Quest and NBS continue to head in right direction

The management team behind Quest, the UK quality scheme for sport and leisure, and the National Benchmarking Service (NBS) has had its contract renewed for another three years, Sport England has confirmed.
Right Directions, in partnership with Leisure-net Solutions, was first appointed to manage Quest and NBS on behalf of Sport England in September 2010.
Both an accreditation and a tool for continuous improvement, Quest defines industry standards and good practice in the sport and leisure sector, and encourages their ongoing development and delivery within a customer-focused management framework. NBS enables sport and leisure facilities to benchmark their performance against comparable sites nationwide.
Andy Couves, Sport England’s programme lead, said: “We are pleased to announce that Quest and NBS will remain in the safe hands of Right Directions and its partner, Leisure-net Solutions. In the continuing climate of austerity, it is more important than ever that we help local sport and leisure providers to demonstrate their value – in terms of both commercial returns and social outcomes – while also supporting their continuous improvement. Quest and NBS meet both these aims, and under Right Directions’ proven leadership we are confident they will continue to go from strength to strength.”
Steven Ward, executive director at trade body ukactive, said: “We welcome Right Directions, in partnership with Leisure-net Solutions, retaining the right to continue their development of Quest and NBS. ukactive has embedded its own Code of Practice for facilities within Quest and believes that the scheme has a crucial role to play in raising standards. It’s clear that since taking the helm five years ago Right Directions and Leisure-net have made significant improvements and we look forward to seeing their continued development in the years ahead.”
Tara Dillon, CEO of the Chartered Institute for the Management of Sport and Physical Activity (CIMSPA), said: “CIMSPA has enjoyed a unique corporate partnership with Right Directions since April 2014, so we’re delighted to hear that they, together with Leisure-net Solutions, have had their contact for Quest and NBS renewed. We look forward to continuing to work with them to share best practice in the industry – starting with the first joint Quest NBS and CIMSPA Conference in Loughborough next February.”
Caroline Constantine, director of Right Directions, said: “We are thrilled to be able to continue the important work we have started with Quest and NBS. We at Right Directions believe that Quest has come a long way since the initial rollercoaster ride in 2010. The team has been so committed to the scheme and I am immensely proud of what we have achieved. Our priority now is to prepare lots of exciting changes, which will be launched at the conference. Watch this space!”
Mike Hill, director of Leisure-net Solutions, said: “We are extremely proud to be part of the winning team for the Quest and NBS contract once again. Our focus will be on the further integration of the two services, making them even more relevant and invaluable to the active leisure sector.”
The two-day Quest NBS & CIMSPA Conference 2016 will take at Holywell Park, Loughborough University, on 10-11 February. To book, go to questnbs.org.
– ends –

For further information contact:
Rhianon Howells at Big Fish Public Relations
Tel: 01727 834629
Mob: 07967 551142
Email: rhianon@bigfishpublicrelations.co.uk
Editor’s notes:
Managed by Right Directions on behalf of Sport England, Quest is the UK quality scheme for sport and leisure. It is a tool for continuous improvement, designed primarily for the management of leisure facilities and leisure development. Quest defines industry standards and good practice, and encourages their ongoing development and delivery within a customer-focused management framework.
The National Benchmarking Service (NBS) provides critical data on the performance of leisure facilities. Leisure-net Solutions, in partnership with Sport Industry Research Centre (SIRC) at Sheffield Hallam University, works on behalf of Sport England to provide a seamless, rigorous and valuable collection and analysis of participation, financial and customer satisfaction data. questnbs.org
Right Directions Management provides health and safety and quality management support to the leisure industry, specialising in local authority and trust-managed sites, as well as smaller independent operators. Right Directions, which also delivers ukactive’s Code of Practice, has more than 100 years’ experience within its field. rightdirections.co.uk
Leisure-net Solutions is the leading provider of customer insight, business intelligence and consultation services to the active leisure, fitness and cultural services industries. Leisure-net helps leading industry organisations, local authorities and trusts, as well as private sector operators and suppliers, to understand their customers’ and clients’ needs and aspirations, and to deliver innovative service and health improvement initiatives. leisure-net.org