Back to school - a brighter, fitter future for our kids

Thursday 4 October 2001

As the new school year gets well underway, sportscotland's Lottery Fund have today announced the allocation of nearly £1m of awards to eight local authorities for the continuing introduction of the TOP programmes into Scotland's primary schools and local communities. This brings the total number of local authorities now delivering the scheme to 13.

"Since its launch last February, over 400 primary schools have benefited from these programmes..."

These awards are particularly significant as they are aimed at addressing the growing problem of child obesity and inactivity which now affects over 15 per cent of the Scottish youth population, an issue sportscotland is particularly keen to address.

Originally developed by the UK-wide charity, the Youth Sport Trust, the TOP programmes consist of two elements. TOP Play introduces young children (4 to 9 years) to the essential core skills such as throwing and catching, running and jumping; while TOP Sport helps to develop the skills of 7 to 12 year olds in specific sports, such as basketball or rugby.  Primary school teachers and other community leaders will be provided with training, resource cards and child-friendly, multi-coloured equipment to allow them to deliver the two elements.

The programme is expected to significantly strengthen the delivery of the PE curriculum throughout Scotland by increasing the confidence of class teachers to deliver PE. The extra-curricular sports provision will also be increased and enhanced with the TOP programmes linking to and strengthening existing sports development programmes.

Commenting on the awards, Alastair Dempster, Chairman of sportscotland, said: "Improving the level of physical activity among our young people, and in an educational and fun way like the TOP programmes, is not just desirable but absolutely essential if we are to begin to reverse the negative trends in Scotland's health.

"The programme's strong point lies in giving children a quality introduction to physical education and sport, instilling an interest at an early age, as well as building confidence. It is very exciting to see this programme go from strength to strength in Scotland and we are looking forward to seeing it as an integral part of every primary school's curriculum in the near future."

Commenting on their award of nearly £150,000 to the City of Edinburgh, Brian Harris, Principal Officer Sports/Outdoor Education, said: "This award is warmly welcomed by the Education Department for a number of reasons. The resource cards and equipment make an excellent addition to the existing physical education programmes being delivered by PE specialists and class teachers and together with the staff development element, we have no doubt the programme will make significant improvements in young people's sporting skills. There is also a clear pathway for developing links between schools and community organisations which will ensure progress at school is continued after school and at weekends."

Benny O'Brien, National Development Officer for the Youth Sport Trust added, "Since its launch last February, over 400 primary schools have benefited from these programmes which offer an innovative approach to introducing youngsters to PE and sport. The response from local authorities has been very enthusiastic and we are confident that even more young people will continue to benefit from the scheme soon."

sportscotland Lottery Fund TOP Programmes Awards

* Previously announced