EPA Standard
Sports Coach
Level 4 
£9,000 
18 months
1. What the role entails
Sport Coaches are found in the sport and physical activity sector in high performance, community and school environments.
- High-performance Sport Coaches: develop athletes and players in high performance settings, including those on talent or development pathways, national or international programmes, professional or podium environments.
- Community Sport Coaches: motivate and engage people of all ages and abilities in community sports and physical activity settings. Community sport includes local authority, charity and national governing body of sport community initiatives or clubs.
- School Sport Coaches: collaborate with teachers to develop pupils’ mastery of psychomotor skills by applying a whole child approach in their coaching. They work in all categories of school and registered childcare environments.
Sports Coaches use extensive technical and tactical sports knowledge and skills to design and deliver coaching programmes that engage, motivate and evolve participants’ skills and performance.
Sport Coaches aim to provide meaningful and high-quality learning, development and performance experiences. They support the achievement of medals in talent, national and international competition, enrich performance in local competitions, increase participation, raise educational standards, enhance wellbeing and drive social change.
Sport Coaches can influence national wellness to reduce burden on the National Health Service.
Entry: undertake the Disclosure and Barring Service
process and provide the result.
2. On-programme assessment
Apprentices will typically spend 18 months on-programme and undertake the minimum required off-the-job training as per the ESFA funding rules. Apprentices must spend at least 12 months on-programme. Before entering Gateway, the apprentice must complete the following on-programme requirements:
- Level 2 English and maths or equivalent qualifications
- a Portfolio of Evidence to underpin the Professional Discussion.
3. Gateway requirements
The decision to take an apprentice through Gateway is made between the employer, Independent Training Provider (ITP) and the apprentice. The apprentice should only enter Gateway once the employer is content that the apprentice is consistently working at or above the level of the occupational standard. The apprentice must also have completed all the on-programme elements before they enter Gateway, including:
- submitting a Project Outline
- a Coaching Session Outline in preparation for the Practical Observation with Questioning
- a Portfolio of Evidence to underpin the Professional Discussion.
4. End-point assessment
The end-point assessment (EPA) for Sports Coach contains three methods of assessment:
Work Based Project and Presentation with Questioning
This assessment method has two components:
Component 1: Work Based Project and Report Apprentices will have a maximum of 12 weeks to complete their Project. The Project commences after NCFE has signed off the Project Outline after Gateway. The Project is in the form of a 4,500 word Report and may be based on one of the following:
- development of new coaching strategies, systems, and services
- improvements to current coaching strategies, systems, and services.
Component 2: Presentation with Questioning Apprentices will prepare and deliver a Presentation that covers a summary of the Project Report. The Presentation will last for 1 hour and 15 minutes typically including a Presentation of 20 minutes and questioning for 55 minutes.
Grading: Fail or pass
Professional Discussion underpinned by a portfolio
The Professional Discussion must last for 1 hour and 30 minutes. Questioning should be used to assess KSBs mapped to this method and to explore the apprentice’s ability to evidence KSBs by drawing from their experiences as a coach working with different participants. Apprentices will be expected to refer to examples in their Portfolio of Evidence to support their answers.
Grading: Fail, pass or distinction
Coaching Session Plan and Practical Observation with Questioning
This assessment will take the form of the creation of a Coaching Session Plan and the Observation of the delivery of the Coaching Session, followed by Questioning. The outline of the Coaching Session must be signed off by NCFE at Gateway to ensure sufficient coverage of the assigned knowledge, skills and behaviours (KSBs). The Coaching Session planning and Practical Observation with Questioning will assess the planning, preparation, delivery and review of a Coaching Session for a selected individual or group of participants.
Component 1: Coaching Session Plan. Apprentices will be required to submit a Session Outline to NCFE at Gateway and following sign off will produce a full session plan based on the outline submitted.
Component 2: Practical Observation with Questioning. Apprentices will be observed and assessed delivering the Coaching Session. The session will be based upon the plan and adaptations to coaching methods, activities and timings will be made in the moment to ensure that participants’ development needs are met.
The Observation will be covered in a single 2 hour face-to-face session. This will include 30 minutes preparation to include facility set up, equipment organisation and risk assessment, 1 hour delivery time and 30 minutes debrief through Questioning.
Grading: Fail or pass.
5. Grade aggregation table
| Observation of Leadership | Professional Discussion | Grading | Final grade awarded |
| Pass | Pass | Pass | Pass |
| Pass | Pass | Distinction | Distinction |
6. Completion and certification
Once the Independent End-Point Assessor (IEPA) verifies the apprentice has successfully completed all EPA methods, NCFE will activate certification. Working with the apprenticeship certificate issuing authority, we will ensure the apprentice receives their certificate.
7. What next?
On successful completion of this apprenticeship the Sports Coach will be eligible to become a Coach Practitioner Member of the Chartered Institute for the Management of Sport and Physical Activity (CIMSPA). Progression routes include a Level 6 Physiotherapist apprenticeship or a degree in Sports Coaching.
Why NCFE?
We’re an approved End-Point Assessment Organisation (EPAO) specialising in EPA delivery across health, education, social care, business, active leisure and digital apprenticeship standards. We offer flexible and reliable EPA solutions supported by sector expertise, guidance documents and proactive service and support.