Our Story

How we redefined school sports coaching

Brilliant humans

Exceptional, handpicked staff who are driven, passionate and experienced teachers/sports coaches.

Reputation above all else

Delivering a service that maximises engagement and impact.

Trust

We do as we say we will do.

Fundamentals

Excellent at the non-negotiables - professionalism, safeguarding and behaviour management.

Real partnerships

We genuinely care about our relationships and endorse a partnership approach.

Community

Building a community which is empowering and inspiring for the children, our team and our partners.

Consistency

High quality sessions everytime.

Self-sufficient

We take pride in providing excellence without adding to our partner schools' workloads.

What we can offer your school >

A message from the founder

I founded Ignite Sport in November 2024 following a 22-year career in the education, sports coaching and charity sectors. From September 2014 to September 2024, I designed, directed and grew Bristol Sport Foundation’s Forever Sport PESSPA programme from the ground up and a team of two to a team of over 50 who now coach over 8,500 children and young people in nearly 50 school and community settings every week.

As you can see from the photos on this page, I was fortunate to have a very active childhood during which my parents provided me with lots of opportunities to play different sports and take part in physical activity. I often wonder if my career and passion for using the power of sport and physical activity to improve people’s lives was shaped by a knee injury I suffered at the age of 18. The injury prevented me from playing sport and competing and for a long time had a significant impact on my self-confidence, self-worth and sense of identity. After many false dawns I finally returned to playing rugby at 26 and played until I was 41. The negative impact of this eight-year gap on my life and me as a person conversely illustrated how much sport can positively shape lives. Through a period of adversity, a fire to help others to fall in love with sport and physical activity was ignited.

Tom Monks, Managing Director and Founder

Our philosophy

We believe high quality physical education, sport and physical activity can elevate every child’s life.

We wholeheartedly believe that there is at least one sport/activity for every child - the key is providing all children with a rich array of positive sport and physical activity experiences.

With the first eleven years of a child’s life (end of primary education) playing a critical role in shaping their interests, habits and attitudes towards physical activity and sport, our overarching aim is to develop every child’s physical literacy because active children are healthier, can concentrate for longer, are more resilient and are more likely to be happy.

We achieve this by creating learning and sporting environments that celebrate effort over ability, enable all participants to feel confident and safe, respected and trusted, and which foster positive self-reflection and self-worth.

Join us

It is all about the people.

We always want to hear from passionate, curious, self-aware, self-responsible and empathetic sports coaches and teachers who would like to have a conversation about joining Ignite Sport. Please use the contact us form to get in touch.

Contact us

I have had the pleasure and privilege of knowing and working with Tom since 2018. From our very first conversation, I knew the partnership between him and my school would be outstanding. His passion, knowledge, discipline and dedication to improve the quality and impact of the service provided for the whole school were incredible. Throughout our 6-year partnership, Tom was loyal, trustworthy and honest, the service and provision he provided Filton Avenue was phenomenal – 100% delivery of sessions, support with whole school enrichment, incredible CPD for the whole team and teaching mentoring for 21 teachers. His openness allowed for flexibility to meet the needs of our school and children; he listened and adapted, which allowed for a brilliant partnership which created a passion and love for sport across the school. I can’t wait to work with Tom again in his new chapter at Ignite Sport.

Steve Pavey - PE Lead
From the very start of the Bristol Sport Foundation's programme ten years ago, Tom's leadership as our Head Coach was a big part of helping our school transform its sports provision. He brought an enthusiasm and passion for sport, inspiring children of all abilities. Tom's well-structured and engaging lessons significantly improved our pupils' physical literacy and confidence and ignited a genuine love for physical activity. There isn't a child in the school who doesn't love Jail Break! We saw an increase in participation in lunch and after-school clubs, as well as the number of pupils eager to represent the school in competitive sports. Beyond his coaching skills, Tom built strong, positive relationships with our staff. His excellent communication and collaborative approach ensured the programme integrated with our school's needs and context. With Tom's support, we have developed a thriving sports culture at Chew Stoke, and our pupils are benefitting from a high-quality PE experience.

Ben Hewett - Headteacher and Vicki Hennessy - Deputy Headteacher - Chew Stoke Church School
Tom has led our school provision for many years now and the professionalism, quality of teaching and natural rapport with the children has been an asset to our PPA cover timetable. As a team they have provided varied physical activities, engaging lessons where the children are excited to develop their skills. The head coach model has provided stability throughout the years, enabling the children to have a familiar face who works within our behaviour policy and can build strong relationships with all of our children. The coaches check in with teachers and leadership regularly to ensure they are aware of individual needs and feedback with any concerns or celebrations that they have. The feedback from students and parents alike has been overwhelmingly positive and they have been instrumental in building our school’s sporting community.

Danielle West-Gaul - Headteacher - St. John's C. of E. Primary School, Midsomer Norton
As someone who values the whole school impact that high quality PE and sport can have on children of all abilities, I take my choice of sports coaching provider very seriously. I met Tom in 2011 and I instantly knew I'd met someone who was able to fully embrace and support my passion for using PE and sport to achieve great things within a Primary setting. Three schools later, our working partnership has grown and evolved. Over the past six years, he has supported me in creating a sense of belonging and community at Coniston Primary School. In that time, we have had exceptional Ofsted 'deep dive' feedback for our PE, 100% delivery of high-quality PE sessions delivered by a well-trained and highly motivated coaching team. The personal, partnership approach, the quality of regular CPD for teachers during PE lessons and the consistent effort to improve the quality of the service provided all set Tom and his team apart from any other service I have used in my 25 years in education.

Alan Walters - Headteacher - Coniston Primary School
Tom Monks coached me basketball, dodgeball, cricket, tag rugby and hockey when I was in Years 4, 5 and 6 at Chew Stoke Church School. He was very friendly, kind and encouraging which helped me to grow in confidence when playing sport. His PE lessons always seemed really well planned with a focus on fun and lots of activity - I loved them! He guided and inspired me to learn many skills that I have taken with me in life. I am currently studying a BTEC level 3 in sports coaching, and following two years as a volunteer football coach, I now work part-time (alongside studying) for Bristol City as a paid coach. Tom was a great role model for me growing up.

Katie Whitmarsh - age 18
Former Chew Stoke Church School pupil