School-Club Links is one of the eight strands to the government’s PESSCL (Physical Education, School Sport and Club Links) strategy which has the overall aim of increasing the numbers of children aged 5-16 regularly involved in sport. School-Club links focuses attention on activity for young people that will take place outside of the school curriculum, helping guide young people from sport in School Sport Partnerships (SSPs) to clubs.

Although School-Club links may seem self-explanatory it is aim for Volleyball England and other sports governing bodies to ensure that the links are sustainable and of a high quality: if we want children to want to play Volleyball we must try to ensure that they receive the most enjoyable and beneficial experience initially. At local level we can help achieve this in a number of ways that will also benefit your club, a quality experience within schools can be achieved by increasing the standard of the teacher training through short courses such as Volley Sport and Mini Volley, or by using Community Sports Coaches to come in and deliver professional and safe sessions. Once the children have learned the basic skills and are enjoying playing Volleyball they are likely to want to join a local club.

It is at this point that Club Accreditation becomes important; by definition a club that has achieved Volley1/ Clubmark accreditation must have child protection and health and safety procedures in place and will of course be a Volleyball England recommended club. For more information on becoming an accredited club and the benefits associated to this, please follow this link.