AMBITIOUS Stourport Hockey Club have been awarded the England Hockey Club First' accreditation.

The scheme, which is part of the Sport England Clubmark programme, is designed to help clubs achieve nationally-recognised operating standards in order to strengthen their infrastructure.

It also works towards a safe, effective and child-friendly environment within the club.

To obtain the award, the club's executive committee were required to formulate procedures and policies for all aspects of the club's operation including child protection, coaching, sports equity and ethics and management of the club.

The club also had to go through an on-site assessment of one of their training sessions before they were awarded the accreditation.

Chairman Mark Harradine said: "From our point of view, we had a very strong desire to run the club better and provide a better environment for our members.

"The Club First accreditation scheme gives us the ability to implement a tried and tested methodology to help achieve our goals.

"Although getting a certificate is nice, it was more important for us as a club to make things better for our members, particularly our growing junior section.

"We recognised that the Club First programme was an ideal way for us to achieve this goal.

"I would encourage all clubs to investigate obtaining this award."