COACH UPDATE SCHEME

As a coach, you need to continually maintain your skills to reflect current best practice in coaching paddlesport. To keep your qualifications valid, you need to meet the following requirements of the Coach Update Scheme:

Membership – you must hold a valid Canoe Wales membership
First Aid Training – unless you are a Paddlesport instructor working under direct supervision, you must hold a recognised and valid First Aid certificate
Continuous Personal Development (CPD) – must be completed every three years
Safeguarding - appropriate safeguarding training is required and must be refreshed every three years

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Membership

In order to keep your qualifications up to date, you must maintain Canoe Wales membership. You can find out more about Canoe Wales membership on our Membership page.

First Aid

Canoe Wales and British Canoeing believe that First Aid is an essential skill for all Paddlesport Coaches and Leaders. You have a responsibility to maintain a current First Aid award to ensure you can look after paddlers in your care. See the British Canoeing First Aid Policy for full details. This does not apply to Paddlesport Instructors working under direct supervision.

Please send a copy of your certificate to admin@canoewales.com to update your record.

Continuous Personal Development (CPD)

CPD is the process of maintaining and enhancing your knowledge, skills and ability after your initial training, so you can keep up to date and current with best practice.

When instructing, coaching or leading, you are likely to look at your paddlers’ strengths and weaknesses, consider their aims and objectives and look at ways you can support their development - and as instructors, coaches, leaders and guides, we need to do the same for ourselves.

As part of your membership cover as an Instructor, Coach and Leader you have professional indemnity. To be entitled to have this extended cover, you need to ensure you engage in CPD, keeping you current and updated.

What counts as CPD?

British Canoeing’s formal qualifications and awards will count towards your CPD. When you take part in these formal courses your record will be updated automatically. Outside of these programmes, there are lots of informal opportunities that many of us will engage in without even realising it. Have you ever read an article, attended a webinar or observed someone coaching? Any of these could be classed as CPD.

The great thing about CPD is that your development opportunities are directed and controlled by you. This means that you can pick the CPD that’s relevant and interesting to you, that’s delivered in a way that you find engaging and meaningful.

The new CPD process makes it really easy to recognise these informal CPD opportunities, as well as making it easy to submit this information on your membership record.
What has changed?

Previously, we calculated CPD by time and certain formal development opportunities were recognised for 18 months’ or 3 years’ CPD.

From 30 September 2020, we now calculate CPD by points. There will still be a requirement to update your CPD by a certain date and the formal and informal development opportunities that you choose will have a points value associated to them. In order for CPD to be updated, you need to have gained 20 points prior to your expiry date.
How do I get CPD points?

British Canoeing training courses and awards will automatically update your record with CPD points.

It will now be easier, simpler and more straightforward to use your learning and development towards your points, no matter where you undertake it. You can now upload any informal learning, simply, through your membership record and we are recognising that there are lots of learning opportunities that can have an impact on your instructing, coaching or leading. You can gain points through informal development opportunities, such as being a mentor/having a mentor, work based annual practice/refresher training or being observed by a line manager/coach developer.

This new system supports you to choose the learning that is right and relevant to your development. We recognise that many coaches and leaders have spent time during lockdown participating in online webinars or community of practice events, reading books or listening to podcasts. These can all count towards your CPD points!
Can you give examples of CPD courses, activities and point values?
Examples of Courses giving CPD

Personal Skills Development Courses
- PPA Explore and Discipline Specific Award = 10 points
Leadership Development Courses
- Paddlesport Leader Award training or assessment = 20 points
- Leadership training or assessment (any discipline) = 20 points
- Advanced Leadership training or assessment (any discipline) = 20 points
- Raft Guide course (training) = 20 points
- Raft Guide (assessment) = 10 points
- Bell Boat Helm course (training or assessment) = 10 points
Coaching Courses and Endorsements
- Paddlesport Instructor course (training and assessment) = 20 points
- Coach Award course (training or assessment) = 20 points
- Performance Coach (training or assessment) = 20 points
- Coaching Diploma – residential attendance = 20 points
- Discipline Support Module (any discipline) = 10 points
Safety Training Courses
- Foundation Safety and Rescue training = 10 points
- Stadium Safety and Rescue training = 5 points - submitted through application
- White Water Safety and Rescue training = 20 points
- Advanced White Water Safety and Rescue training = 20 points
- Advance Surf Safety and Rescue training = 20 points
- Coastal Navigation and Tidal Planning training = 10 points
- Open Water Navigation and Tidal Planning training = 10 points
CPD Courses
- Foundation Module = 5 points - submitted through application
- Intermediate Module = 10 points
- Guide Module = 10 points
British Canoeing or Canoe Wales Provider Training
- Any Provider training or moderation = 20 points
Examples of CPD Activities

For the activities below, you will need to upload the information on your membership record with examples of evidence.
- Structured learning – face to face = 15 points - e.g. Certificate of completion, notes, learning outcomes
- Structured learning – distance learning = 15 points - e.g. Certificate of completion, notes, learning outcomes
- Accredited college / university level of education or training = 15 points - e.g. Certificate of completion, notes, learning outcomes
- Mandatory training, e.g. orientations / moderations / staff training = 15 points - e.g. Letter of completion, training records, certificate of completion
- Learning events, workshops, conferences, etc. = 15 points - e.g. Certificate of attendance, notes, learning outcomes
- Reading and reviewing publications = 10 points - e.g. Copies of reading and reflection notes linked to practice-based outcomes
- Enquiry based research = 10 points - e.g. Copies of reading and reflection notes linked to practice-based outcomes
- Peer review activities = 10 points - e.g. Evidence of peer review including notes, observations and outcomes
- Coaching and mentoring (role in ether delivery or being a recipient) = 10 points - e.g. Evidence based coaching/mentoring undertaken including letters, notes, observations and practice related outcomes
- Structured professional observation or shadowing = 10 points - e.g. Evidence of observation, reflective practice and practice related outcomes
- Supervised practice = 10 points - e.g. Evidence of participation, observations and outcomes
- Group work or meetings outside of everyday coaching practice = 10 points - e.g. Evidence of participation, observations and outcomes
- Coaching observations to different environments = 10 points - e.g. Evidence of participation, reflective notes and practice outcomes
- British Canoeing eLearning = 5 points - e.g. Attendance certificate, reflective notes and practice outcomes
How do I choose the right CPD for me?

The great thing about the new CPD process is that your development opportunities are directed and controlled by you. This means that you can pick the CPD that’s relevant and interesting to you, that’s delivered in a way that you find engaging and meaningful.

You can select formal qualifications and awards, such as British Canoeing qualifications and awards, or informal learning and development opportunities. We recognise that many coaches and leaders have spent time during lockdown participating in online webinars or community of practice events, reading books or listening to podcasts. These could all count towards your CPD points!

Read British Canoeing's top tips on what to think about when engaging with different types of CPD:
Choosing the right CPD for you
Why do Leaders now have to keep their CPD up to date?

We know that Leaders already recognise the importance of keeping up to date with best practice, supporting their own learning and development, in order to support those that they lead. We are pleased to formalise this process, enabling Leaders to get recognition for taking the time to undertake development opportunities.

Safeguarding Training and DBS Checks

British Canoeing and Canoe Wales are committed to helping everyone in paddlesport accept their responsibility to safeguard children and adults at risk from harm and abuse and ensure appropriate training and education for coaches, leaders and deployers.

From 30 September 2020:

All coaches and leaders need to engage in appropriate safeguarding training as a prerequisite to assessment
All qualified leaders need to engage in appropriate safeguarding training to keep their qualifications valid
All coaches and leaders need to refresh their safeguarding training every three years to keep their qualifications valid and meet Coach Update requirements

This safeguarding training must be on record - ideally added to your Canoe Wales profile on GoMembership.

If you work with children you may be legally required to complete a DBS check through your deployer or employer. See our Safeguarding page for more information.

More about the Coach Update Scheme

You will meet the Coach Update Scheme requirements if the following are up to date:

Full Canoe Wales membership
First Aid
Safeguarding
CPD
Follow the British Canoeing Code of Conduct.

What happens if you do not update?

If you do not update, you do remain insured and do not lose your coaching awards. However, you will not be able to do any work for Canoe Wales or British Canoeing, e.g. assess for Personal Performance Awards or other British Canoeing tests and awards. If an accident were to occur, you also run the risk of a charge of negligence if you cannot show that your coaching was and is carried out according to current best practice.

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