Community Leisure UK

"Consuming culture is good for your health and wellbeing – and generates £8bn a year worth of improvements in people’s quality of life and higher productivity." Today's must read from The Guardian👇 😍 https://lnkd.in/dyTJw2ZG

What a year to go green! 💚 🌍 Throughout 2024 we’ve remained committed to supporting our members, and non-members, in their environmental and sustainability journeys. And the results are in! A phenomenal 124 people have now taken part in our Carbon Literacy Training for Public Leisure and Culture.   And 42 members have at least one member of staff who is fully certified Carbon Literate and are now supporting their organisation in developing realistic, measurable and impactful action plans on tackling climate change. A fantastic achievement! What started as a trial with the The Carbon Literacy Project in 2023 has grown beyond what we could have imagined. And our members are now reaping the benefits. Recently Freedom Leisure became the first leisure operator in the UK to be Bronze Carbon Literacy accredited following training with Community Leisure UK. Jennifer Huygen, Head of Policy and Strategic Partnership at Community Leisure UK, developed and delivered the training along with Network Support Officer, Stephanie Seaton.  She said: “We always knew that working in public leisure and culture is a unique environment and that would require a unique approach to supporting Net Zero. That’s why we developed this sector-specific training with the Carbon Literacy Project to make it more relevant to our members’ needs. And the response in 2024 has been fantastic. This course has supported a lot of companies to lay the green foundations of future sustainability planning and successes.”  Carbon Literacy Training for Public Leisure and Culture is a great starting point for companies wanting to support Net Zero and improve their bottom line. It teaches you to talk confidently about climate change, but it will also support you to create an action plan and reduce the carbon footprint of your organisation – saving you money along the way through new efficiencies! It’s also packed with examples about how others working in public leisure and culture have gone about tackling their climate challenges. Four of our members have gone on to purchase our new Shareable Course to upskill their whole workforce through internal training. And in 2025 our focus will be on supporting even more of our members to do the same. You can do this too with our ready-to-use Shareable Course to deliver Carbon Literacy training to your employees and colleagues, all done at a time that suits you and with peace of mind that you have a bespoke, accredited training package available to hand. Find out more https://lnkd.in/eywRjM7g #Environment #Sustainable

Delighted to formally welcome our new Board members. Stuart Lockwood, CEO at Oldham Active joins us as Honorary Secretary replacing long serving board member, and founder of CLUK, Mark Sesnan. In a new board role Ivan Horsfall Turner, CEO Freedom Leisure, has been appointed as Director for National Operators. Huge thank you to Mark and Heather Stuart for your leadership, guidance and support over the years. Full story >>> https://lnkd.in/gyD6ApQS

😍 👇 #SeriouslySocial

Last week we launched our "Inspire Angus" campaign - a campaign which aims to drive donation income which help support the delivery of our services. Shortly, visitors will see ‘Inspire Angus’ posters spread across our venues, which have QR codes linked to them showcasing specific items and activities they can help support. This campaign will highlight exactly how donations – even in small amounts – directly benefit the community and keep these vital services running smoothly. We encourage you to read about it - you can check it out below: Visit our Inspire Angus Campaign here: https://lnkd.in/eRgSwDu5 Full news story: https://lnkd.in/etEMc3by. Dundee & Angus Chamber of Commerce | Community Leisure UK

On behalf of the Culture Partners Group we have written to the Cabinet Secretary for Constitution, External Affairs and Culture to raise the urgency of the challenges facing the culture sector in Scotland. Full letter >> https://lnkd.in/g7ieZPGZ

On behalf of the Culture Partners Group we have written to the Cabinet Secretary for Constitution, External Affairs and Culture to raise the urgency of the challenges facing the culture sector in Scotland. Full letter >> https://lnkd.in/g7ieZPGZ

Last week I was fortunate to be invited to be the keynote speaker at Community Leisure UK’s Seriously Social conference at the Lowry in Manchester, and then to attend their brilliant awards ceremony. I spoke in the morning and then stayed to participate in the other seminars, workshops and the awards ceremony later that evening. It was a real education in the power of not-for-profit community leisure and cultural trusts. The “Seriously Social” initiative was a fantastic amove from Community Leisure UK to enable their member trusts to use it creatively to reflect on their social impact and talk about it externally. And to win awards! Lots of very impactful initiatives taking place across the length and breadth of the United Kingdom, addressing loneliness, hard to reach communities, and the inactive. All alongside the typical pools/gyms/leisure centres run by CLUK Members. We also heard from the fantastic Northampton Saints Foundation who reach children struggling in education and who do brilliant work in prisons. It chimed with my long-held belief that collective action does not always mean action directly through local and central government.  With greater dexterity, higher risk-appetite, and roots very much in the local community, leisure trusts are doing brilliant work from running leisure-centres and libraries all the way through to very creative social programmes using their local knowledge. The awards were a fantastic moment to celebrate the people and organisations making a massive difference to communities: and to meet the legend that is Sally Gunnell. Many congratulations to all the winners and to CLUK for pulling together such an inspirational event.

The next Community Leisure UK Sales and Retention Group is in two weeks time, with special guests Women in Sport! 📅 Tuesday 3rd December ⏱️ 10am-12pm 💻 Microsoft Teams For 40 years Women in Sport have been dedicated to transforming sport for the benefit of every woman and girl in the UK. They put out an incredible amount of useful data, research and information, and continue to have a massive impact on the leisure industry and beyond. On Tuesday 3rd December, they will be taking us through some of their more recent projects, sharing some information and research and running a Q&A for our group. I'm really looking forward to this session! If you work for a Community Leisure UK affiliated trust, you are very welcome to attend! Ping me a message or email at abarron@sportaberdeen.co.uk 😊🙌 #LeisureIndustry #WomenInSport #Health #Wellbeing #Sport #Fitness #Gym #LeisureCentre #PublicHealth #LeisureTrust Sport Aberdeen Sport England Sport Wales Public Health Scotland Public Health Wales Public Health England Active Partnerships Wellbeing of Women HCM Magazine CIMSPA Leisure DB Leisure Opportunities Active Nation Scottish Leisure Network Group ukactive