Interactive toolkit set to help update sport in schools
Pilot study reveals ways to inspire participation Teachers and coaches urged to use resources
Schools will today be urged to reframe how they deliver competitive sport, following a 12-month pilot project designed to inspire participation and tackle a national crisis of inactivity, especially among girls.
It follows publication of the national school sport and activity action plan which addressed the key aims of The Daily Telegraph’s own Girls, Inspired campaign to close an alarming gender gap that has left only eight per cent of secondary school girls meeting national activity guidelines.
Only 17.5 per cent of all children between five and 16 meet the chief medical officer’s recommendations of more than 60 minutes of activity each day.
Working in consultation with experts in elite sport at Team GB, as well as the Government, Sport England and Change4life, the Youth Sport Trust has produced an interactive toolkit that can be downloaded from today.
The toolkit has been informed by international and domestic research, as well as a 12-month pilot that involved 2,000 young people in English schools and was delivered through Sport England’s National Lottery investment.
The pilot found that competition could be viewed positively or negatively by children depending on how it was delivered, and investigated how changes could improve participation.
An emphasis on the process rather than outcome was considered vital so that the focus could move away from single results, such as the final score or fastest time, towards broader aspects such as skill development, health and social benefits.
It was found, for example, that 45 per cent of girls cited anti-social behaviour associated with competition as a barrier to inclusion, but that winning and losing was recognised by young people as important. Specific practical suggestions include selfrefereeing, maximising involvement with smaller-sided games.
Music was found to be a powerful tool and popular innovations included the introduction of a “power play” in football so that goals scored double whenever music came on.
Parkrun was held up as an example for how it grades individual performance in different ways, such as the number of runs, personal progression and comparisons according to age and gender. Those pupils involved in the school pilot reported increased engagement, enjoyment, confidence and skill development.
Schools are also being encouraged to consider the impact of physical development and how some children can use their size, strength and power in competition. This can be detrimental both to the more developed child, who might rely on initial physical advantages, and the smaller child who can be provided with less opportunity.
Suggestions included sometimes selecting teams with birthdays spread over the year up until the age of nine or 10 and then sometimes grouping children according to biological rather than chronological age.
“The barriers to competition being enjoyed were regularly noted as the pressure and aggressive behaviours displayed by peers and teachers in competition,” said Emily Reynolds, the YST’S head of sport.
Schools and coaches are being encouraged to use the free resources and celebrate how they reframe competition by using the hashtag Reframecompetition. The toolkit can be downloaded at www. yourschoolgames.com.