Borough top of the league for sports development

SPORTS development in Oldham has been ranked as the best in the UK.

Oldham Council’s Integrated Youth Services (IYS) was rated excellent and scored 97 per cent in the inspection by Quest, the UK quality scheme for sport and leisure.

The annual assessment looks at how services are delivered and how sports in schools, clubs and the community are developing.

Several areas of excellence were highlighted in the report, which said:

::The quality of the staff is superlative and they are articulate, passionate and understand what is expected of them.

::There is an extensive range of services covering all elements of sport development.

::Staff have excellent professional knowledge of their work.

::The team understands the needs of the residents of Oldham through effective research and analysis.

IYS and its partners are currently involved in Go! Oldham, a year-long programme of activities offering youngsters a range of opportunities to do positive things with their free time.

This scheme is an extension of last year’s pioneering Passport to Summer, which saw a 27 per cent drop in reported anti-social behaviour incidents compared with summer 2008.

Councillor Kay Knox, cabinet member for children, young people and families, said the council was proud that Quest recognised the excellence of Oldham’s sports development team.

She said: “As an authority we are committed to encouraging our youngsters to stay fit and healthy and that is why we provide such a varied range of sporting and social activities both in and out of school time.

“However, even though our Integrated Youth Service has been recognised as the best in the country and rated as excellent we are striving to keep on improving the service we deliver to our young citizens.”

Visit www.gooldham.com for the latest events taking place, including over the Easter school holidays.