Following an intensive two-day assessment of its services, five GLL-run leisure centres in Waltham Forest have achieved the Customer Service Excellence (CSE) award - the new Cabinet Office quality mark.

As well as scoring top marks for all five, key criteria, the CSE report highlighted one 'compliance plus' area - GLL's appointment of a Community Development Officer (CDO) to target the disadvantaged in the community. Compliance Plus status means the Waltham Forest centres exceed the requirements of the CSE standard and are examples of national best practice.

GLL's CSE assessment covered all six borough centres - Cathall, Kelmscott and Larkswood Leisure Centres, Leyton Leisure Lagoon and Waltham Forest Pool and Track - all run by GLL in partnership with the London Borough of Waltham Forest. Assessors also visited the Peter May Centre which GLL manage on behalf of the London Playing Fields Association.

Rigorously examining how the centres achieve customer excellence, the 60 plus criteria application process saw GLL spend six months ensuring requirements were met and fine-tuning operations. Fully compliant in all elements, the CSE assessor praised GLL staff for "consistently demonstrating their understanding of the needs and challenges faced by their customers" - despite the very broad range of centres managed by GLL.

Also highlighted in the report was the role of GLL's CDOs - key players in Waltham Forest's 'compliance plus' status. CDOs 'offer a high level of service' by working closely with the local community to establish services required and to identify hard to reach and disadvantaged groups.

Councillor Geraldine Reardon said: "This award recognises the work of the GLL partnership with Waltham Forest and the impact that this relationship can have on customers. We want people of all ages in Waltham Forest to feel that our leisure centres meet their needs, whatever their lifestyle or their physical condition. No one should feel they are not fit enough to pay us a visit."

Comments CSE Assessor, David Thornton, "GLL Watham Forest is another example of this organisation's commitment to customer service excellence. GLL has a corporate ethos of consultation and involvement of customers and partners in regular reviews of services which ensures they fully meet the needs of the local communities they serve. I was particularly impressed by the work of the community development officers who identify services required by the most disadvantaged people in society whether this be due to physical or mental health disabilities or lack of finance."

Blair Cottam, GLL's Partnership Manager for Waltham Forest said, "The dedicated team at the leisure centres in Waltham Forest have worked extremely hard and aim to provide the highest possible standard of service for the community. We are all therefore very delighted with the result and recognition for GLL's commitment to put our customers at the heart of service delivery. Our plan is to continue to build on our strengths and raise the standards further for local people."

GLL was assessed against the five key criteria of the Customer Service Excellence standard: customer insight, the culture of the organisation, information and access, delivery, and timeliness and quality of service.