It’s easy to get your school involved in Snowsport activities.
As well as being great recreational activities, skiing and snowboarding are also beneficial for your physical and mental health and wellbeing. It also provides a great opportunity to make new friends and learn new skills.
Students will develop crucial skills including balance, coordination, agility, strength, discipline and courage, as well as providing exciting career opportunities – perhaps even progressing to the next Winter Olympics!
What next? Get your group signed up to a taster session at your local slope – use our activity finder below to find sessions near you. There are a range of opportunities from beginner lessons to experienced sessions with a SSW-licensed coach.
Teacher training
TEACHER TRAINING
Looking for a rewarding challenge? Take your school group on Snowsport trips abroad and let your students develop their skills, knowledge and understanding while having fun. Many employers or Local Authorities require the lead teacher to hold appropriate qualifications before they can organise a Snowsport trip abroad.
Snowsport Course Organiser (SCO)
Aims of the course
This is a basic course designed to enable leaders to organise school, club and youth group Snowsport courses safely, responsibly, efficiently, and in such a way as to give maximum educational benefit (in skiing & snowboarding terms) to young people. Participants must be at least 21 years of age to attend this course. As the National Governing Body for English Snowsport, Snowsport England recommends that adults accompanying young people on Snowsport trips should hold the Snowsport Course Organiser award. This view is also supported by the Outdoor Education Advisors Panel. Holders of the SCO award are expected to be able to use their knowledge of the course content to organise a Snowsport course.
Process
We offer two delivery options for the SCO course, Face to Face or Online.
Both course options cover the same content and certification. This is an attendance course which is not assessed but does require full participation.
We have recently introduced the online version for easier access, or we can offer a face to face course if required.
1 Online course – £110
This consists of a 3-hour, module based, online course followed by a 2.5 hour virtual classroom session with a Snowsport England tutor.
- Book your course online. When you book an online course you will be offered optional dates to attend the virtual classroom session. Please note: If at a later point you need to change the virtual classroom session you will need to contact the office.
- You will receive an email with a link and login details for the online course and a digital copy of the ‘Going Skiing & Snowboarding’ resource pack.
- When you have completed the online modules, you will receive a code to attend the virtual classroom session
- Attend the virtual classroom
- Receive your certificate for the course
2 Face to face course
This is a ‘classroom’ based 1-day courses that you will need to attend to complete the award. If you would prefer a face to face course please look at the links on the course calendar, or if you have a group and want a new course set up please contact the office on info@snowsportengland.org.uk
Alpine Ski Course Leader Award (ASCL)
This award takes place in an alpine resort over six days and is designed to accredit leaders to supervise a group of skiers or snowboarders with whom they have a pre-existing relationship.
The aim of the Alpine Snowsport Course Leader award is to help teachers shape their professional judgements concerning responsible supervision and leadership of young people on marked pistes they have skied/boarded with their instructors within recognised ski areas.The course focuses on helping leaders make professional judgements in relation to the safety, learning, well-being and enjoyment of the group they are working with. The award qualifies teachers and youth leaders to lead skiers/boarders who are students from their own educational establishment or members of a club affiliated
to a Home Nation Governing Body.
Please note that the SCO and ASCL courses do not qualify you to become a Snowsport coach or instructor.
School organisations
We are currently working with both Esskia and NSSA to recognise the Squads they provide and how they fit into the talent pathway. Once this has been completed we will update this information but currently we don’t recognise either Squads as part of the talent pathway.
National Schools Snowsport Association (NSSA) are a not for profit, membership organisation for schools form differing backgrounds including, alpine coaching, UK winter tourism and teaching. The NSSA has been set up to run as a hub for school Snowsport information, building schools ski programmes, teams and generally develop competitive Snowsport within the schools arena.
English Schools Ski Association (ESSKIA) promotes ski-racing competitions between school teams. They aim to encourage as many students as possible to enjoy skiing at home and abroad as well as improving the excellence of young skiers and encouraging the maximum student participation in competitive inter- school races.
