Becoming a skateboarding instructor

We’ve had a few people ask about what you need to do to be a Skateboarding Instructor.

The first thing you need to consider is your ability level. You can only really be an instructor to students up to your ability level, as you will need to demonstrate skills to them. That said, most students can’t even stand on a skateboard, so don’t always let your limited skills stop you.

Public Liability Insurance

You should have public liability insurance to cover you in the event that there is an incident where the plaintiff feels that your negligence lead to a negative consequence for a student. For example, an injury. It is suggested by SkateboardGB that £5m cover is adequate. PL insurance for sports instructors is around £600 a year.

Enhanced DBS checked

Instructing children places you in a position where a child will look to you for guidance. As such it is a regulated activity. You will need the Enhanced DBS (Criminal Records) check. This is to check that you do not have any offences that preclude you working with children. You cannot apply for this personally. An organisation needs to apply for you. There is a charge of around £70 to run the check.

Safeguarding training

You should undergo safeguarding training so that you are able to recognise when you need to flag that a child may not be receiving adequate care. The safeguarding element is a requirement of the SkateboardGB coaching course. The NSPCC has a safeguarding course (£25).

First aid training

You should undergo First Aid training. I personally did the St John’s Ambulance Sports course (£168). You should have a First Aid Kit if there is not one at your site (£16.50).

SkateboardGB Instructor Accreditation

The Skateboard GB coaching course gives you some limited training. This doesn’t fully prepare you to be an instructor but helps you start to think like one.  There are other useful aspects, like learning how to do a Risk Assessment before running a lesson. You will be required do a safeguarding course to get your certification. The SkateboardGB course costs £200.

Site Licensing costs

If you use a public skatepark sometimes Local Authorities will charge licensing fees for undertaking commercial activity. This can be between £100’s and £1000’s per year.

On the job training

When you have the above in place you will still not have actually helped a student physically to learn a skill. A big part of the job is learning how and when to support the student as they perform skills. You will only learn this on the job.

At School of Skate you do at least 10 hours on the job, and then you will be able to assist instructors during lessons to get more experience. After around 20 hours on the job you can take a lesson by yourself.

Covid-Safe Policy

Local Authorities will want to see your Covid-Safe Policy. What are the measure you are taking to contain the outbreak of the virus. This is an every changing situation, and you will need to keep this updated.

Managing client’s data

If you are managing clients data you need to be aware of GDPR legislation.

You will need a Privacy policy which clearly sets out what you will do with client data, and when you will dispose of it.

If you are collecting and processing client data you will need to pay the Information Commissioners Office to do so.

Training and Coaching with School of Skate

Training

We can provide training above and beyond what SkateboardGB provide. Our training is based upon a programme of learning that has been developed over thousands of hours working hands on with students.

Become a School of Skate coach partner

We are looking for individuals to partner with us to create a school at their local skatepark, working with members of the public to offer affordable group skateboard lessons. There is potential for moving on to work with organisations and schools. We can offer our experience of working with members of the public, local authorities and organisations to build your school. When you join School of Skate we can:

• provide all the equipment you require
• build a customer base with you
• provide the booking systems
• provide lesson plans
• provide learning software for your students to access.

Please read more about training with us and subscribe to our coach mailing list.