The Origins of Active Schools

The origins of Active Schools can be found in two sportscotland initiatives which were put in place in the 1990s, both designed to help get Scotland’s pupils more active; the School Sport Coordinator Programme and The Active Primary School Pilot Programme.

The School Sport Coordinator Programme

The first of these programmes - the School Sport Coordinator Programme - provided funding to assist local authorities in appointing staff to enhance the range and quality of current extended curricular sporting provision within secondary schools and influence and assist the development of sport within the wider community. 

The project started in 1996 with part-time Coordinators in just two secondary schools, but the feedback was so positive - from children, teachers and parents - that the network began to grow, and by the end of the 90s there was a large network of School Sport Coordinators organising extra-curricular activity and sport in secondary schools across Scotland.

The Active Primary School Pilot Programme

After some success in secondary schools we turned our attention to primary schools.  The Active Primary School programme started with five full time Coordinators at the end of the nineties.  They were given the task of working with primary schools in order to increase the range and quality of opportunities for primary-aged children to become more physically active: playing sport and recreation, physical education and active travel.

The First Phase of Active Schools

After the Physical Activity Task Force review in 2002 – when the clear link was made between physical activity and health – investment followed.  As a result of the successes achieved in the programmes highlighted above, sportscotland was allocated £12m per annum over the three year period 2004-2007 to further contribute to the development of a network of Active Schools by increasing the capacity to deliver extended activity opportunities for children and young people.  Funding was later extended to March 2008.

At the outset of the Active Schools Network in 2004, approx 355 Active Schools staff were in place. At the end of the ‘first phase’ of Active Schools in 2007/08 there were over 680 Active Schools staff spread throughout all 32 local authorities. 
Today, Active Schools is a cornerstone of life in the vast majority of schools in Scotland.  It is referenced throughout national and local plans for sport, including Scotland’s National Strategy for Sport, Reaching Higher and sportscotland’s Corporate Plan 2007-2011. 

Funding for the Network has now been secured until the Scottish Government’s next Spending Review which is planned for 2011.