"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."
Young sporting company opens up Bristol office
22/01/08
A sports coaching company that has recently scooped one of the UK's most coveted business awards - the Natwest StartUps Business of the Year - is looking to make its mark in the South West in 2008 with its new office in Bristol.
SportStars, a company that offers sports coaching for four to 12-year-olds has recently set up its Bristol operation in the Old Co-op Business Centre in Easton and has appointed Matthew Mohamed as its general manager.
Matthew said: "SportStars is a young and ambitious company that is constantly looking at new ways of expanding its business and moving into the South West seems the next natural step in pushing our company forward.
"We want to inform schools that we are on hand to teach sport to a very high curriculum standard, while also giving children the chance to experience different types of sport that they may never have dreamt of doing before."
The company with its headquarters in Cardiff was set up by managing director, James Taylor, 26, a Cardiff University child psychology graduate in September 2005, with a £1,000 given to him by his parents for an around-the-world travel ticket.
The company has seen a promising start in Bristol as it is already working with five primary schools, including Badock's Wood Primary and Hareclive Primary, but is hoping to increase this number by 400 per cent by the end of the year.
Mike Colcombe, Head Teacher at Hareclive Primary School said: "SportStars provide a well organised and very efficient service. They have excellent coaches who cover the full range of the PE curriculum and detailed lesson planning is provided and tailored to suit our school's individual needs."
SportStars is also hoping to recruit new members of staff in Bristol in the next few months and is currently looking for a full-time coach to work within primary schools. Anyone interested in joining the SportStars coaching team should contact Matthew Mohamed on 0845 241 3682.
One of the key areas of growth for the company in the South West will be the Planning, Preparation and Assessment (PPA) cover it provides to primary schools. Since its introduction in 2005, teachers now have to spend 10 per cent of their working week on the planning, preparation and assessment of pupils' work.
SportStars also offers fun-based sporting courses for four to 12-years-old over the school holidays, after-school clubs, birthday parties and school fundraising days.
Story by Rachel Lewis