will have relevant youth work or teaching qualifications, significant paid and/or voluntary experience of working with young people, and an interest in or experience of using sport as an engagement tool. To apply please view the full job description here and complete the job application form here by the deadline of Wednesday 15th May at 5.00pm.

25/03/13 O2 Think Big Quality Mark
Sport 4 Life are proud to have successfully achieved the Think Big Quality Mark, and to have signed up as an official Youth Partner to the O2 Think Big initiative. O2 Think Big is a national project providing cash awards to enable young people aged 13-25 to set up projects that benefit their local community. Sport 4 Life has been selected as a Youth Partner because of its strong commitment to delivering youth-led activities, celebrating young people's achievements and offering leadership opportunities to young people. In particular, Sport 4 Life will use the 02 Think Big programme to enable disadvantaged young people – especially those who are NEET (not in education, employment or training) – to build new skills and improve their confidence through running their own community activities or events.

14/03/13 Mel C Gets Sporty with Sport 4 Life
World renowned singer and former 'sporty spice' Melanie C recently visited a Sport 4 Life UK project in Birmingham, as part of the Comic Relief 'Red Nose Day' campaign 2013! Mel C lived up to her 'sporty' nickname by taking part in a sports session with inner-city school kids. The project, which was set up thanks to funding from Comic Relief in 2011, now works across 8 primary schools in Ladywood, Birmingham, will engage over 250 young people and will provide over 144 educational-themed sports sessions. The programme is currently being continued through funding from the National Express Foundation.

18/02/13 Ambassador Presents Awards
Sport 4 Life ambassador Bryan Steel gave an inspirational talk and presented awards at a recent celebration evening recognising the outstanding achievements of some of the young people engaged by Sport 4 Life. Bryan treated attendees with a glimpse of his Olympic Bronze Medal from Sydney 2000 and his Olympic Silver Medal from Athens 2004, as well as motivating them with his personal story from scrawny schoolboy to world class athlete. Young people received awards for a range of personal achievements, including improving their behaviour, supporting the local community, and gaining a formal qualification. For more information on Sport 4 Life's current projects, click here.

13/02/13 NEET Successes
In response to the high levels of youth unemployment in Birmingham, Sport 4 Life are excited to announce the launch of our Futurewise Project this spring - an educational and employability programme for young people aged 16-25 who are not in education, employment or training (NEET), including the long-term unemployed and ex-offenders. The project will consist of workshops that build confidence, improve life skills and increase employability, as well as volunteering placements and formal training courses, and will support participants to ultimately find a job or re-engage with education. This work has recently been supported with grants from Awards For All and the Santander Foundation.

20/12/12 Henry Smith Award
Sport 4 Life are delighted to announce the award of a £38,600 grant from The Henry Smith Charity. The grant will be used to support the salary costs of the 'Be Positive' project's Education Coordinator for 3 years. The 'Be Positive' project is a Big Lottery Fund backed project that provides a broad programme of fun sports and youth activities, educational workshops, learning challenges, and volunteering opportunities, designed to bring about a lasting positive change in the lives of young males aged 13-25. It is delivered in the Ladywood Ward, an inner city area of considerable deprivation and poverty where 50% of young males live in the top 5% most deprived areas nationally.

13/12/12 'Be Positive' Up and Running
Sport 4 Life's 'Be Positive' project has completed its first block of delivery. The programme, funded by the Big Lottery Fund, is a sports-themed personal development initiative, fusing sports coaching sessions with educational workshops, learning challenges and NEET (not in employment, education or training) volunteering opportunities for young people from inner-city Birmingham. Since October, 68 beneficiaries have been engaged on the project. Of these, 18 have achieved a Sports Leaders UK Level 1 Award (QCF), 88% have reported an increase in their confidence and self-esteem and 54% have reported an increase in their knowledge and understanding of crime, substance misuse and sexual health, as a result of joining the programme. 5 NEET volunteers have also gone on to gain employment, education or training opportunities. To view the full project report from June - November 2012, please click here.

11/10/12 New Projects Launched
In September, Sport 4 Life is proud to have launched 3 new charitable projects for the benefit of disadvantaged children and young people in Birmingham. In the east of the city, a new programme of youth club and sports coaching activities will help tackle youth anti-social behaviour and unrest on the Stockfield Estate in Acocks Green. Further north, a new partnership with the Affinity Sutton Housing Association in Alum Rock will see 8-18 year olds get involved positively in their community through a sports and education programme, while in central Birmingham 240 children from 8 primary schools will improve their behaviour through the “More Than Sport” project. In the beginning of October, thanks to a grant of £289,768 from the Big Lottery Fund, we also commenced the Be Positive project – our flagship initiative that provides a sports-themed educational programme to young people in the inner city ward of Ladywood.

23/08/12 London 2012 Olympic Torch Bearer
Sport 4 Life coach David Johnson is celebrating the experience of a lifetime, after returning from London where he carried the Olympic Torch! David was one of 8,000 inspirational people across the country who were given the honour of carrying the Torch, as it journeyed throughout the UK, travelling within 15 miles of 95% of the entire population. David was nominated for showing a remarkable commitment to delivering top quality sports coaching sessions in Birmingham’s most disadvantaged areas, including those affected by the recent civil unrest and riots. His enthusiasm and passion rub off on participants and his love for sport is infectious. His biggest asset is his ability to use sport as a tool to encourage personal development amongst his participants, a key vision for Sport 4 Life. You can see David’s moment of fame by clicking here. After his torch-bearing experience, David said: “Carrying the Torch in the heart of the Olympic Games city was one of the best moments of my life and something I’ll never forget. The experience has definitely inspired me to continue helping Sport 4 Life to change lives through the power of sport.”

23/08/12 Balsall Heath Project Success
“The Sport 4 Life sessions have been very well organised, with professional coaches delivering different activities to meet the varying needs of those attending. This was exactly what was hoped for by the extended schools cluster and the local community.” These, the words from Alison Moore, Head of Children’s Services in Balsall, applaud the success of a 2 year partnership between Sport 4 Life, St Paul’s Community Development Trust and Balsall Heath Extended School Cluster in which over 700 sports sessions were delivered with in excess of 8300 attendances. Activities included extra-curricular multi-sports clubs in six primary schools, holiday camps, community fun days and football session at the new Community Play Space. All sessions delivered were for specific participants who were from low income families, disadvantaged, had special educational needs and/or behavioural issues. The impact of the project was noted by local resident, Pat, who said: “It’s been nice to see the pitch being made the most of with kids playing together in a positive way instead of hanging around and causing trouble.”