Certified Sports Youth Development Officer

Programme Overview

The Certified Sports Youth Development Officer career pathway prepares professionals to design, administer and improve age-appropriate sport participation and youth development programmes. It integrates child safeguarding, inclusive access, collaboration with qualified coaches and welfare personnel, programme planning, ethical talent development, family engagement and evidence-based evaluation.

Programme Objectives

• Design inclusive, age-appropriate youth sport programmes aligned with organisational goals and participant needs.
• Apply safeguarding principles, reporting procedures and safe participation standards in youth sport settings.
• Coordinate effectively with coaches, families, schools, welfare specialists and other relevant stakeholders.
• Monitor participation, retention, learning and athlete-development outcomes without relying solely on competitive results.
• Develop accountable operational plans, quality assurance systems and sustainable partnerships for youth development.

Target Audience

Youth development and academy officers, community sport administrators, club and federation staff, school-sport coordinators, programme managers and professionals seeking roles in youth participation and development.

Professional Competencies & Learning Outcomes

• Assess youth sport needs, barriers to access and developmental priorities.
• Prepare safeguarding procedures, referral pathways and age-appropriate activity plans within the applicable regulatory framework.
• Coordinate youth programmes, staff roles, scheduling, budgets and stakeholder communication.
• Use appropriate monitoring and evaluation indicators to improve participation, welfare and programme quality.
• Present a defensible, inclusive multi-year youth development strategy with implementation and risk-management measures.

Curriculum & Training Modules

1. Youth sport systems, organisational roles and development principles
2. Growth, maturation and age-appropriate participation
3. Child safeguarding, duty of care and reporting pathways
4. Inclusive participation, equal opportunity and accessibility
5. Youth programme design, objectives and activity planning
6. Safe environments, welfare coordination and incident procedures
7. Programme delivery, scheduling and operational resources
8. Working with coaches, parents, schools and communities
9. Participation monitoring, feedback and record management
10. Positive youth development, retention and psychosocial wellbeing
11. Ethical talent identification and long-term development pathways
12. Youth sport partnerships, outreach and funding sustainability
13. Data protection, consent and responsible youth communication
14. Monitoring, evaluation and programme quality assurance
15. Youth development governance, policy and institutional accountability
16. Strategic planning, organisational improvement and responsible leadership

Training & Teaching Methodology

Training combines guided online study with supervised practical exercises, scenario-based discussion and applied planning relevant to youth sport organisations.

• Case studies on safeguarding, inclusion, retention and age-appropriate programme delivery.
• Workshops on annual activity plans, communication plans and youth programme operating procedures.
• Simulated interactions involving coaches, parents and partner institutions, including safeguarding escalation scenarios.
• Applied monitoring, evaluation and quality-improvement exercises using realistic programme data.

Assessment Methods

Assessment evaluates professional understanding, safe decision-making, programme-management skills and the quality of evidence-based practical outputs.

• Knowledge and case-based questions on youth sport governance, safeguarding and development.
• Prepare a safeguarded, inclusive youth participation plan with parental information and communication materials.
• Develop a programme operations calendar, stakeholder map and monitoring dashboard.
• Evaluate a youth sport programme and recommend improvements using participation, welfare and quality indicators.

Admission Requirements

Admission is based on the applicant’s educational or professional background, relevance of experience and any programme-specific eligibility criteria established by the Academy. Recognition of prior learning and other admission decisions are governed by the applicable Academy regulations.

Professional Qualification

The professional qualification targeted by this pathway is Certified Sports Youth Development Officer. Award is subject to completing the Academy’s approved learning and assessment requirements.

The qualification does not replace mandatory child-protection checks, safeguarding training, coaching licences or other approvals required by applicable law and the responsible sports organisation.