"I would like to thank all the coaches for their dedication, hard work and making my son's week fun and enjoyable! Thank you very much...10/10"
"It's such a relief to leave my son knowing that he is in a safe, fun environment. Thank you Sportstars!"
"The staff were extremely friendly and had a great rapport with the children."
"A really good week - excellent value, the girls were really happy, we knew they were safe and the performance was great! This is our second time and we'd definitely come again."
"I brought four children to the scheme, ranging from 5 to 10. They all loved coming and ran in every morning. Excellent...10/10"
"I was a bit concerned about leaving my son as he's only just four, but the coaches were so friendly and confident it put my mind at ease straight away. Thanks all. 10/10"
"The coaches have all been fantastic with the children - an excellent balance of fun, learning and discipline. They really manage to communicate with all the children regardless of their age or ability - very impressed indeed!"
"(Sportstars) supply extremely high quality planning, preparation and assessment cover and after school activities, all at a reasonable cost to already stretched school budgets".
"As a Headteacher I have been challenged by the latest educational reforms of providing good quality cover for staff while they have their 10% Planning Preparation and Assessment Time. I tried a range of providers before and themes for the pupils before employing the services of Sportstars... I have now decided to use Sportstars to cover all the schools PPA requirements for next year and have been very impressed with the company...the services they provide have been a real godsend to Headteachers and the quality of staff are of a high standard".
"Sportstars has been working in Kitchener Primary school for the past year. The enthusiastic and energetic coaches are well trained and motivate the children in a wide variety of sports during the year. Sportstars also provide end of year reports for the teachers with whom they have been working."
"Sportstars is very well organised, has excellent coaching personnel, offers a diversity of sports and is excellent value for money! Sportstars has addressed the Health and Safety issues and the coaches have a code of conduct - both of which are so important where the safety and security are concerned'.'The work being done by Sportstars in schools and in holiday clubs, will play a major role in the fight against obesity and also encourage children to take a more active role in sport".
"We are a small school and it's been fantastic to receive fresh new faces bringing in their expertise. Sportstars is a very dependable company and we have never been let down. We had been having great difficulty covering PPA in the past but now we have no worries."
"I have been extremely impressed by the professionalism and enthusiasm of the staff of Sportstars. They enthuse and engage the pupils which will lead to them continuing to enjoy the benefits of sporting activities throughout their lives."
"We have been working with Sportstars since September 2006, when financial pressures meant we were unable to fund a qualified teacher to provide PPA cover. Coaches work closely within existing school policies and frameworks. They have proved extremely popular with our pupils and are highly respected by staff as they bring extra specialities into our school routines."
"The qualified coaches of Sportstars are making a significant contribution in our school, both through covering classes for PPA and also by raising standards of achievement across all year groups. With their detailed planning, accurate assessments and good class management, they have quickly won the respect of teachers and the trust of pupils. I recommend them highly."
"Sportstars is a well organised and very efficient service. They have excellent coaches who cover the full range of the PE curriculum. Detailed lesson planning is provided and is tailored to suit our school's individual needs."
Founder of SportStars keeps entrepreneurial spirit alive in the UK
11/11/07
Startups' editor Matt Thomas called it a 'David and Goliath' victory. Judges were won over by the way that, as a small business, the company is helping the community yet remaining profitable. While James Taylor, founder of SportStars, the latest NatWest Start-up Business of the Year, called it a dream come true.
But refreshingly, he wasn't just talking about the award or recognition, he was talking about running the business itself. It's perhaps a sign of the times that the winner of the community impact award - the one most coveted by Taylor - also walked away with the overall prize and the cheque for £5,000. The company provides organised coaching sessions for 4-12 year-olds, and taking the crown from contenders such as the Book Depository - with its £24m turnover - was a tremendous achievement for the SportStars boys.
But Taylor, who celebrated by lifting host and Sky News presenter Adrienne Lawler in the air, displayed an undeniable passion for what he does, which you suspect also helped to sway the judges' votes, "It's great to be able to show people that people like me - a young boy from a small village in Leicester - can go out there and chase their dreams," he said. And it's refreshing because it shows that despite the recent outcry over taper relief and the frequent complaints that entrepreneurship is not being nurtured enough here, entrepreneurial spirit prevails. Their joy at winning was genuine and a testament to the passion that awards like this seeks to recongise and promote.
Story by Stephanie Welstead, taken from http://www.growingbusiness.co.uk/