Registered schools will be encouraged to connect with local coaches who are endorsed by the appropriate national sporting organisation or any registered coach or coach provider who meets the minimum standards. In areas where coaches are unavailable or limited, teachers can register to deliver sessions.

NOTE: Please request a certificate of endorsement and a current Working with Children Check from your coach prior to the commencement of your program to ensure that the sessions are run to Softball Australia standards.

A sports package outlines what is available from Softball Australia. Sports packages vary based on price, age, number of participants, number of sessions, session duration, and delivery (coach or teacher). Packages may also include participant packs for students.

The available sports packages can be found on the Sporting Schools Booking System. Schools can search for a package that meets their needs by sorting, comparing and refining a sports package search.

Sporting Schools is a free program for parents and families of participating schools. It allows children to experience new sports in a familiar, fun and safe environment at no cost to parents.

If a parent would like their child to become involved in holiday camps, local competition, or would like to purchase a participant pack, email Softball Australia’s Sporting Schools Coordinator for more information.

No, only children enrolled at the registered school will be able to participate. Registered schools are required to uphold their Occupational Health and Safety and duty of care requirements for the participants in their Sporting Schools programs at their school location. If you would like to know if your school is currently involved in Sporting Schools Softball, please contact Softball Australia.

Sporting Schools will open the school gates for National Sporting Organisations (NSOs) to implement flexible programs and test pilots that seek to boost junior participation in targeted Australian Sports Commission funded priority participation sports.

For NSOs, Sporting Schools presents a new and exciting opportunity to establish themselves as leaders and innovators in junior participation, particularly in driving consistent and quality delivery of sporting experiences. This will be achieved by increasing the provision of quality and targeted community partnerships by being present in schools, and school sport, across Australia.

Sporting Schools will also work with NSOs to create and improve their participation capability including:

• Enhancing national products
• Developing an NSO coach workforce
• Piloting new junior pathways
• Testing NSO workforce solutions
• Improving intelligence and data to benefit sport and education outcomes

Not at this stage. There is a pilot program running however it is limited to 80 schools that have been identified in consideration of research requirements, market segmentation, and NSO coach availability.

If you would like to know more, please contact the Client Support Centre on 1300 785 707.

Schools that receive funding must ensure active supervision is provided during all Sporting Schools sessions to encourage maximum participation, fulfill the duty of care requirements of the school, uphold their Occupational Health and Safety (OH&S) responsibilities, and support the coach in managing behaviors.

Session supervisor responsibilities may include:

• Take a roll call of all participating children
• Manage behavior of participants
• Assist with coach delivery and maintain involvement in each session (active supervision)
• Provide feedback to the Sporting Schools coordinator on quality of program delivery
• Report any incidents to the Sporting Schools coordinator
• Ensure risk management policies are adhered to (including Work Health and Safety, and Public Liability insurances on behalf of the school)
• Ensure child protection policies are adhered to

Coaches/Coaching provider’s responsibilities may include:

• Meet the minimum coaching registration requirements in order to be registered as a coach in Sporting Schools
• Ensure a safe, fair, inclusive environment for participants – Play by the Rules
• Report any incidents to the session supervisor
• Ensure session delivery complies with school risk management policies