My time at SLC began with a month-long internship in September. I had just come back from the Olympics where I was the reserve goalkeeper for the Great Britain Men’s Hockey squad. I was also finishing my Masters in Sport Management, Politics and International Development at Loughborough University. My Masters provided me with some understanding of the growing opportunity for public leisure services to be transformed into active wellbeing services but my internship with SLC helped develop this further.
On my first day, I experienced a project inception meeting and site visit in Clacton-on-Sea, Essex as part of a new feasibility project for a groundbreaking Active Wellbeing Hub. We spent the day with the Leader of the Council, portfolio holder, Chief Executive, senior officers of the Council and management team running the site. It was great to see how informed and supportive elected Members were of transitioning to an active wellbeing service. We hope that it can become a model of best practice that inspires and shares learning with the wider sector as part of the place-based approach to active wellbeing being championed across Essex.
I was also tasked with helping manage SLC’s submission to remain on the ESPO framework. This framework is one way in which local authority clients can engage a consultant to help them through a procurement process, provide strategic support and to give advice on feasibility projects and business cases. This gave me an understanding of how SLC is run and why certain processes are in place to ensure high quality work is produced for our clients.
After the internship I was offered a part time role that I could complete alongside my commitments as a senior international hockey player. I have been able to experience the wide range of work SLC undertakes such as conducting diagnostic reviews, engaging in consultations with key stakeholders, developing policies and strategies and creating business cases for facility portfolios and active wellbeing services. I have really enjoyed the work so far and it’s exciting to be part of a movement that is becoming so influential in improving the nation’s health and wellbeing. However, I have also become more aware of the challenges the sector has to overcome to bring about the change that is required.
For example, management of key stakeholders and getting “buy in” from senior figures is key to transforming traditional leisure services to an active wellbeing model. This can sometimes be difficult to achieve due to the Council’s political context such as impending elections or challenges linked to scarcity of resources and competing priorities. However, without support and leadership from elected Members it is almost impossible to bring about change.
There is also the challenge of integrating and aligning many services that often bring a legacy of different agendas and objectives. This will become even more difficult due to devolution and the restructuring of local government. Facilitating initial meetings with all relevant partners appears to be crucial in making sure all key stakeholders support the principle of transitioning to an active wellbeing service.
I’m hopeful that there is greater awareness of the significant benefits an active wellbeing model provides. This is being championed through organisations such as the Active Wellbeing Leadership Network. Devolution and local government reorganisation may be the catalyst for the public leisure sector and new shadow unitary authorities to pivot from a traditional leisure service to an active wellbeing model.
If anything in this article has resonated with you, please feel free to get in contact via email (james@slc.uk.com)