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The view from the chalk face
by Bob Foley, Head of Physical Education Department, Newbattle Community High School
Is Scottish Education inspiring our pupils to reach for sporting challenges?
As a department of seven full-time Physical Education staff, and one Active schools coordinator, we were invited to the recent GTC Scotland sponsored debate at the Festival of Politics in the Scottish Parliament.
The invite came from GTC Scotland in the last week of June. The only thing on our minds at the time were the school holidays however my staff feel passionately that we do inspire our pupils to reach for sporting challenges and we all wanted to attend. There was also the lure of a reception afterwards and a visit to the Parliament so everyone readily volunteered!
The debate was chaired by the Parliament's Presiding Officer, Tricia Marwick. Panel members included Anthony Finn, the Chief Executive of GTC Scotland, Stewart Harris, the Chief Executive of Sport Scotland, and the former Scottish and British Lions rugby legend John Beattie of BBC Radio Scotland. The panel set out their thoughts on the question 'Is Scottish Education inspiring our pupils to reach for sporting challenges' and then the chair invited the audience to make contributions. The Parliament is a daunting building but it did not take long for the audience to become fully engaged, with many different views in the one hour session which passed incredibly quickly.
At the reception in the Garden Lobby, with refreshments in hand, the real discussion got underway. Colleagues met up after many years away from Jordanhill, Moray House or Dunfermline Colleges. The consensus was 'yes' there are large pockets of sporting inspiration around Scotland but there remain areas that still need to be improved. It was also agreed that Government, the education authorities and Head Teachers have to set standards for sport in schools, ensure that those standards are delivered by PE and Active schools, and then formally inspected and improved regularly. For all of my PE staff the event was exciting, worthwhile and a great opportunity to feel part of a larger PE and sporting family by exchanging views and methods.
In Newbattle High we have 900 plus pupils and a staff of 100. We are located in a former mining area south of Dalkeith in Midlothian. Our school motto is 'Challenge' and our school has seen huge changes by focussing more on our values and rewards than a purely DFL system with consequences. Our school values were chosen in consultation with staff, then pupils and the community, and are shown in every classroom and working space. For example they are printed on banners around our Astro turf pitch, on the side of our minibus, and in single words on our training bibs. Every August all year assemblies are run to re-enforce our values. The value is a goal for pupils and staff to achieve. Our values are Focus, Humour, Perseverance, Respect, Trust, and Responsibility.
We are indeed fortunate, for an older mid sixties built school, to have excellent facilities with Astro turf, a swimming pool, games hall, dance studio, quality grass pitches, PE classroom and social area. We build our activities around these facilities and the strengths of our staff. In my opinion the success of any PE department is down to the staff and their willingness to welcome new ideas, concepts, and ways of working, and to be prepared to go the extra mile for pupils. My staff meet and greet every pupil at the door to set a positive mood, and after a lesson make sure that we see them off to the next class. The pupils note this and have commented in the school Pupil Voice meetings that PE is a destination of choice. I also work closely with my staff to ensure that S1/2 are aware of all courses for further study in PE to ensure that we get our fair share of pupils choosing certification courses. We do not wait passively.
As a Senior Management Team and department we also welcome new schemes where we can see a benefit in growing the horizons of the pupils and staff. We are actively involved in 'Fit for Girls' which has helped change the girls PE uptake hugely. This sportscotland scheme was implemented five years ago and has dramatically improved our facilities and curricular and extra-curricular programmes for girls. This has resulted in an increase in girls Standard Grade / PE course entries from 6% to 40%. This has dramatically changed the whole school status and pupil discipline in our department. We run our Academies of Sport in football, basketball and dance which involves pupils specialising in a sport three hours per week to 'switch them onto learning'. We also have a long established SFA School of Football which is an excellent, well supported addition to any department. We work very closely with our senior pupils to build leadership through the SkySports 'Living for Sports' scheme which is superbly resourced and supported. We also operate the YST Youth Ambassadors scheme. Sometimes as Heads of Department we receive new initiatives in our post and inboxes that can so easily be deleted and forgotten. At Newbattle High we try to find a benefit for our pupils in those proposals and, if we feel there is a benefit, then we run with it 100 per cent. This proactive approach is helped by a school and department that actively practices devolved responsibility. I believe it is also my role to give staff opportunities to grow, if they want them.
I made the point in the GTC Scotland debate at the Parliament that in order to truly inspire pupils to sporting challenges whatever they may be, a PE Department needs the full support of the Director of Education, the Head Teacher and the individual department. That is essential to make Physical Education a valued part of the school system. At Newbattle High in Midlothian, we have that support.