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Teamwork is the key
With health and wellbeing at the heart of Curriculum for Excellence (CfE) and cited as the responsibility of all, it is now more important than ever for teachers and partner agencies to be looking at how they can work in partnership to teach this curriculum area effectively.
The Active Schools Network was established in 2004 and is now present in every local authority with a vision of getting 'more children, more active, more often'. It is well placed to support schools in their delivery of health and wellbeing - in particular, the physical education, physical activity and sport organiser - by supporting cross-curricular work, increasing interdisciplinary learning, extra-curricular opportunities and encouraging outdoor learning.
Active Schools Coordinators across the country are currently supporting schools in all of these areas - and lots more besides - in order to provide pupils with the motivation and opportunities to adopt active, healthy lifestyles, now and into adulthood.
In West Dunbartonshire Council, as in other areas, there are some great examples of effective cooperative working between school teaching staff and their Active Schools Coordinator. Here are just a few examples:
- 'Team-teaching' for the clubgolf initiative during PE, allows teachers to see how easily golf can be integrated, both indoors and out, and gives pupils the opportunity to try a different sport. Links to mathematics and numeracy are also easily made through this programme.
- Physical Activity Challenge Weeks where pupils keep a physical activity diary for a week, and record hours of physical activity onto a large chart in their classroom. Results are collated and prizes are presented to the most active class in the school. Pupils gain awareness of their personal physical activity levels, and positive attitudes towards being active are fostered.
- Sports Leadership Awards. The Young Leader Award in primary schools (P6-7 pupils) and the Community Sports Leadership Award in secondary schools (S5-6 pupils) both teach valuable leadership skills so that pupils have the confidence and ability to lead and deliver games, activities and sports to younger pupils in the school. These programmes are fantastic for helping pupils achieve the four capacities and have numerous cross-curricular links.
- CPD: Active Schools can provide a range of opportunities for teachers and volunteers to develop existing provision (including PE) and support exciting new initiatives. This can help schools to involve parents as a means of adopting a school community approach to health and wellbeing. The use of GLOW should also help in the sharing of expertise and knowledge.
- The Junior Jog Scotland Programme created by Scottish Athletics, is another great resource for getting children and young people more active, more often. This programme aims to improve health and fitness levels by involving the participants in fun "jogging" games. Junior Jog Scotland can be used during PE time or adopted as an after-school/lunchtime jogging club. In West Dunbartonshire Council, the Junior Jog Scotland Programme is about to be used as a pilot scheme in eight primary schools where pupils will attend a Junior Jog Scotland breakfast club before school, three times a week for 10 weeks. The aim is that participation in this programme will result in improved levels of fitness, concentration and classroom behaviour.
A key part of the Active Schools programme involves recruiting volunteers to assist with extra-curricular sports activities in order to make these sustainable. These volunteers can be parents, community coaches, secondary school pupils and college/university students, but the majority tend to be teaching staff.
Active Schools provides volunteers with continual support and mentoring to enable them to deliver extra-curricular activities and through Active Schools staff volunteers can gain qualifications in any sports they are specifically interested in delivering. They also have the opportunity to attend free training courses including First Aid and Disability Inclusion in Sport, giving them extra qualifications and skills to use both when volunteering and in the classroom.
If you are looking for some advice or assistance in delivering health and wellbeing, or wish to volunteer to lead or support physical activities in your school, make contact with your Active Schools Coordinator and find out what they can do for you.
For more information on the Active Schools Network, visit www.sportscotland.org.uk or your local authority website, which should contain information about the Active Schools Team in your area.