British Judo Association has taken an innovative approach to implementing an e-portfolio project.

Under the guidance of Amanda Batt, Director of Education and Training at the British Judo Association, every candidate studying towards the Advanced Apprenticeship in Sports Excellence (AASE), their Assessors as well as Technical Coaches will adopt the e-portfolio this year. Of course they intend to utilise film to improve tactical technique as well as integrating and linking with existing analytical programmes and yes they will link the portfolio from the BJA’s website however;

The really clever approach adopted by the BJA in their holistic approach has been to standardise the best practice across the whole organisation prior to and as part of implementation. This has involved using our new Easymap technology by mapping a list of standardised assessments required to meet maximum outcomes within the award, collating the best documentation from all Assessors and uploading them into the file library along with the learning resources associated with each element.

Easy to use assessment templates are being created and will be personalised to each candidate’s individual requirements. By taking this upfront, fully planned approach, all the development work is completed prior to candidate launch day. This in true BJA style, will also be a holistic exercise, where the England Excel squad will be joined by every AASE Judo candidate, be trained, record assessment evidence and upload at a National training event.

This entire process was started on 19th August with a sales presentation. It concludes with Assessor training on the 24th of November and will be completed on 2nd Jan with candidate training and full AASE National Launch.

Amanda Batt said; "This is a crucial element in the support to our commitment to provide a holistic education opportunity for our performance and talented players within our player pathway. The AASE programme provides a wonderful opportunity for our players to develop their education as part of their enhanced training programme. What we have been excited about is the inclusion of modern technology into the AASE programme through the development of the e-portfolio system. With the integrated planning approach we have taken as a sport and the patience, expertise and openness of the SkillWise staff, together we have created a development process that has led to innovative practice.

"The sharing of best practice and the commitment from the BJA, current AASE providers and the England Excel team has significantly enhanced the delivery programme and associated resources we now have as standard across the programme. This approach and team-based integrated working will only continue to support an environment and culture of sharing, creating and challenging to provide the best for our players. This resource has moved from being candidate centred to being a fully functioning Assessor/Technical Coach supportive tool and for this we must thank and give credit to the SkillWise staff who never said ‘no’."

To find out more about the fantastic opportunity the AASE programme provides in judo, please click here.