"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."
SportStars wins national business award
30/10/09
SportStars, a company which specialises in providing high quality sports coaching for children aged 4-12, has won Small Business of the Year in the Nectar Business Small Business Awards 2009.
Established by James Taylor in 2005, SportStars provides both structured PE, music and drama lessons in primary schools to fill teaching time left by teachers who are away from the classroom planning lessons and courses throughout the school holidays.
From five school contracts in year one, the company now works with 100 schools, working with over 25,000 children each week.Nectar Business launched their first Small Business Awards in March 2009.
The Small Business Awards were open to all UK Small Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and set out to acknowledge best practice, great ideas and outstanding achievements. After receiving some truly outstanding entries, Sportstars secured the top prize winning £2,000 cash prize and 50,000 Nectar points.
On winning the award, managing director James Taylor, says: “It’s fantastic to be recognised for the positive work we’re doing with young people and to show that you can run a highly successful business whilst doing something extremely positive within the community.
“While there is a strong enterprise community in the UK, sometimes you can come across people with a 'no can do' attitude that can hinder this entrepreneurialism. When I was starting out, some people told me that the business wouldn't work and asked me when I was going to get a proper job. They looked at reasons why it couldn't be achieved instead of looking at how it could be, so it’s great to now be winning prestigious business awards that recognise the work that we’re doing as a business and the effort of the fantastic team we have at SportStars.”
Since starting the company, Taylor has won an array of National Business Awards for his rapidly growing company including being named as Shell Livewire Entrepreneur of the Year, HSBC Start-up Stars, The Daily Mail’s Enterprising Young Brits and was crowned number one SME in the UK at the Natwest Startup Awards. James has also featured on the BBC hit TV programme “The Last Millionaire”.
Charlie Humphreys, Nectar Client Development Director says: “We're delighted to announce SportStars as the winner of the Nectar Business Small Business Awards. It's staggering to see how successful this business has been in its individual way. SportStars spotted a gap in the education market to create a highly successful business - it's inspiring to see how his business is leading in its field.
“Everyone who runs a small business, especially in the current climate, has to work extremely hard to get it off the ground and make a success of it. The awards have represented a fantastic opportunity to celebrate great business ideas, business practice and people and I would like to congratulate all the small businesses from across the UK that entered.”