Case Study - Gateshead Leisure Centre

We spoke to Shelley Sefton, Business Manager at Gateshead Leisure Centre, about the vital role the Centre plays in the community and how Connected Voice has supported them across the organisation.

In a few sentences, please tell us a bit more about Gateshead Leisure Centre. What are your main aims?:

We are a hub for the community, that was saved by the community.  

In our current form we have been here for two years, but the leisure centre has existed in some form since the 1940s, when it was just a pool. In the 1980s, the leisure centre part was added to the pool. Sadly, the centre then closed due to lack of funding in 2023.  

We – the Gateshead community – successfully took it over from the council and reopened as we are now in June 2024. It was the biggest community asset handover in the UK.  

We are Gateshead's home for fun, fitness, and community. We have three pools, a gym, a soft play, sauna, steam room, a cafe and we offer a huge range of classes and activities to local people – from accessible gym classes for people living with disabilities, to sessions tailored to different religions of the local community, school swimming lessons, yoga, baby sensory, spin classes, birthday parties, and more!  

This is my community. I grew up here, came to the leisure centre as a child and now live down the street. I am exceptionally proud of the centre and what we have collectively achieved.  

Above: One of the swimming pools and the soft play at Gateshead Leisure Centre

Why did you initially reach out to Connected Voice and Gateshead Volunteer Centre for support?: 

We initially reached out to the volunteering team at Connected Voice, as we were looking to begin volunteer recruitment. We had such a helpful early meeting with Harley, who gently made it clear that we were not at all ready to bring volunteers on board yet! 

He has been so helpful as we have refined this process, helping with policies, offering advice, and connecting us with other local organisations so we can learn from their volunteer recruitment experience, like St Chad's. This networking has been one of the most valuable things that Connected Voice has supplied, being able to go to events and meetings with other people in the sector and just share ideas and challenges, it is invaluable.  

Tell us a bit more about volunteering at the Leisure Centre – what sort of roles are you looking to fill in the future?:

We should hopefully be recruiting volunteers very soon, so watch this space! Initially, we're looking for people to welcome visitors, to support us with communications and social media, and to help with maintenance and DIY tasks. Our volunteers won't need any specific fitness or swim-related qualifications, we just want people who care about the leisure centre and the community.  

We very much want this to be a two-way relationship, and we will support our volunteers to develop as much as they support us – for example this could be access to training opportunities, mock interviews, or help and feedback with CVs. 

You’ve had some help from our Support and Development Team too, can you tell us a bit about that experience?:

Mark has also supported us with training around GDPR and with our AI policy, which was great. We originally were going to pay a private organisation to help with our AI policy, so we are so glad that Mark and Connected Voice were able to help with this and save us some vital funds. He made the whole process so clear.  

What would you say to another local VCSE organisation if asked about working with Connected Voice and Gateshead Volunteer Centre?:

I'd definitely encourage them to get in touch and to join in, I've learnt so much just from going to networking events organised by Connected Voice. We are such a young charity organisation, so having experienced people who we can talk to and who understand the challenges – both Connected Voice staff and other organisations – has been so helpful. 

Finally, what would you say to someone who is considering volunteering with the Leisure Centre, but is not sure if it is for them? 

Come and have a chat! You don't have to have worked in leisure before or be a fitness expert. You just need to be interested in the centre and care for the Gateshead community – volunteering is a lovely way to be part of that.