Volley 123 is the Club accreditation scheme for volleyball in England. Volley 123 is designed to recognise and reward clubs that stand apart from the rest in terms of good practice. A club that achieves accreditation will be a mark of a quality club that is equitable, inclusive, friendly, well-run and most importantly safe. With Volley 1 accreditation your club also receives the prestigious Sport England Clubmark award.
There are 4 accreditation awards:
- Side Out Accreditation (for a club that does not cater for juniors)
- Volley 1
- Volley 2
- Volley 3
You must achieve Volley 1 before you can embark on Volley 2 and so forth. With each award there is an increase in expectation. So by the time your club has reached Volley 3 it is a fully-fledged, self-sustaining club that is a major part of its local community.
To achieve a Volley 123 accreditation a club must show that it reaches set targets in 4 key areas:
- Club Management
- Playing Programme
- Duty of Care & Child Protection
- Sports Equity & Ethics
Detailed information on each section is available once your club has registered on the accreditation scheme.
Many clubs will already be reaching a lot of the targets in the volley 123 programme, the scheme is more about cementing these good practices and harnessing areas that are perhaps less strong than others. Volley 123 should not be seen as a chore for your club to do, you have 12 months to complete your folder so if you write a good plan of action the work can be spread out to stop you being overburdened at the start!