Staffing
SLS has two Managing Directors, an Operations Director and a National Manager who oversees a team of School Leisure and Sport Managers. Nationally there is also an Operations Team (dealing with HR, payroll, health and safety, safeguarding etc.), and a Marketing and Communications team.
Every school is allocated a School Leisure and Sport Manager to work with them at an operational level.
Their role is to manage the website enquiries and online bookings, market and promote the schools facilities on a daily basis, put the casual staff in place and manage the rota. They liaise with the school and are the first point of contact if the school have any questions or issues. They visit their schools at least twice a week and liaise with the School Business Manager, PE staff etc. and provide a monthly report to the school. Their role is also to network in the local community and develop partnerships – for example they will work with the local authority Sports Development Officer and will also look for local groups to programme into the facility.
“Your Lettings are a reflection of your school"
Each school is serviced by a team of casual Community Sport and Leisure Assistants employed by SLS. The Community Sport and Leisure Assistants role is to prepare the facilities, set up equipment, sign groups in, and clean and tidy up (leaving the school as they have found it). They have a dual customer service and security role and will check the site and lock up, they each have a lone working device which links to a security company if they have any security issues.
Bookings
For every partner school SLS develop a website to promote their community facilities with an online booking and enquiry service which is managed by the School Leisure and Sport Manager. Groups making bookings must sign up to SLS terms and conditions including safeguarding and insurance requirements. SLS also manage their own debt recovery service.
Programming
SLS will honour existing arrangements with a club or group to maintain good will. For example one school offer a preferential to a trampoline club that supports the curriculum. Another school has a reciprocal arrangement in place with a cricket club who give the school free use of their cricket ground in return for access to the sports hall in winter. The diversity of programmes depends on the school location and facilities, generally 80% will be sport and leisure sessions, although some schools do have more of a dance and drama focus. One of the SLS schools in London doesn’t have a sports hall, but their lettings are primarily local community groups using the school for meetings, courses and conferences etc.
Marketing
SLS invest a considerable amount in marketing community lettings. Both the Operations Team and the Marketing and Communications Team provide expertise including maintaining a website and social media (Facebook, Twitter etc.) on behalf of the school. Each school is provided with promotional banners and flyers are printed and distributed regularly along with a community newsletter. New community groups/clubs are offered a free flyer to promote their activity, a service SLS offer free of charge.
Contracts
A three year service level agreement is put in place. SLS clients include a PFI school where they have been able to negotiate a three way partnership with the FM provider and school to ensure FM site management charges are not prohibitive. SLS are also familiar with managing school sites with externally funded facilities (such as Football Foundation funded All Weather Pitches) which have conditions of use attached to them.
Operating Safely
All SLS staff are DBS checked. Community Groups have to sign up to SLS Safeguarding terms and conditions and must sign in each time they arrive on site. SLS staff observe sessions and speak to parents on a regular basis to gain feedback, as well as using lone worker technology to ensure they are safe when working on-site.
Main Challenges
1) Trust – schools are sometimes cautious of an external provider and find it difficult to handover their keys to a third party.
2) Bad experiences – if a school have had a negative experience of a third party provider in the past this can make it difficult for SLS to establish a dialogue with them.