April 2010 £2.75Sport and fitness for today’s youth

By Louise Cordell

A TEAM of specially trained coachesare set to be deployed across the coun-try to help children become moreactive.

School Sport Partnerships are beingencouraged to recruit the Active Life-style Coaches, who can be anyonefrom teaching assistants to parents andlunchtime supervisors. Their job willbe to help motivate kids to do at leastone extra hour of physical activity perweek, especially in alternative sportslike breakdancing, cheerleading, mar-tial arts or yoga.

The scheme is being deliveredthrough the government’s HealthyWeight, Healthy Lives strategy andcoaches will receive training, resourcesand equipment to help get kids involv-ed. If they are qualified, they will beexpected to deliver the fun activity ses-sions themselves, but if not their rolewill be to help young people accessactivities delivered by local coaches.

Dawn Primarolo, children’s minister,said: “School sport has been trans-formed in recent years. Nine out of tenchildren are now taking part in at leasttwo hours of PE a week and we arecommitted to building on this to helpchildren get five hours of PE and sport

a week, in school and in the communi-ty. But we know it’s not always easy tomotivate children to do exercise.

“So we hope that the new ActiveLifestyle programme will help schoolstarget children that are less physicallyactive through fun, innovative andengaging activities. This will help chil-dren to develop confidence in theirabilities and establish a healthierlifestyle throughout childhood that willlast into adulthood.”

It is hoped that 20,000 children fromthe ages of four to five, and ten to 11will take part in the programme in thefirst year, with active lifestyle coachworking in up to 1,100 schools.

The government is providing theYouth Sport Trust with £1m funding forcoaches and a number of SSPs aimingto deliver the project have also gainedfinancial support from local partnerssuch as the PCT and their local author-ities.

Steve Grainger, Youth Sport Trustchief executive, said: “We want to cre-ate more and better opportunities forall young people. However, sport doesnot naturally appeal to some childrenwhich is why, through developmentssuch as Active Lifestyles, we continual-ly strive to offer every young personthe opportunity to be inspired.”

Team readyto get kidsmore active

Greciansvisit everyschoolEVERY secondaryschool in the ExeterSchool Sport Partner-ship has received avisit from Exeter CityFC players in a bid toinspire pupils to takepart in PE.

As part of thelaunch of an officialpartnership betweenthe club and thePartnership, the play-ers and coachingstaff visited theschools to stage aseries of workshopsand training sessions.

Kealey Sherwood,SSP manager, said:“We are all aware ofthe impact thatsporting role modelscan have on the livesof young people.

"Working in part-nership with ExeterCity Football Clubprovides us with aunique opportunityin which to bringsome of our young-sters local sportingheroes from the clubin to schools toinspire them to bethe best that they canbe in whatever arena;whether it is sport,art, music or acade-mic.”

Hinchingbrooke School in Huntingdon has received anational award for its innovative practice in PE.The specialist sports college has been held up as anexample of how to provide pupils with an unmissablesports programme after undergoing a complete cur-riculum overhaul. Students are now able to take partin activity sessions including mountain biking, sailing,go-karting, orienteering and climbing.As well as making PE the school’s most popular subject,the changes have led to widespread improvements inperformance and attendance. Full story, Page 6 Picture: Shaun Smith Photography

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Group editor:Andrew Harrod – ah@whpl.netTel: 01226 734639 Reporters:Louise Cordell – lcordell@whpl.netTel: 01226 734694Mary Ferguson – mf@whpl.netTel: 01226 734712Christina Eccles – ce@whpl.net Tel: 01226 734463Dominic Musgrave – dm@whpl.netTel: 01226 734407

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Contacts www.futurefitness.uk.net

Nelson and Colne College Sixth Form has launched three new acade-mies to help talented sports students fulfil their potential. Pupils in thePendle and West Craven areas will be able to gain access to profes-sional coaching in netball, football and basketball while taking their ALevels. A number of talented athletes have already made it to the topof their sport after attending the College including Olympic cyclingmedallist Steven Burke, ladies England football squad goal keeperRachel Brown and international hockey player Charlotte Hartley.

PARK House School in West Berkshire hasbecome one of the UK’s first London 2012 GetSet network schools.

The sports college has been recognised forits work in education development andopportunities directly related to theOlympics.

Headteacher Derek Peaple said: “We havebeen carrying out innovative and cross cur-ricular work for student learning and person-al development. As a sports college wealready use sport in the widest context to takewhat we do forward, but student leadership,development and our young ambassador pro-gramme are also very important.

“We have also used partnerships in the GetSet network to provide extended services andincrease our ability to deliver.”

The school has introduced a wide range ofdifferent activities for its pupils, all builtaround Olympic values.

It started by creating a student sport devel-opment team as a subset of the student coun-cil. The pupils involved talk to their peersabout sport developments they would like tosee in the school as well as setting an examplefor younger students and working to engageothers.

The school has also created a ‘Wall of Fame’,identifying pupils who have contributed tothe Olympic values of excellence, inspiring

others, respect, courage, equality and friend-ship.

Derek added: “The whole programme haspresented fantastic opportunities for themat-ic learning and means that even pupils whowould not usually consider themselves sportyhave been able to get involved in the spirit of2012. For example, our art students haverecently spent a week capturing famousOlympic moments in the style of different,well known artists.”

He is now planning new ways of keepingsport at the forefront of school life including atrip to South Africa in the lead up to the 2010World Cup to help build up the idea of aninternational values passport.

The school is also hoping to organise aflame relay around the secondary and pri-mary schools in the area from this Septemberthrough to July 2012.

It is hoped that this will be part of a largercross curricular programme that will allowevery young person in the area to get excitedabout their role in the Games.

Derek added: “The whole of our tutorialprogramme has been rebuilt around theOlympic values and the aim is that they willbe so embedded in the school by the time2012 has come and gone that they will con-tinue to benefit our pupils, staff and commu-nities long into the future.”

London 2012 GetSet recognitionfor sports college

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Schools urgedto get setfor OlympicsBy Louise Cordell

GET Set is calling on more schools toget involved in the run up to theLondon Olympic Games.

The aim of the 2012 education pro-gramme is to get children and youngpeople involved in the excitement ofthe event and is working to create acommunity of schools and collegesthat share this goal.

Nick Fuller, LOCOG’s head of educa-tion, said: “Get Set is about capturingthe imagination of young people andleaving a legacy.

“How teachers use the programmesin schools will define what that legacyis.

“We want them to tell young peoplethat what makes the Olympics specialis that it is not just sport for sportsake - it brings with it an importantset of tools for life and we can use the2012 run up as a motivator to drivethat.

“Our commitment is to pushingbeyond our personal best and wewant to take that attitude intoschools.

“We want young people to knowthat it doesn’t have to be about win-ning gold medals, but about discover-ing something that they want to

develop and growing within it.” Over 16,000 schools from around

the UK are already involved in thescheme and have been provided withresources to help teachers bring 2012to life and to make the Games rele-vant and exciting.

For example, over the last month aseries of activities based aroundVancouver’s Winter Games have beenreleased, alongside the launch of GetSet Plus, which gives access to proj-ects and programmes run by 2012partners in areas like PE, sports,enterprise and citizenship.

Nick added: “In just 18 month wehave reached over half of the schoolsin the UK and now we want them toup their engagement with us.

“We know this is an interesting timeand whatever happens following theelection, the key elements of educa-tion will continue to be important,and Get Set will continue to help withthese.

“Sport is a very important outcomeof the programme, but we believethat the encompassing values have amuch greater resonance in allschools. Our objectives now are to getmore people more involved and usethe country’s students to continue tospread the message.”

The Royal Opera House has announced ashort list of 13 young choreographers whowill see their work performed at the iconicvenue.The scheme is part of Youth DanceEngland’s Young Creatives programme, giv-ing 15 to 19 year olds the chance to devel-op their choreographic work with profes-sional choreographers.The chosen young people will now begiven the chance to showcase their selec-

tion of 12 pieces of work at a one-off, pub-lic performance in Linbury Studio Theatreat the Royal Opera House in April.Before the show they will complete aweek long training residential at the RoyalBallet School where they will be chal-lenged to create two new dance pieces intwo days to help improve their choreo-graphic skills.These new works will then be premieredalongside the original 12 pieces.

A STRICTLY Come Dancing star andformer world swimming championhas visited The Stanway School inColchester to launch the area’s Pools4 Schools programme.

The scheme is currently teachingchildren across the country to swimand has already been successful inLondon, Sheffield, Birmingham andManchester.

It involves taking mobile swimmingpools to schools around the countryand offering a six week programme oflessons in areas where people find itdifficult to access local pools.

Mark Foster said: “The children areable to learn both health and safetybenefits, in parallel with social inter-action and the enjoyment that can beexperienced from swimming.

“Plus, you never know, the Pools 4Schools programme may even findanother Becky Adlington.”

There are currently 16 schools in thearea that will be using the pool forthe entire six week programme, andthe local community will also haveaccess during after school hours.

Barry Nevin, head teacher ofStanway Fiveways Primary School,said: “We are thrilled to be able totake part in the Pools 4 Schoolsscheme, swimming is so important inso many ways, not least as a skill thatcan save a life.

“It would be wonderful if Markinspired a generation of FivewaysOlympic swimmers – but actually it isjust as important if they motivatechildren to swim that first ten ortwenty five metres; the hardest partof anything in life is often the startand the Pools for Schools scheme hashelped enormously in ensuring that agood start has been made.”

Children from Boxted Primary School with Mark Foster

Splashing start for scheme

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Youngsterslove visitsto RippedBy Mary Ferguson

A STRENGTH training gym in Harlowis showing its softer side and helpingchallenged children by offering its fit-ness facilities for free.

Ripped hosts sessions for young-sters taking part in Educational YouthServices (EYS) who use the gym aspart of their ‘functional skills for life’programme.

The programme consists of ninestages including numeracy, literacy,ICT, leisure and art and design andaims to re-engage young people withlearning, building their self esteemand promote social inclusion. Thecurriculum works to enable theyoung people to work imaginativelyto meet their needs and to raiseexpectations in others and them-selves.

11 students, a tutor and a coach usethe gym facilities once a week forthree hours, with a focus on biologyand science.

Michelle Meade, co-owner of

Ripped, said: “At the start of the yearwe sat down as a gym and decidedthat we would concentrate on help-ing kids in 2010. I knew the tutor atEYS, Anthony Anstead, when we part-nered with Harlow Town FC, whichhe used to be manager of. We weredelighted when he approached us tohelp with the EYS.”

The youngsters who use the gym areaged between 11 and 15 and Michellesaid they behave well during the sessions because they like comingback.

She added: “They love it herebecause there are big guys, modernmusic, and they like to go upstairs tosee the boxing ring and fighting cage.

“We use the sessions to developknowledge and understanding, skills,capabilities and attributes they willneed for mental, emotional, socialand physical well being.”

As well as working with EYS, Rippedis also expanding its children’s boxingclasses, taking on two new instructorsto cope with demand for the sessions.

Joanne Morgan and Jenn Thom celebrate with children from St Patrick’s Catholic PrimarySchool

TWO volleyball stars from theSheffield-based Great Britain squadhave been supporting the sportingachievements of local pupils.

Jenn Thom and Joanne Morganpresented awards to kids from fourcity schools who have completed thesix week Playing For Success pro-gramme at the English Institute ofSport.

Almost 60 children fromGreenlands Junior School,Stradbroke Primary School,Windmill Hill Primary School and StPatrick's Catholic Primary Schoolreceived a prize and certificate at thepresentation night.

The PfS programme aims to raise

standards in literacy, numeracy andICT and increase self esteem in chil-dren aged ten 10 14.

Sessions are designed to motivateyoung people to learn through sport-ing equipment, with support fromelite athletes who train at the venue.

Jakki Marshall, centre co-ordinatorfor Playing for Success, said: “Playingfor Success continues to go fromstrength to strength at EIS Sheffieldand hundreds of local children havenow benefitted from this pro-gramme.

“We are very grateful to Jenn andJoanne for taking the time to attendthe presentation night and they werea great inspiration to the children.”

Volleyball duo support pupils

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HINCHINGBROOKE School inCambridgeshire has been held up asan example of how to provide aninnovative PE curriculum at key stagefour.

It was named a winner at the SportsColleges Conference InnovationAwards after undergoing a completeshake up of its whole sports pro-gramme.

Peter Brennan, assistant head anddirector of specialism, said: “We havealways been a fairly traditional schoolbut young people are changing veryrapidly these days and our key stagefour provision was starting to looktired.

“Pupils were starting to vote withtheir feet – so to address this andmake PE unmissable we needed tostart thinking like the students.

“It really needed a complete reviewand overhaul of the whole sports cur-riculum.

“We also felt it was important tooffer a coherent programme, ratherthan just bolting on a few new activi-ties as a quick fix, so that the stu-dents were able to make realprogress.”

The school’s aim was to provide anexciting and varied programme thatwould include all pupils, includingthose who didn’t see themselves as‘sporty’.

To do this they introduced a lot ofnew games that were new to all thepupils, for example ultimate frisbee,so that they were all starting from thesame level.

The PE staff also decided to makethe most of the school’s location,backing onto HinchingbrookeCountry Park, and introduce outdooractivities including orienteering,mountain biking, sailing and climb-ing.

Peter added: “The challenge is to

keep enthusiasm going throughoutKS4 as students want to continue tobe surprised and to try new things.

“We wanted to provide a dynamic,exciting and varied programme thatwould make PE everyone’s favouritesubject.

“My philosophy is that the PE pro-gramme should be like a library – notfull of the same type of books – butwith something for everyone,because different people have differ-ent interests and this is the only wayto genuinely contribute to our stu-dents leading active lifestyles.”

The school found that the bestapproach for the more mature KS4students was to give them a choice ofpathways, allowing them to opt intothe areas that they wanted to pursue.

At Hinchingbrooke they can nowfollow leadership, outdoor, fitness orperformance routes, among others,which means that pupils can do

more of what they enjoy, while stillmaking progress.

The school devises a series of expe-riences that fits in with each individ-ual pathway, helping pupils to gainexperience and qualifications in thatarea.

Peter added: “It has not been easyor a quick fix - we have had to workon it over a number of years.

“But the PE review has kick started‘fit for purpose’ reviews across otherareas of the curriculum and hasresulted in an impact on perform-ance and attendance across thewhole school.

“Results have been getting betterand better over the last few years, weare predicting further improvementsthis year - and the PE programme hascertainly made a significant contri-bution to this.

“It has been a big part of theschool’s ongoing reinvention.”

HINCHINGBROOKE’S new PE cur-riculum has been a great success, butthe staff faced a number of chal-lenges along the way.

Peter found that while the ideas forthe new programmes were wellreceived in principle, in reality thepractice of teaching for understand-ing and the logistics of organisingstudent choices and transportationpresented some problems.

He said: “The demands on PE staffto work outside their traditional skillset proved to be the source of muchanxiety and resulted in waveringcommitment to the programme.

“The novelty of off-site activitybegan to wear thin and the difficultyof ensuring that all the activitiesposed an adequate challenge meantthings felt like they were getting

worse before they got better.” To address this, and in order to sup-

port the staff, the school organised‘PE Pizza Training’ – a regular eveningstaff training session, where col-leagues were able to discuss the dif-ferent aspects of the new curriculummodel – followed by pizza.

Peter added: “The reasons behindthe redevelopment of the curriculumwere compelling and although attimes this proved uncomfortable, thechallenge has proved liberating andexciting for staff, students and par-ents. The resilience of staff and stu-dents to work together to createsomething better has been at the rootof our success.

“When things didn’t quite work westuck at it, and the students workedwith us to make things better.”

A sports curriculum that includesmountain biking, sailing and go-kartinghas made PE the most popular lessonat Hinchingbrooke School inHuntingdon. The specialist sportscollege has now received an award forits innovative practice and is hoping tointroduce more new ideas this year.

School acts to make PE unmissablePicture: Shaun Smith

Photography

Resilience wins through

Picture: Nick ScottPhotography

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By Christina Eccles

A SCHOOL in Warrington hasrevealed how it has used sport andphysical activity to successfully targetpoor behaviour and attendance.

William Beamont CommunitySchool and Specialist Sports Collegehas been using the Sky Sports LivingFor Sport programme in order to tar-get disengaged pupils.

The school looked at the type ofyoung people who needed support –such as those who were disaffectedfrom lessons or with low self esteemand attendance problems – andencouraged them to participate inthe programme.

The aim of Living for Sport is toencourage pupils to take on differentsporting activities in order to helpthem engage with other aspects ofschool life.

For those on the scheme, the schoolwanted to achieve objectives such as: � Better prepared pupils when enter-ing KS4.� More confident individuals.� Development of leadership skillsand sporting leaders of the future.� Improvement of communicationskills.� Pupils with greater self awareness

and better life skills.And the school has managed to

achieve great successes in the project– including more than 50 per cent ofone Living for Sport group having a10 per cent or more increase in atten-dance.

Living For Sport co-ordinator PhilShaw explained: “We first looked atLiving For Sport in KS4 as a stickingplaster effect but have since moveddown to KS3 to target kids before theyget to the really important years ofschool life.”

Pupils on the programme took partin two lessons per week – one pre-dominantly a PE lesson and the otherlooking at topics such as healthy eat-ing and team building skills.

Director of specialism CraigMilburn added: “We wanted to getthe kids better prepared at the end ofyear nine for their GCSEs and engagethem and give them confidence –particularly kids with low self-esteem.

“In KS4 we then try to develop par-ticipation in sports related leadershipactivities and improve social skills bygoing on trips and camping.”

At the end of the programme, thegroup went on a camp residentialwhich they had helped to plan intheir lessons.

Sport used totarget poorbehaviour

DISADVANTAGED young people inTruro and Falmouth are being giventhe chance to improve their fitnessand confidence with an unusual newsport, thanks to a local social enter-prise.

Jinga Communities has been award-ed £12,000 to help it deliver freecourses in capoeira, a Brazilian mar-tial arts/dance discipline.

The six-week courses are targeted atunemployed 16 to 25 year olds andaim to boost their health and selfesteem, helping them to return totraining and work.

Craig Blackburn, Jinga director andinstructor, said: “Capoeira is an excel-lent tool for rebuilding confidence inindividuals.

“In order to take part, participantshave to develop relationships withothers, not just verbally but alsothrough movement and rhythm.

“The blend of partner-based move-ment and percussive music buildsself esteem, motivation, communica-tion skills and fitness.”

The Jinga 16-25 course consists ofacrobatics, martial arts, breakdancesteps, percussion instruments andsinging in Brazilian Portuguese andparticipants will also learn about theculture of Brazil and the country’sAfro-European roots. Later this yearthe course will also be rolled out inup to four other locations in Cornwallincluding Newquay, St Austell and theCamborne/Pool/Redruth area.

Unusual new sport aimsto boost self esteem

Employment opportunities securedTHE National Skills Academy forSport and Active Leisure hasannounced the creation of almost2,500 new employment opportunitiesfor young unemployed people in thesport and active leisure sector.

The organisation recently launcheda successful bid to tap into theGovernment's Future Jobs Fund, pro-viding money for new jobs that willguarantee training and employmentfor six months.

Florence Orban, National SkillsAcademy for Sport and Active LeisureCEO, said: “Our aim is to revolu-

tionise our industry by staffing it withthe best people with the best skillsand training. There is a huge,untapped talent pool of young,enthusiastic people who just need achance – a foot in the door – and thatis exactly what they will get with theprogramme.”

Employers who will be offering jobsthrough the Future Jobs Fund includePremier Sport, Fit for Sport, TheAmateur Swimming Association, TheAmateur Boxing Association ofEngland and Transforming AGeneration.

Success for supply teacher AbdulABDUL Kallay has been namedSupply Teacher of the Year by PERecruitment, winning an award and£150 of sportswear vouchers.

Schools were asked to nominate thePE supply staff who had mostimpressed them with their reliability,punctuality and the quality of theirteaching over the last year.

Jon Pettit, PE Recruitment MD, said:“As an ex-head of PE and PDM I knowthe value of high quality PE staff thatcan be relied upon by schools.

“By promoting this award we arekeen that good supply staff are suit-ably recognised and rewarded for thework they do in PE departmentsaround the country.”

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Primary linksbring PEimprovementBy Christina Eccles

A SPECIALIST sports college hasrevealed how forming successful linkswith primary schools in the area hasimproved how these schools teachPE.

Members of staff from BishopChalloner Catholic School inBirmingham go into six local primaryschools to teach pupils for two hoursper week.

And assistant principal DarrenTurner and PE subject leader EdwardO’Connor said this partnership hashelped the schools to implement abetter standard of physical educationwhile also giving the sports collegevaluable information about theirpotential future intake of pupils.

To raise standards in the partnerprimary schools, staff at BishopChalloner have worked hard – utilis-ing a number of tools to engage bothprimary pupils and staff.

Edward explained: “We have thesame member of staff going into eachprimary school, which is building upa rapport. If you can, continue that

relationship on a year by year basis.“The senior management team is

also aware of what these staff aredoing and the benefits of specialistPE teachers going into the schools.

“Team delivery is absolutely essen-tial. We want to make it sustainableso that when we step away, thatteacher has the confidence to carryon with the task.”

An attainment passport has alsobeen created for the primary pupils,which is a booklet for them to recordtheir progress and work on set tasks,with a detachable teacher’s page forcomments.

Edward added: “Each class teacherhas the programme and will fill in theforms.

“We can see straight away wherethere has to be progress so it is anexcellent tool for monitoring andhighlighting pupil progress.”

A transition programme has alsobeen created to help year six pupilsworried about the move to secondaryschool, which involves training upyear eight pupils to act as mentorsand someone they can chat to.

Ellesmere College’s Under 15s’ SevensTeam is celebrating after winning theAdams Sevens Tournament.The annual competition was held at AdamsGrammar School in Newport and givesschools in the area the chance to show offprogress they have made over the year.Mike Sampson, Ellesmere’s coach, said:“We were blessed with a spell of good

weather and this led to some high qualityrugby despite the fact that most teamswere short of practice.“Adams Grammar School arranged a finecompetition and I was delighted for theboys, who have made rapid progress inunderstanding the game of rugby sevensand who approached the Tournament in avery positive fashion.”

Extra opportunities foryoung people in DerbyshireYOUNG people in Derbyshire are tobe given more opportunities to takepart in sport thanks to a new fundinggrant.

A Village Games project hasreceived over £600,000 from the RuralCommunities fund, which waslaunched after Sport Englandrevealed that two thirds of the localauthorities with the lowest sportsparticipation rates are in rural areas.

The Village Games scheme aims tosupport country communities todevelop new activities, events andcompetitions which will continuethroughout and beyond the three

years of funding.Hayley Lever, director of the com-

munity sports trust said: “This fund-ing will help us bring Derbyshiretogether and get more people playingsport in our rural communities.

“The sports on offer will be a lot offun but there will also be a competi-tive edge to some – and there will besomething for everyone.

“We want to harness the excitementof the London 2012 Olympic andParalympic Games, by offering theright activities, delivered by the rightpeople in the right places to increaseparticipation.”

£2m centre gets go-aheadat Olympian’s old schoolA NEW £2million gymnasium andinnovation centre at Olympic medal-list Louis Smith’s old school has beengiven the green light.

Arthur Mellows Village College, inPeterborough, has been given themoney to build a state of the art gymnasium facility complete with store rooms and a laundry facility.

The school will also transform itscurrent sports building into a newinnovation and skills centre whichwill provide the new manufacturingand product design diploma for 14 to

19 year olds across the city.

The existing gym will then be converted with the construction of anew mezzanine floor and internalrooms to provide a large productionand workshop area, a computer suitewith a Computer Aided Design facili-ty and there will also be a new con-ference and seminar room.

Approval for the project has beengranted by Peterborough City Counciland funding will come from theDepartment for Children, Schoolsand Families with work expected tobegin shortly.

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FAILSWORTH School is now in itsninth year as a specialist sportscollege and has become a winnerat the Sports Colleges ConferenceInnovation Awards.

The school, which is home to1,500 pupils, was praised for itsachievements in ‘embedding itsspecialism to narrow the gap inwhole school attainment’.

Sharon Murray, the school’s clus-ter manager of PE, said: “We wereso pleased to win the awardbecause we have been workinghard on using our sports special-ism in many different ways.

“It really started when we werehaving some problems with someof the boys in our PE classes.

“They were becoming lessengaged and were not getting any-thing out of the lessons.

“So we started introducing activi-ties like ultimate frisbee, extremegolf, wrestling and kickboxing, andsaw a big improvement in attitudeand performance.

“Other departments had beenhaving difficulties of their own anddidn’t know why some pupils werejust not switched on in their sub-jects – so they decided to give ourapproach a try.”

As part of their attempt to usesport to enthuse the pupils, Englishteachers added the biographies ofpopular sports stars to reading listsand got football fans to practiceanalytic writing by producingmatch reports.

Not to be outdone, maths teach-ers equipped their students withpedometers and introduced analy-sis and calculation lessons basedon distances covered and caloriesburned.

Sharon added: “We also all start-ed using sporting analogies to helppupils with the run up to exams,for example instead of gettingthem to produce revision timeta-bles, they would create a gameplan.

“We got them to think about whatAlex Ferguson would do whenplanning and organising a bigmatch and the work that the squad

had to put in, and got the studentsto apply that process to their ownexam goals.”

The school introduced anOlympic theme to help inspire thechildren and encourage them to‘Go for Gold’.

Three target groups of pupilswere identified - those who neededhelp to achieve a C grade inEnglish, those with the same targetin maths, and those who neededsupport in both subjects.

Teachers from the PE, maths andEnglish departments then tookthese squads, around 100 pupils intotal, on a series of outdoor activitytrips to help build their confidence,communication and trust.

The school then put on an awardsmorning where parents were invited in to help celebrate thepupils’ achievements and set up a‘wall of fame’ to recognise pupilswho had improved thanks to hardwork.

Sharon added: “We have changedthe whole school structure toimprove relationships betweenpupils and staff.

“Instead of year groups we nowhave a house system, with housesnamed after Olympic cities, and we

have tutoring and coaching pro-grammes within each house witholder pupils coaching the youngerones.

“PE staff have also been splitacross the house system in order toreally embed the specialismthroughout the school.”

Ongoing sports leaders andsports ambassadors programmeshave also worked particularly wellin the school, and the idea has nowbeen adopted by other depart-ments including English andmaths, by introducing ‘lesson lead-ers’ who help and inspire youngerpupils.

As of this year, the scheme willalso be introduced into languageand humanities lessons and theaim is to eventually extend itthroughout the school, to ensurebetter teaching and developmentfor all the students.

Sharon added: “All the changeswe have made have really led to bigimprovements across the curricu-lum.

“Now we want to expand on greatpractice and make sure that all ourpupils get all the benefits they canfrom it.”

A specialist sports collegein Manchester has beenusing its sporting successto inspire improvement inother subjects. FailsworthSchool has now receivedan innovation award for itswork and for theopportunities provided forits pupils – Future Fitnessfound out more.

PE practices usedin other subjects

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Activities couldhelp pupils sailthrough subjectsBy Christina Eccles

INCLUDING maritime adventureactivities such as sailing into thesporting curriculum could improveachievement levels in other subjects,according to experts.

Linda Melton, headteacher at TheWye Valley School and Jeremy Waitt,manager for UKSA Schools revealedto delegates at the Sports CollegesConference in Telford the partnershipwhich has formed between theschool and the association – and howit has benefited pupils.

UKSA – which is a charity dedicatedto changing lives through maritimeactivities based on the Isle of Wight –has a 240-bed residential area whereit has developed a range of pro-grammes for schools and sports part-nerships to come down and try out.

Students from the school haveattended courses at the centre andthe activities have been tailored tomeet their academic needs in sub-jects as diverse as youth apprenticeschemes to geography.

And after attending UKSA, results inthese subjects went up on average atleast one grade.

Linda explained: “Taking part in

these activities gives pupils inde-pendence and development academ-ically. Grades were up on targets andwe would attribute this to the visit toUKSA.

“At Wye Valley, we have also donework with year 11 pupils who wereunderachieving in English. They go toUKSA to have fun on the water andthen do their English study inbetween.”

Jeremy also revealed tips for schoolswanting to include this sort of activityinto their timetable.

These include:� Be aware that every group is differ-ent and the learning outside theclassroom provider needs to workhard to get the most out of it.� Find people to work with who havethe same ethos as your school.� Find a provider who understandsthe benefits of learning alongside thecurriculum.� Don’t get stuck in a rut – justbecause something is hard it doesn’tmean you shouldn’t do it.

But he warned that it was importantto evaluate any activities and if youaren’t getting good learning outcomesand inspired pupils, it may be time tomove on and try something else.

WARRINGTON School SportsPartnership has come up with a newevent to help tackle obesity and anti-social behaviour.

The interactive gaming night, calledWii 2 Real, has been created toencourage young people to get off thestreets and get active.

Over 150 12-16-year-olds took partin a variety of activities, led by youngleaders from the WarringtonLeadership Academy.

A range of partner companies alsogot involved and put on demonstra-

tions, including ZigZag, PhoenixBoxing Club, Warrington Wolvesdance performers ‘Fusion’ and theBritish Rope Skipping Association.

Dave Quartermain, event and competition manager, said: “The aimof Wii 2 Real is to inspire young peo-ple to get more involved and partici-pate in the many activities open tothem.

“Hopefully the event has raisedawareness of the opportunities avail-able and brought the Warringtoncommunity together.”

Bid to get youths activeand off the streets

Call for end to promotingunhealthy body imagesPSYCHIATRISTS are calling on themedia to stop promoting unhealthybody images to young people.

The Royal College of Psychiatrists isasking for a new editorial code to bedrawn up to end the ‘thin body ideal’and encourage the use of morediverse body shapes.

Members of the College’s EatingDisorders Section have claimed thatthey are becoming increasingly con-cerned about the harmful influenceof the media on young people’s selfesteem and want the government totackle the issue.

Dr Adrienne Key, consultant psychi-atrist, said: “We are asking the gov-ernment to create a forum with theaim of collaboratively developing anethical editorial code that realisticallyaddresses the damaging portrayal ofeating disorders and raises awarenessof unrealistic visual imagery createdthrough airbrushing and digitalenhancement.

“There is a growing body of research

that shows the media plays a part inthe development of eating disordersymptoms – particularly in adoles-cents and young people.

“That’s why we are calling on themedia to take greater responsibilityfor the messages it sends out.”

The college has outlined three mainareas of concern:� The use of pre-teen or underweightmodels to promote a thin body ideal,and the use of airbrushing to portrayphysical perfection that is unattain-able in real life.� The fact that many magazine arti-cles give advice on dieting withoutgiving information about the long-term effectiveness of diets and thedangers of extreme dieting.� The inaccurate portrayal of eatingdisorders, with many articles ‘glamor-ising’ weight loss and portraying eat-ing disorders as mild disorders orpersonal weaknesses, rather thanserious mental illnesses requiringspecialist treatment.

THE best time to start childhood obe-sity prevention could be before birth,according to a new study.

Research carried out at HarvardMedical School has revealed thataction to stop kids becoming obeseshould be taken much earlier thanpreviously thought.

While most obesity prevention pro-grammes target kids aged eight and

older, researchers are now suggesting that children can be athigh risk of gaining weight frominfancy and, in some cases, duringpregnancy.

Elsie Taveras, lead author, said:“This early life period, prenatal,infancy, to age five, is a key period forchildhood obesity prevention, espe-cially for minority children.”

Prenatal findings in obesity study

10 9/3/10 16:26 Page 1

news 11

Champion isappointed inactivity driveA HEADTEACHER has become one ofnine new champions promotinggrassroots sport across England.

Sport England have launched adrive to get a million people involvedin activity, led by a champion foreach region of the country.

They will aim to develop local part-nerships that improve sports provi-sions and take-up, as well as securingcontinued investment for grassrootsinitiatives.

North West champion, Pam Jervis,was the head teacher of BrookfieldSchool in Kirkby – one of the firstspecialist sports colleges in the coun-try, and is now Principal of KirkbySports College.

She is also Chair of the KnowsleySchools Forum and represents educa-tion on the North West SteeringGroup for the 2012 Games.

Gerry Sutcliffe, Minister for Sportsaid: “Our new champions have animportant role in taking forward thespirit of partnership that is essentialif our aim of getting many more peo-ple playing sport as one of the key

benefits from London hosting theOlympic and Paralympic Games is tobe realised.

“They all have practical experience,bags of local knowledge and the skillsneeded to unite the many bodieswith an interest in getting peoplemore active – and I look forward toworking with them.”

The nine champions have a diverserange of skills and experience, andalso include the chief executive of LeeValley Regional Park Authority, a for-mer building society chief executiveand a senior councillor responsiblefor his county’s Olympic legacy.

Richard Lewis, Chair of SportEngland, said: “The champions’expertise and passion will help usmake the case for sport, and itspower to build happier, healthier,communities. Each of them will playa key role in cementing the local rela-tionships that are critical to our driveto get more people playing sport andinspire individuals at every level tofulfill their potential.”

WOMEN’S cricket star Isa Guha hasbeen named Sports Personality of theYear at the British Asian SportsAwards.

Isa made her England debut at just17 and helped to secure an Ashes vic-tory in 2005. She has also captainedBerkshire women and is an enthusi-astic advocate of young women’ssporting achievement.

Clare Connor, head of EnglandWomen's Cricket, said: “Isa thorough-ly deserves this award. She has been aconsistent performer for the Englandwomen's cricket team and off the

pitch she is a terrific ambassador forher sport and is an aspirational rolemodel for young Asian women whohave a dream of their own to pursue.”

Isa also joined the Sporting EqualsAmbassador programme at the startof 2010 and said: “I will be workingwith Sporting Equals to try andencourage more girls, especially ofethnic minorities, to get involved insport. I want to show them that it ispossible to study and have a normalcareer as well as achieving theirsporting dreams.”

Role model Isa wins awardArun Kang, Sporting Equals chief executive; Isa Guhal; David Mbaziira, Sporting Equalshead of marketing and communications

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news12

Racing circuitopportunity foryoung cyclistsYOUNG cyclists are being given the chanceto swap their local park for a real-life racingcircuit as part of a partnership betweenRockingham and British Cycling.

The Northamptonshire circuit has teamedup with the UK governing body to host aseries of Go-Ride holiday coaching sessions.

During the lessons, cyclists aged 16 oryoung will be able to improve their ridingskills and learn various racing techniques onthe 1.7 mile national circuit.

Charlotte Orton, Rockingham director,said: “We are delighted to be able to workwith British Cycling and this partnership isan example of the community involvementand education programme we have intro-duced at the circuit.

“We can provide a safe and secure environ-ment for young riders to improve their ridingskills and techniques, while also having funlearning something they enjoy.”

The young people need a road racing bikewith dropped handlebars and a helmet totake part, but they do not need any racingexperience as they are able to practice tech-niques during specific coaching activitiesand controlled races.

Alison Lilley, British Cycling’s Easternregional Go-Ride coach, said: “To work in atraffic-free road environment such asRockingham is a unique opportunity foryoung riders and our coaching team.

“It enables riders to practice in a controlledenvironment making it fun and safe tolearn.”

Structured programmecan cut body fat levelsBy Louise Cordell

SCHOOLS that provide a structured physical activityprogramme can improve their pupils’ fitness anddecrease their body fat levels, according to a newstudy.

The findings, which have now been published inthe British Medical Journal, have been taken from aSwiss research programme involving over 500 sevenand 11 year olds in 15 schools.

The children took part in a nine month physicalactivity programme designed by experts, whichinvolved structuring their existing three PE lessons aweek and adding two extra lessons.

They were also given daily short activity breaks andphysical activity homework.

At the end of the trial researchers reported a rela-tive decrease in body fat, improved aerobic fitness,higher levels of in-school physical activity and lowercardio risk in the young people who had taken part.

Ninety per cent of the children and 70 per cent of

the teachers enjoyed the increase in PE lessons andwanted them to continue and the researchers attrib-uted the programmes success to this popularity, aswell as its intensity and its integration into the cur-riculum. The report stated: “This study offers a prac-tical way of implementing a physical activity pro-gramme in schools.

“This is important since childhood obesity andcardiovascular disease are increasingly common andmany children are not responsive to programmesaimed at increasing out of school physical activity.

“As well as improving the health and fitness of chil-dren, such programmes can improve health in laterlife by reducing cardiovascular and other diseases.”

The report concluded that although school basedphysical activity programmes are promising, theymay be difficult to sustain in the long term.

It recommended that because wider implementa-tion of the scheme would substantially add to theschool timetable, further research into feasibilitywould be needed before progress could be made.

Where kids can focus on the great outdoorsSCHOOLS and youth groups areable to take part in a range ofoutdoor activities at TheAdventure Centre at Lusty Glaze.

Classes on offer include surf-ing, coasteering, abseiling andother cliff challenges including a‘rat run’ tunnelling experience, a‘snakes and ladders’ verticalassault course and a 750 foot zipwire.

Children who like rock climbing can also try out the‘cliffhanger’ – a low level traversewhich leads them out along thecliffs of the headland and out tosea where there are cave jumps,overhangs and wildlife includinggulls, sea hawks and seals.

The centre’s aim is to provide afun learning experience foryoung people and inspire enjoy-ment of the great outdoors.

The instructors are all outdoorprofessionals who are CRBchecked and trained in first aid,safety and lifeguard qualified.

The centre is also licensed bythe Adventure ActivitiesLicensing Authority and is afounding member of the BritishCoasteering Federation, whichpromotes the safe teaching ofthis activity.

WINTER Olympics hopefuls areamong over 100 sports stars beingsupported by Derbyshire TalentedAthlete Fund.

Derbyshire sporting stars who haveset their sights on competing at theWinter Olympic Games in 2014 areamong those being funded by theDerbyshire Talented Athlete Fund thisyear. The fund offers financial help tosports performers who live in or rep-resent Derbyshire and who competefor England or Great Britain or havethe potential to do so within 18months, with bursaries of up to £300awarded to help meet training-relat-ed costs such as travel, coaching orequipment.

Sega Fairweather, 19, Will Weldon,

16, and David Smith, 28, from Derbyall hope to make the GB team in theirrespective sports for the WinterOlympic Games in 2014 in Sochi,Russia.

Coun Clive Moesby, chair ofDerbyshire Sport, said: “The athletesand their families tell us that the bur-saries really do help, and they are alsopleased to be recognised as some ofmost promising sports performers inDerbyshire.”

In addition to the financial contri-butions, the University of Derbyoffers full fee scholarships to athleteswho are part of the DerbyshireTalented Athlete Fund and choose tostudy at the university.

Pictured, back, from left: Dan Newton, Derbyshire Sport and Coun Pat Murray; and, front,Sega Fairweather, Will Weldon and David Smith

Olympic hopefuls get aboost from athlete fund

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news 13

SCHOOLS should be doing more tobring the inspiration of the 2012Olympics into the classroom accord-ing to gold medallist JonathanEdwards.

The champion athlete and LOCOGboard member appeared at this year’sSports Colleges Conference to talkabout his career and how the Get Setprogramme can work for young peo-ple.

Jonathan said: “If I hadn’t gone to aschool that valued sport then Iwouldn’t be who I am today.

“It is all about the opportunitiesthat schools provide and I rememberthe Games being an inspiration tome.

“It is about more than just the sport

– it is the magic that you don’t get atany other sporting event.”

He advised teachers to think aboutthe Games less as a sporting competi-tion and more as a values movement,and to use the opportunity to talk topupils about what 2012 stands forthat is important in life – discipline,commitment and teamwork.

Jonathan added: “Of course we wantto put on a fantastic event for theOlympics, but it has to be about morethan that. It has to make a differenceand inspire young people and if weare going to get it right, we have toget it right in schools.

“It is important to take the Gamesinto the classroom and this is whatthe Get Set programme aims to do.”

Call to bring 2012inspiration into class

Family mealslower obesityin childrenFAMILY meals, adequate sleep andlimited TV may all be factors in tack-ling childhood obesity.

A new study has found that youngchildren who regularly eat dinnerwith their parents, get enough sleepor have their TV viewing limited havea much lower risk of becoming over-weight. The research, which looked ata large sample of the US population,also found that four year olds livingin homes with all three routines hadan almost 40 per cent lower preva-lence of obesity than children fromhomes where none of the three werepracticed. After studying the resultsthe researchers have suggested thatadopting the three routines could bean effective obesity prevention strate-gy for all families with young children– especially as it may also benefittheir overall development.

Sarah Anderson, lead author, said:“These routines were protective evenamong groups that typically have ahigh risk for obesity.

“This is important because it sug-gests that there is a potential forthese routines to be useful targets forobesity prevention in all children.”

The researchers looked at whetherthe children ate the evening meal as afamily more than five times per week;obtained at least ten and a half hoursof sleep per night; and watched lessthan two hours per day of TV onweekdays.

Among four-year-old childrenwhose households practiced all threeroutines, the prevalence of obesitywas 14.3 per cent. In contrast, almostone in four of the children (24.5 percent) living in households withoutany of the routines were obese. Thestudy also suggested that in house-holds practicing none of these rou-tines, adopting just one could lower achild's risk of becoming obese, andhaving two or three of the routineswas more protective than just one.

Sarah added: “I imagine people aregoing to want to know which of theroutines is most important – limitedTV, dinner or adequate sleep?

“And what this suggests is that youcan’t point to any one of these rou-tines. Each one appears to be associ-ated with a lower risk of obesity andhaving more of these routinesappears to lower the risk further.”

Jonathan Edwards presents an award at the Sports Colleges Conference

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news16

By Louise Cordell

PROFESSOR Laura McAllister hasunveiled her ambitions as the newChair of the Sports Council for Wales.

The former Welsh football interna-tional stepped into the job at thebeginning of February and has spokenout about the changes she wants tomake.

She plans to champion sport and putit at the heart of Welsh culture and getall children in Wales hooked on sportfor life.

She said: “The Sports Council’s youngpeople agenda is crucial - we knowthat experiences at a young age aredecisive when it comes to leading anactive lifestyle into adulthood.

“Education has a vital role to playand the role of the teacher is para-mount.

“Our PE and School Sport scheme istraining teachers to deliver quality les-sons.

“This means we’re making sure thatthe experiences of children are muchmore positive than they may havebeen 10 or 20 years ago.

“But we still need to see further com-

mitment to teacher training and to theteaching of PE.”

Professor McAllister also wants toidentify untapped sporting talent byencouraging more people to help outtheir local community teams and byinvesting and training more coaches.

Finally she wants to improve Wales’reputation as a ‘world-beater’, byensuring that elite athletes and teamsthat are capable of world class successget the best support possible.

She said: “You only have to walkaround the park on a Saturday to seehow much sport is part of the Welshpsyche.

“Often though, we don’t alwaysappreciate sport’s wider contribution -how sport can foster national prideand a feel good factor or bring aboutsocial cohesion to communities, forexample.

“We all love to see top sportsmen andwomen succeed. I’d like to see Walescontinue to do well and become thenumber one nation in theCommonwealth on a per capita basis.

“It would be a huge achievement butit’s important that we strive to beat thebest and be the best.” Laura McAllister

Plan to put sport atheart of Welsh culture

Studios readyto trainteachers in all that jazz!LONDON dance studios Pineapple isplanning a new schools’ initiativewhich will see the organisation trainup teachers to take jazz and hip hopclasses.

The outreach programme – which isaimed at improving the fitness levelsof children – would see existingPineapple teachers train other teach-ers in the dance forms, with theorganisation’s staff then making‘guest visits’ to schools involved.

The decision has been made tofocus on jazz and hip hop-style class-es as a way of making the scheme dif-ferent from other existing schooldancing initiatives, such as onelaunched last year by Darren Bennett and Lilia Kopylova fromStrictly Come Dancing, which has an emphasis on ballroom and hascreated a huge growth in interest inthat dance style up and down thecountry.

However, for jazz and hip hop,it is hoped that even if schools do not have a gym or play area available, then just moving class-room desks will give pupils enoughroom for a basic group class – mak-ing the fun fitness sessions availableto all.

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news 17

Disability sportcould boostcitizenshipskills in schoolsPARALYMPIC and disability sportcould be used in schools to developcitizenship skills, according to formerparalympic athlete Martin Mansell.

Speaking at the Sports CollegesConference in Telford, Martin saidthat schools should take the opportu-nity to include disability sports intoPE lessons as well as integrating edu-cation about the paralympics intoother subjects such as geography,where pupils could learn, for exam-ple, about some of the countries tak-ing part.

Martin – who is involved in the abili-ty vs. ability programme which raisesawareness of paralympic sports andprovides information packs for teach-ers – told delegates that the pro-gramme could be a useful resourcefor all schools to use in their lessons.

He said: “The programme puts torest the myth about Paralympics GBand education. If you are a main-stream school who has no kids withdisabilities, it is still important. It isabout raising the profile of the para-lympic movement and removing dis-crimination.”

He also said schools could raiseawareness of the paralympic move-ment amongst pupils by attendingevents such as the annual paralympicworld cup, which offers schools freetickets to attend.

Focus on fungets teens activeBy Louise Cordell

EMPHASISING the emotional bene-fits of exercise is more effective atgetting teens active than promotingthe health benefits, according to newresearch.

The new study, published in theBritish Journal of Health Psychology,was carried out by Reema Sirriyehand colleagues from the University ofLeeds. Reema said: “There is evi-dence that people who believe thatphysical activity is enjoyable and funare more likely to engage in sport andexercise. We investigated whetherhighlighting the emotional benefitsof sport and exercise to young peopleincreased their levels of physicalactivity, more than highlighting thephysical health benefits.”

128 participants aged 16 to 19 tookpart in the study – all recruited from

the sixth forms of four schools inWest Yorkshire. The teenagers allreceived a daily text message at 4pmfor a period of two weeks.

Some teens messages that high-lighted the emotional benefits ofexercise – such as 'Physical activitycan make you feel cheerful. Whatactivity will you do today?', a secondgroup received texts that highlightedthe physical benefits, such as –'Physical activity can keep your hearthealthy. What activity will you dotoday?' and a further group receivedtext messages that were a combina-tion of the two.

The participants then recordedtheir levels of physical activity usingthe International Physical ActivityQuestionnaire, which measured thetime they spent on of moderate andvigorous exercise.

The results showed that the physi-

cal activity levels of all the partici-pants increased after the two weekstudy by an average of 31.5 minutesof moderate activity a week. However,the largest increase was seen in theteens who received the messagesemphasising the emotional benefitsof exercise – a rise of 120 minutes.

Reema added: “Statistics from theBritish Heart Foundation show thatfrom the age of 16, girls' levels ofphysical activity begin to decrease.

“As patterns of behaviour that startin the teenage years tend to persistinto adulthood, it's vitally importantthat teenagers get into healthy pat-terns, like taking regular exercise.

“Our study shows that for inactiveteenagers, emphasising the emotion-al benefits of exercise may be a moreeffective way to encourage exercisethan highlighting traditional healthbenefits.”

SPORTS Leaders UK has joined forceswith youth awarding body the AwardScheme Development andAccreditation Network.

Young people who have completeda Sports Leaders UK award or qualifi-

cation will now be entitled to threecredits towards their ASDAN qualifi-cation. Dave Savidge, Sports LeadersUK foundation regional manager,said: “There is great synergy betweenthe two companies. Ultimately we

both have the same goal which is tochange lives and help people developessential life skills. We are really plea-sed we have been able to create thispartnership and feel great things cancome as a result to both companies.”

Companies have same goal after teaming up

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news18

A SPECIALIST Sports College inEnfield is holding a careers fayreto show pupils the range of jobopportunities in the sportingworld.

Lea Valley High School is put-ting on the event as part of theannual Leadership Academy,organised by the area’s twoSchool Sport Partnerships,Enfield and Lea Valley.

Sports leaders, along with ALevel PE, GCSE PE and BTECSport students, from schoolsaround the borough have beeninvited to speak to representa-tives from a wide range of sportsand fitness organiations at theevent.

Companies set to attend thefayre include: universities offer-ing sports related courses,ProActive North London, EnfieldSports Development, the RoyalMarines, Tottenham Hotspur,Saracens Foundation, sportsmagazine Everyone’s A Winner,Health and Recovery company

Optima Life and several sportscoaching companies.

The area is also a host boroughfor the Olympic Games so pupilswill be given the chance to findout about volunteering andemployment opportunities for2012.

Tim Perkins, Lea Valley HighSchool PDM, said: “Some pupilsthink that if they want to beinvolved in sports as a careerthen there are only two optionsfor them – PE teacher or profes-sional sportsperson – so we wantto show them what alternativesare out there.

“For example, letting themknow about the higher educationoptions available and whatcareers they can progress to fromthere.

“We also try to make the wholeexperience as interactive as pos-sible and give the kids a chanceto try a range of different thingsand consider possibilities theyhadn’t thought of before.”

Pupils at last year’s careers fayre

College careers fayre rollsout sports opportunities

Industry expertissues dividedschools warningBy Louise Cordell

SCHOOLS need to prove that collabo-ration works, or risk being forced intodamaging competition, according toindustry expert Maggie Farrar.

Speaking at the Sports CollegesConference, the strategic director forpolicy, research and development atthe National College for Leadershipof Schools and Children Servicesvoiced her concerns about the effecta change in government might haveon the education industry.

She said: “A new government willmean the system becoming evenmore diverse and if we aren’t to loseour collaborative edge, we need toshow that it results in better andmore sustainable outcomes.

“Otherwise we could end up withdivided and competing schools – andthis will impact most on the most dis-advantaged children.”

Maggie believes that the best way toaddress this issue is for schools topromote good leadership throughpartnership and influence, ratherthan taking a management approach.

She pointed out that there needs tobe the right type of networking andsupport, together with the constantgiving and receiving of feedback andthat staff should constantly be chal-lenged with new roles, allowing themto watch others at work and lead in

new contexts.

Maggie added: “We need to get peo-ple following us through choice, soour values, ethics and integrity needto shine out – it is not what we say,but what we do that is important.

“This type of leadership matters,because leadership is second only tothe quality of teaching when lookingat student outcomes.

“It also matters most in times ofchallenge and change – that is whenpeople look to leaders and that iswhat we are facing now.”

She cited recent research which hasshown that the biggest influences onsuccessful headteachers are faith,philosophy and inspiring role mod-els. It also revealed that young teach-ers much prefer to learn on the jobrather than on courses, and that theywould rather be given advice fromprofessionals and their peers thanindustry trainers.

She added: “It is important that webuild a nation of schools supportingschools, and schools supporting lead-ers. We are not just responsible forthe children in our own classrooms -it is about every child in the system.

“The gap between children whoachieve and those who don’t is verywide. We need to think about how wecan use our resources wisely and wellto make sure that we have high quali-ty leaders for the future.”

Bid to shed elitist imagePRIMARY school pupils in westLondon are being given free pololessons as part of their PE curricu-lum in a bid to shed the sport’s elit-ist image.

Groups of 11 year olds are learn-ing to play each fortnight atHurlingham Park in Fulham withtutors including players such asJack Kidd.

The scheme has been organised

in the run up to the World PoloSeries which is due to take place at the park in June and atthat event, the best pupils will begiven the chance to show off theirskills in front of a 30,000-strongcrowd.

The children come from schoolsin Hammersmith and Fulham andthe initiative is being backed bythe area’s council.

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The gym chain Fitness First isnow offering its Strictly Fitgroup exercise class to 11 to 18year olds as part of the govern-ment’s new ‘Let’s Dance withChange4Life’ campaign.Britain’s Got Talent winners,dance group Diversity, arefronting the scheme which aimsto get more young peopleactive through the power ofdance.The classes use a combinationof dance routines with movesfrom the quickstep, salsa andjive to create a low impact aerobic workout.Derek Crawford, Fitness FirstUK national fitness mananger,said: “This campaign is a greatway to make dance available toyoung people and Diversity area great inspiration.“Our classes are based on theBBC’s Strictly Come Dancingdon’t require any previousdancing experience, just theenthusiasm to get active andhave a great time.”

A world-class PE and schoolsport system needsinvestment says YSTBy Louise Cordell

SCHOOL sport will only be able todrive a lasting Olympic legacy withsustained investment up to andbeyond 2012, according to a leadingcharity.

The Youth Sport Trust has called forfinancial support to be made avail-able to deliver a world class PE andsport school system that can capturethe enthusiasm of young people inthe lead up to the Games.

Steve Grainger, YST chief executive,said: “We set out 15 years ago to cre-ate a world leading PE and sport sys-tem that reached and resonated withall young people.

“Since then there has undoubtedlybeen a significant transformation -more young people are participating,leading and performing in school

sport than at any point in our history. “However, whilst it is important to

recognise and celebrate progress,there needs to be sustained invest-ment up to and beyond 2012 to helpembed sport at the heart of schoollife if we are to reach every youngperson and ensure they experiencethe very best that PE and school sporthas to offer.”

In a new manifesto, ‘PositioningSport at the Heart of School Life’, theorganisation has listed a number ofkey building blocks which make upits vision for the future.

They include:� More schools thinking creativelyabout how they structure, stage andpresent competitions so that everyyoung person can enjoy the experi-ence while more support is given tothe most talented.

� Greater investment in initialteacher training to enable primaryschool teachers to teach high-qualityPE to improve the experience forevery young person.� The development of junior sportsclubs on school sites to increase thenumber of young people progressingfrom school to club sport.

Denise Lewis, Olympic gold medal-list and school sport ambassador,said: “School sport is at the heart ofthe 2012 legacy and there is stillmuch to do to engage every youngperson.

“As an Olympic gold medallist andmum of three, I want school sport tobe appealing to all children – not justthe talented few.

“By achieving this, we will havedelivered a true Olympic legacy.”

Local teamshelp WorldCup build-upTO celebrate 100 days to theWorld Cup, the Quick Play SportTeam has been teaming up withlocal football teams to get kidsactive.

The company has now set up apartnership with Sheffield andHallam Football Association thataims to support grass roots foot-ball and the community.

As part of the scheme, QuickPlay Sport are providing theAssociation with a percentage ofthe profits from every one oftheir goals sold in the area – thismoney is then re-invested intothe grass roots game.

Sheffield and Hallam FootballAssociation is the governingbody for football for Sheffield,Doncaster, Rotherham, Barnsleyand the wider region – it isinvolved with 120,000 peopleevery week in the grass rootsfootball community.

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By Louise Cordell

THE coaches at Aspire 2 Achievebelieve that getting involved inteam games is one of the best waysto boost confidence and selfesteem.

They work with young peoplefrom the age of five upwards, pro-viding opportunities for them toget involved in sport, improve theirperformance and take part in com-petitions.

The organisation’s basketballclub, the NorthumberlandKnightflyers, currently has over 40members and trains weekly atCoquet High School in Amble.

Alan Hoyle, head coach, said:“Our aim is to build self confidence, concentration and self esteem in young peoplethrough sporting activities, regard-less of their background or abili-ties.

“The training programme helpsto increase morale and participa-tion while focussing on fun, andwe do this by focussing on improv-ing self esteem rather than justconcentrating on sporting ability.”

At the end of last year Alan andthe club’s junior head coach,Isobelle Gibson, were two of only50 coaches in the world to receivetraining from the world championChicago Bulls while the team wastaking part in NBA Europe.

The club also provides opportu-nities for young people to get moreinvolved with the project them-selves by becoming trained coach-es, helping them to give somethingback to their peers and the com-munity.

The club’s school programme is available to all the schools in the country as well as local col-leges.

Alan added: “All the PE teacherswe have worked with have given usreally positive feedback and seemto really enjoy getting involved.

“We have also found that thegame is great for engaging pupilswho are not so keen on more tradi-tional sports.

“We have quite a few memberswho say that they didn’t like PE atschool, and to start with they werereally nervous about taking part,but now they love it.

“Our aim is to use sport as a wayof promoting and building selfbelief – and once they have thatconfidence then they come on inleaps and bounds.”

Alan is now getting ready to stagethe first basketball tournament fora group of schools in the area.

Pupils in each school’s team arebeing given six weeks of coachingin the lead up to the competitionbefore they all play a series ofgames to find the champion.

If the event is successful then theaim is to set up a county-wideleague to make contests like this aregular feature.

The NorthumberlandKnightflyers will also be runningtheir basketball activities for the

Nestle Go Free scheme as part oftheir summer programme.

Local kids will be able to collectvouchers in the run up to the holi-days and then turn up at CoquetHigh School to take part in freesessions.

A basketball club in Northumberland is helping young people across the county develop a love of sport.Future Fitness found out more.

Basketball coaches sayteam games bring pupilson leaps and bounds

Great responseto Knightflyersfirst sessionTHE Northumberland Knightflyers are doing their bitto make sure that every child in the county has accessto sport and activity.

The Aspire 2 Achieve club has recently held its firstsession with the Blyth Disabled Forum, where youngpeople aged from 12 to 16 with various disabilitiestook part in basketball coaching.

It was such a success that more sessions havealready been booked in, and head coach Alan Hoyle isnow looking at setting up three new teams for the kidsto join.

He said: “We had a great response to the first sessionand we are now looking forward to extending this sideof the programme.

“Basketball is a great game for any young peoplewith disabilities to play as the game can be tweaked inmany different ways to suit everyone’s individualneeds. More importantly, it is so fast paced andenjoyable that everyone involved has fun – it reallycaptures everyone’s imagination.”

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Sport facilitydesigns mustbe a priorityBy Louise Cordell

SCHOOLS that are undergoingrebuilds or refits need to make surethat the sport facility designs are apriority according to industry expertDr Colin Young.

He passed on advice to teachers andPDMs at the Sports Colleges confer-ence, explaining how they can ensurethe successful delivery of facilitiesthat meet the needs of both theschool and the local community.

Dr Young, technical and trainingmanager at the Sport and PlayConstruction Association, said:“Sports provisions tend to be leftuntil the end when new schools arebeing designed, so making sure that itis high on the agenda is key.

“Schools should draw up a list ofrequirements, being as specific aspossible in order to get the best pos-sible equipment.”

He pointed out that one of thethings schools should take intoaccount is what different sports and,more importantly, what competitionlevel, they will be catering for.

Specifications and safety require-ments for county level sport andcommunity games are very differentand this will need to be considered inthe planning stages.

It is also important to think abouthow the building designs can beimplemented across the curriculum -for example with the addition of agym that also has the facilities to be

used for science experiments or byincluding land for growing organicfood or woodland trim trails.

Dr Young added: “Form should fol-low function.

“Teaching staff should decide whatoutcomes they want to achieve andget contractors to cater to that.

“They should also avoid the trap ofjust opting for newer versions of theequipment they already have.

“Instead it is better to think outsidethe box and use the refit as an oppor-tunity to introduce new things.”

He advised teachers to visit otherschools that had been through therebuild process to see how they havehandled different issues and recom-mends the use of a specialist sportsconsultant to make sure that the bestquality is delivered.

They will be able to advise onwhether additional funding can beaccessed, for example through bodieslike Sport England, and to ensure thatthe right safety standards are adheredto.

Dr Young added: “Schools arebecoming the leisure centres of theircommunity, but this means thatmany different factors need to betaken in account.

“If it is done correctly, it can be verybeneficial for pupils and local people,but there are responsibility and liabil-ity issues to be considered, so gettingexpert advice is key.”

Equipment performance tested throughout UKEASTSIDE Boxing and Martial Artsprovides a range of equipment thathas been performance testedthroughout the UK.

The range has been designed tomeet the requirements of all abili-ties in boxing, MMA and fitnesstraining and this year is being fully

launched by Wilkinson Sports andLeisure Ltd.

The Eastside range is to be specifically targeted at boxingclubs, gyms, personal trainers,schools and individuals who areinterested in performance anddurability.

Ludworth Primary in Durham City has become the first school in the area to try out curlingat the Durham Winter Ice Rink. Year three pupils were able to try out the new activity aspart of the school’s health and fitness week, and were given a lesson on the throwingtechnique before starting a game. More schools from the area will now be attending therink to try out the Olympic sport over the next few months.

Pulse is working in partnership with Fit For Sport to promote the 'Fitter Schools UKChallenge', which aims to help encourage children to adopt a healthier and more activelifestyle. The 2010 Fitter Schools UK Challenge is a free initiative open to every school andLocal Authority across the UK. Chris Johnson, Pulse MD, said: “This exciting opportunityallows us to gain invaluable grass roots experience of the challenges facing schools andlocal authorities in encouraging the children and their parents to become more active.”

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Primary pupils in Teddington have been taking part in a skipping challenge to raise moneyfor the British Heart Foundation. The event at St Mary’s and St Peter’s School was organised to promote skipping and increase playground activity for years one and two.Over 60 children took part in the lunchtime challenge, which was set up by the Motive8group and led by young leaders from year five. Nearly £200 was collected for the BHF,who had provided the school with a resource pack including coaching resources and equipment.

Educational posters provide adviceEDUCATIONAL posters fromIdass provide advice on howto perform a range of exer-cises correctly.

The charts are drawn by graphics artist Matt Lambertwith images showing theexercise or the stretch to beperformed, alongside a fewlines of script to explain theaction. The resistance serieseach include ten exercises,with the muscle groups usedon each exercise, an anato-my chart and a ‘personaltrainers’ tip.

This exercise tip helps toensure correct procedurewhile the muscle sectionhelps to educate the user.

The gym ball charts each have nine

exercises and the stretch charts havea single larger image per exercise toallow for more detail of muscularskeletal anatomy.

By Louise Cordell

THORNLEIGH Salesian College inBolton is now entering its secondyear of working with Starting Point,a centre for young internationalarrivals to the area.

The children include asylumseekers, refugees, former child sol-diers and EU migrants, with newyoung people entering, and othersleaving to attend local schoolsevery few weeks.

Helen Grundy, assistant head anddirector of specialism atThornleigh, said: “We are a verywhite, British, Catholic school andthis project has had a phenomenalimpact on our students.

“Interacting with young peoplefrom the centre has really giventhem a wider understanding of lifeoutside our closeted community.

“Some of these children have hadhorrific life experiences and it isgood for our pupils to do what they can to make them feel welcome and help them remember not to take things forgranted.”

The school has used its special-ism to engage with the young peo-ple at Starting Point and invitesthem once a week to take part inactivities led by year eleven sportsleaders.

The 25 children that attend eachweek come from up to 15 differentcountries and usually only two orthree in each group will be able tospeak any English, so there is aunique set of challenges.

The school has now been recog-nised for its achievements, and washighly commended at the SportsColleges Conference InnovationAwards for its work in the commu-nity.

Helen added: “There are manydifferent issues to take into

account – for example, sometimesthe young people in the class arefrom different sides of war zones orclashing cultural issues, whichmean they are not used to malesand females being allowed to exer-cise together.

“To address this we planned avery comprehensive programmewith the aim of improving theirphysical literacy and social andcommunication skills.

“We also invite them to our sport-ing events, for example rewarddays and fun runs that we haveheld, so they are becoming moreand more a part of the community.

“They will be going on intoschools in the area, so the experi-ence prepares them for that andgives them an idea of what theywill be experiencing.”

Since the start of the project, staffat the Starting Point centre havereported a major impact in levelsof confidence and improvedbehaviour.

They are able to use theThornleigh sports sessions as anincentive and a reward for theyoung people.

The project is now developingfurther and Helen has plans to getsome of the international arrivalstrained as sports leaders them-selves.

The aim is that this will give themthe confidence to lead sport intheir own language in their owncommunity groups and schoolswhen the leave the centre.

This is already being put intopractice at Thornleigh, where fivechildren from the centre were

admitted as pupils last Christmas.

Helen added: “Sport is universaland it breaks down barriersbetween children, regardless of anylanguage or cultural barriers.

“The activities are simple, but thekids are enthusiastic about eventhe most basic equipment.

“Parents of our pupils have saidthat the experience has reallyopened their children’s eyes, and Ithink the whole project has reallybrought home the power of sportto change lives.

“We need to remember that these young people are in a strange country, often withouttheir parents, and we should dowhat we can to make them wel-come. It is a very unique project,but it has become an integral partof our school life.”

A Bolton school has won an award for its ground-breaking work bringing sport to vulnerable young people,including refugees and former child soldiers. Future Fitness spoke to the director of specialism at ThornleighSalesian College to find out more.

Work with the vulnerable wins award

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