New Sports Premium Funding
The recent announcement by the Government of two years of ring fenced funding for primary school sport represents an exciting new time for schools, young people and the Knowsley School Sport Partnership (KSSP).
KSSP has put together this simple guide to the funding, as well as some useful advice on how to best make use of this new investment package.
It is, as you all know, imperative that a young person’s appetite for an active lifestyle is enhanced as soon as possible, and the best way to influence this is by providing a high quality physical education experience in their first few years at school. This guide offers excellent advice on how to create an ‘active generation’ and how to ensure that the new investment from Government has the biggest possible impact.
By buying into Level 2 of KKSP’s SLA you will not only receive advice and guidance on how best to utilise this funding but you will also gain access to all of KSSP’s extensive range of services, including school competitions, continued professional development courses, intervention initiatives such as Healthy Lifestyle Coaches, assessment and reward programmes such as School Games Kitemark and a wide range of downloadable resources.
This is an exciting new chapter for PE and school sport. Those involved in its delivery now have a tremendous opportunity to make a difference to the lives of all our young people.
MAXIMISE YOUR PRIMARY SCHOOL SPORT FUNDING
When deciding upon how to invest your primary school sport funding, KSSP believes you should consider two important areas:
1. The impact that a high quality physical education and school sport experience can make on young people’s physical, social and cognitive development, their well-being and level of achievement.
2. The different experiences and provision which make up sport in your school.
In order to maximise the impact on a child’s attainment and overall achievement, the programme you offer should include high quality physical education as part of the curriculum; enough competitive school sport opportunities for those young people who want to take part as well as activities designed to meet the needs of your least-active young people.
KSSP offers support with the following guiding principles that should help you decide how to allocate your funding.
* Consider the overall PE and sport provision across the school with respect to all pupils.
* Identify how best to maximise the impact of PE, physical activity and competitive school sport on young people and school standards. This may include the targeting of specific pupils e.g. using PE and sport as a vehicle to develop numeracy and literacy.
* Embed the investment within the school development plan to ensure that there is a strategy for the development of teacher confidence and competence in PE and wider outcomes for young people.
* Build on the generic teaching skills of classroom teachers, giving professional development opportunities, and therefore further expertise, in how to develop physical literacy and the breadth of learning that comprises physical education.
* Identify a subject co-ordinator for PE and sport.
* Work collaboratively, or in clusters, to develop a creative and higher quality provision. This allows for a sustainable, long-term, local structure to be developed. If adopting this model, it is desirable to appoint a cluster co-ordinator.
* Develop physical literacy by focusing on your pupils’ fundamental movements, then their generic sport skills and ultimately small-sided games.
* Use qualified and suitably trained coaches to improve the quality and range of school sport offered. By working alongside classroom teachers, coaches can build confidence and competence in your workforce.
* National Governing Bodies of Sport, sports professionals and coaches create solid links with local community sports clubs, enriching the physical education curriculum (but not replacing it).
JOIN THE KNOWSLEY SCHOOL SPORT PARTNERSHIP
KSSP’s SLA offers a wide and diverse range of programmes and initiatives that can help maximise the impact of this new government funding and ensure every child in your school fulfils their sporting potential. For just £750 you can access all of Level 2’s provision of services, which includes,
* Providing the co-ordination and delivery of regular high quality (level 2) inter school borough wide competition in a wide and diverse range of sports, ensuring that the players and teams have the opportunity to link into county (Level 3), regional and national competitions in line with national governing bodies of sport and the national School Games programme. Increasing the number of young people participating in competitive opportunities and the depth of competitions offered. Develop, deliver and embed a clear competition structure in Knowsley with development pathways and exit routes into local sports clubs.
* Providing high quality focused continuous professional development for staff to support the delivery of high quality physical education and school sport.
* Providing curriculum support and schemes of work for specific areas of physical education (gym, dance).
* Working strategically with schools to develop links, raise standards and improve transition between primary, special schools and Centres for Learning.
* Identifying and attracting additional sources of funding to support sustainable development activity. For example Healthy Lifestyles coaching programme targeting schools with overweight and obese children.
* Supporting schools with the delivery of sports leadership and provide suitable pathways to grow and deploy young people in high quality leadership and volunteering roles.
* Providing access to financial resources and/or programmes from national corporate sponsors and other local private / public sector delivery funding through the relationships developed locally by the School Sport Partnership.
* Working with schools to integrate and connect to the wider community through direct links with local voluntary community sports clubs. Offering a recognition programme to reward schools for establishing a formalised link. Providing information and work with partners to sign post young people to appropriate high quality community sport pathways.
* Providing programmes and resources that can contribute towards:
1. Additional evidence for school self evaluations, PE development plans and Ofsted.
2. Improving the health of young people within the school.
3. Increasing opportunities for participation in sport for ALL young people regardless of age, ethnicity, gender or level of performance.
4. PE and sport being used as a driver to improve behaviour, attainment and attendance and contribute to the school ethos.
We believe that by working together, schools can maximise the opportunities for young people in PE and sport. Working collaboratively, or in clusters, can help to develop a creative and higher quality provision. This allows for a sustainable, long-term, local structure to be developed.
KSSP is ideally placed to help support these clusters and assist appoint a specific cluster co-ordinator in the model of the previous SSCo role.
We are excited to help you maximise this new and exciting funding whilst providing extensive resources and support to ensure that we can create a sustainable sporting legacy for every school child in Knowsley. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you would to discuss any aspect of the KSSP SLA or the new government funding further.
