Friday 7 September 2007
With the new school term now underway sportscotland’s Active Schools Network is continuing to have a positive impact on the number and range of physical activity and sport opportunities for school aged youngsters in Aberdeenshire. Active Schools plays a key role in the Scottish Government’s drive to promote active, healthy lifestyles.
As Active Schools becomes well established in schools across Scotland’s 32 local authorities, there are now clear signs of progress being made, encouraging those traditionally under represented groups to take part in physical activity and sport.
Aberdeenshire Council are bringing a touch of girl power to their active schools using the ‘Girls in Sport’ initiative developed by the Youth Sport Trust and sportscotland. This cleverly marketed after school club is aimed at inactive girls and girls who do not feel confident participating in traditional PE activities.
Hill walking, aerobics, dance and cheerleading are among the list of activities available, and after the initial term the girls are offered the chance to be involved in the planning of new activities.
The ‘Girls in Sport’ activity programme in the Meldrum network of Aberdeenshire uses an innovative approach of retaining participation levels by offering incentives to the girls for regular attendance.
Aberdeenshire Active Schools Manager Brian Mitchell said: “Girls in Sport encourages schools to increase girls physical activity levels and produce more positive attitudes towards participation.
“The inventive approach taken in motivating continuous participation through appealing incentives along with the commitment of dedicated staff have been vital factors in the overall success of the ‘Girls in Sport’ programme. “
During a visit to a primary school in East Renfrewshire today to see Active Schools in action, Minister for Communities and Sport, Stewart Maxwell, said: “Active Schools has been successful in many parts of Scotland in encouraging more youngsters to play sport and try a wider range of sporting activities. I’m eager to assess the progress made so far and to identify areas of further improvement, to make sure as many young people as possible are benefiting from better sports provision.
“It’s great to see that more girls in Aberdeenshire are being encouraged to get active thanks to Girls in Sport, as we seek to build the confidence of all young people to take part in more physical activity.”
The Active Schools Network is managed by sportscotland and forms part of the Scottish Government’s Healthy Living Campaign which aims to offer children the motivation and opportunities to adopt active, healthy lifestyles. Through its ring fenced investment of £12 million per annum, sportscotland works with Scotland’s local authorities to support, develop and monitor the Active Schools Network by providing a national framework for delivery at local level. sportscotland also manages the forum for key partners to share good practice, contributing to the further development and success of Active Schools, supported by a web-based staff support programme.
Julia Bracewell OBE, Chair of sportscotland said: “Active Schools is now a cornerstone of daily life within a great many schools across Scotland.
“As the national agency for sport in Scotland, we recognise the need to tackle the traditional fall-off in girls’ participation in sport once they reach the teenage years. The innovative approach being taken in Aberdeenshire with the ‘Girls in Sport’ element of Active Schools is a great example of what can be achieved when teachers and pupils work closely together to identify and address the real issues. Schemes like this are vital if we are to ensure that future generations of women lead a healthy active lifestyle.”
1. For further information about Active Schools in Aberdeenshire, please contact Brian Mitchell, Active Schools Manager on 01569 768349.
2. Active Schools is a key element of the Scottish Government’s Healthy Living Campaign and is also part of the drive towards a healthier Scotland; a commitment outlined in the National Physical Activity Strategy, Let’s Make Scotland More Active. It also supports the Government’s aim to for all schools to be health promoting.
3. A key pillar in Active Schools is the development of a network of professionals to organise and coordinate activity – the ‘Active Schools Network’.
4. Active Schools is delivered by 32 Active Schools Managers, 293 Active Schools Coordinators (Primary), 343 Active Schools Coordinators (Secondary), 15 Additional Support Needs Coordinators (ASN). By the end of 2005-2006 over 20,000 people helped lead activity sessions with more than half of them unpaid volunteers.
5. In the 2005-06 school year 350,000 activity sessions took place in schools with Active Schools Coordinators in post, in addition to timetabled PE, representing an average rise of 17 per cent on the previous year. For primary schools the increase was 53 per cent. More than 8.5 million participant sessions were held across a range of 69 activities from rugby and hockey to Scottish dance and organised playground games.
6. In sportscotland’s Corporate Plan 2007-2011 our priority work for Active Schools with Scotland’s local authorities is to support and develop the Active Schools Network by:
- working with local authorities to invest in and maintain the Active Schools Network staffing infrastructure;
- managing the Network to support it to:
- recruit, support and sustain volunteers to deliver quality activity sessions
- develop improved links between schools, clubs and the wider community
- connect children to Scottish Governing Body (SGB) pathways
- provide targeted activities to increase and promote opportunities for under-represented groups;
- delivering a programme of training and support to the Network including the development of the Active Schools Network Community website;
- monitoring and locally evaluate the Active Schools Network;
- working with local authorities and other key partners to implement the outcomes of the Active Schools Coordinator (Secondary) Review;
- working towards long term strengthening of the Network.
7. sportscotland is spending £12 million a year on the Active Schools Network as part of its baseline funding from the Scottish Executive.