Children have a natural enthusiasm for physical activity and by introducing them to fun sport and physical activities at an early age, we hope to build on that interest and encourage participation that lasts a lifetime.
What is Active Schools?
Active Schools is a term given to all schools in Scotland that provide pupils with sufficient opportunities to get active to the extent that it makes a positive contribution to their health.
The fundamental aim of Active Schools is to give school-aged children the tools, motivation and opportunities to be more active throughout their school years and into adulthood. These opportunities are available before, during and after school, as well as in the wider community.
Background
In February 2003, Active Schools was identified as a key element of the Scottish Executive’s drive to get more Scots more active – a commitment outlined in the National Physical Activity Strategy. The Scottish Executive has since been developing a range of partnerships and establishing actions needed to take this work forward under the banner of the Healthy Living Campaign.
As a result of sportscotland’s successful work with the original School Sport Co-ordinator and Active Primary School Co-ordinator pilot programmes, the Scottish Executive provided sportscotland with a budget of £24 million to roll out the Active Schools element to more schools throughout Scotland.
Instrumental to delivering Active Schools is the development of a staffing network of 630 Co-ordinators and 32 Managers. These staff will be responsible for putting in place and driving forward a range of planned activities in both school and community settings. sportscotland is playing a lead role in developing, supporting and monitoring this network, working in close partnership with Scotland’s 32 local authorities.
The network will be developed in a way that is consistent with the general ethos of Health Promoting Schools and more formal links are being made with the Scottish Executive’s Health Promoting Schools Unit.
sportscotland’s commitment to Active Schools
The strategic objectives of sportscotland’s commitment to Active Schools are to:
- Work closely with partners to put in place a national network that will enable all local authorities to effectively deliver Active Schools
- Provide guidance and assistance with the recruitment, training and induction of enthusiastic professionals and volunteers
- Invest in tools and resources such as TOP programmes and the Out of School Hours Learning Programme
- Develop and strengthen links with a wider partnership network at national and local level (e.g. health, education, transport, community and voluntary sector).
Measures are in place to monitor progress at regular intervals. The target for 2007 is to have 32 Active School Managers, 260 Active School Co-ordinators (Primary) and 370 Active School Co-ordinators (Secondary) working across all 32 Scottish local authorities.
Key outcomes
sportscotland’s investment in Active Schools aims to deliver the following key outcomes:
- Increased physical activity levels among school-aged children in general with a focus on:
- Girls and young women
- Young people from ethnic minority backgrounds
- Young people with physical and learning disabilities
- Young people in areas of socio-economic disadvantage
- Improved motivation and attitude of children and young people to help increase achievements in all aspects of school and community life
- Increased levels of sports participation in both formal and informal community settings
- Increased numbers of young people acting as sports leaders, coaches and volunteers in both school and community settings.
