Leisure centres complete quest for success
Released: 20 December 2007
Staff are celebrating after leisure facilities in Wolverhampton won a hat-trick of awards.
Lord Sebastian Coe, one of Britain’s best known and successful athletes, last week presented Aldersley Leisure Village with Quest accreditation during a visit to the city.
And, with Central Baths receiving re-accreditation of its Quest status along with a prestigious pool safety award, it completes a trio of awards for the Wolverhampton City Council-run facilities.
Councillor John Reynolds, cabinet member for leisure and culture, said: “All our staff have worked really hard as a team to achieve these awards and I would like to thank them all for their efforts.
“These awards show the quality of our facilities and the high level of service we provide to our customers, and they highlight how our staff are continually striving to ensure standards are as high as possible.”
Aldersley Leisure Village achieved Quest accreditation in its first ever assessment after inspectors gave the thumbs up to the service it provides.
Quest was developed by Sport England to provide a quality accreditation scheme for sport and leisure facilities. Before, there had been no definitive standards for leisure centre managers to work towards.
It is designed to help staff improve the quality of services they give to customers, and encourages them to look at the service they provide from the customer's point of view, asking key questions such as, “If it does not benefit the customer, why are we doing it?”
Inspectors gave Aldersley a score of 71%, a commendation rating. Councillor Reynolds said: “Quest accreditation will lead to a number of benefits to users of the leisure village.
“They will see ongoing improvements to the service they receive, while staff will be more focussed on identifying and meeting their needs.”
Central Baths, which achieved Quest accreditation in 2005, was told by inspectors last week that it has successfully retained its status.
And there was double joy at Central Baths which has also been given the Institute of Sport and Recreation Management (ISRM) National Pool Safety Award, recognising the highest levels of pool safety standards and good practice.
The ISRM initiative provides a framework for promoting high standards of pool safety in the UK. It is a voluntary scheme open to all swimming pools in the country.
Lord Coe, the former Olympic gold medallist, was at Aldersley last week to open the centre’s new running track.
Issued by the press office.