10 TIPS TO STAGE YOUR GAMES

Lloyds TSB National School Sport Week 2012

Top 10 Ideas  to Stage YOUR Games

The Lloyds TSB National School Sport Week is taking place between Monday June 25^th to Friday June 29^th 2012 and schools across Wales are being encouraged to register at www.schoolsportweek.org

In 2011, 560 primary and secondary schools across Wales registered for NSSW which equated to approximately 170,000 pupils who were exposed to sport during the week.  This goes a long way to helping the sports sector achieve the vision of getting every child hooked on sport for life so Sport Wales and partners are hopeful more schools will sign up in 2012, especially as it is Olympic and Paralympic year!

Once schools have registered they will receive resources and case studies to help them plan their NSSW event under the theme ‘Stage Your Games’.  To get schools started here are our top 10 tips to Stage Your Games.....

1.       London 2012 World Sport Day – kickstart your Lloyds TSB National School Sport Week with London 2012 World Sport Day, on Monday 25 June. It is a great way to celebrate the sport and culture of the competing Olympic and Paralympic teams, and to welcome the world to the UK. This could involve other subject departments such as music, dance and art to you help create an inspirational opening ceremony – registered schools will receive London 2012 World Sport Day resources to support them.

2.       Become a Flame Follower – the Olympic Flame spreads a message of peace, unity and friendship. Lloyds TSB has created eight fantastic lessons to get your pupils excited about the Olympic Torch Relay. Each lesson plan is linked to a range of subjects to help pupils explore and learn about the Olympic Torch Relay. Registered schools can visit www.schoolsportweek.org to access these resources.

3.       Make a pledge – encourage pupils to make a pledge. This could be to try something new, do more sport, volunteer, officiate or could have a behavioural focus. Many schools which have done this in the past have seen improvements in pupil behaviour. You could create a school pledge, perhaps incorporating the Olympic and Paralympic Values, giving the pupils ownership and responsibility to promote and commit to them.

4.       Link with local sports clubs – invite clubs into the school to showcase their sport, take coaching sessions and discuss opportunities in the local area. Try to feature sports that are inclusive, new to young people, aligned to the different cultures in your school and fun!

5.       Incorporate the whole school – 95% of teachers that used Lloyds TSB National School Sport Week themes in English, ICT and Maths said they had successfully enhanced student learning. Other subjects can also be used to enrich the learning for pupils; such as Geography, Business Studies, History and Languages.

6.       Hold a Paralympic day – The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) and Get Set, the official education programme for London 2012, offers a number of resources, ideas and opportunities to help you plan a successful and inspirational Paralympic Day.

a.       Visit the IPC website - www.paralympic.org/Science_Education/Education/

b.      Visit the Get Set website - https://getset.london2012.com

7.       Transition day – schools have used Lloyds TSB National School Sport Week as a transition week, inviting local primary schools into the secondary school for a day of sport. These events offer invaluable opportunities for young people to familiarise themselves with their new school surroundings and meet new friends before the start of the school year. Schools can offer pupils the chance to try Olympic and Paralympic sports and to meet young leaders within the school.

8.       Volunteers – Volunteering is an integral part of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Many schools already have a huge number of young volunteers who are often at the heart of the most successful Lloyds TSB National School Sport Week events. Volunteers could help shape the week by planning the activity, supporting on the day, officiating, reporting, photography, co-ordinate opening and closing ceremonies and so on.

9.       Celebrate – hold a closing ceremony at the end of Lloyds TSB National School Sport Week to celebrate the success and achievements of your pupils throughout the week. You could use certificates to congratulate pupils on exceptional behaviour linked to the Olympic and Paralympic Values or for their participation.

Olympic and Paralympic Values – registered schools can visit www.schoolsportweek.org to access videos of athletes discussing the Values. You can use these as part of an assembly or discussion groups within lesions.

We hope this helps you get involved! Remember to let us know how you get on and tweet us any updates and pictures to @sport_wales. Pob Lwc!

What is physical literacy?

Most of us already understand the importance of literacy and numeracy skills. But how many of us understand the term, physical literacy?

Julie Rotchell of Sport Wales explains all...

‘Physical Literacy can be described as the motivation, confidence, physical competence, knowledge and understanding to maintain physical activity throughout the lifecourse.’

Margaret Whitehead 2010

To explain this, it is useful to use an analogy with literacy...

When a child is learning to read they first learn individual words such as cat, sat and mat. And when a child is learning physical skills, they learn how to run, jump, catch and throw.

Children then put words into sentences and read them; just as they string movement phrases together when performing the long jump, riding a bike or swimming. As we become more experienced, we understand the meaning of books and inspire to gain knowledge and pleasure from reading. This is also the case with physical literacy.

We continue to develop enjoying a wide variety of sports and understand the importance of taking part. We may at times prefer a certain type of book like science fiction or romantic comedy likewise with physical literacy we might enjoy different sports at different stages.

The key point is that we are confident to participate in a variety of sports as we have learned important physical skills from a young age.

The support of parents in helping their children to read and write cannot be underestimated. It is also true in physical literacy. Just as parents (and librarians, teachers and other volunteers) support and listen to their children read, we want the same support of young people as they develop their physical literacy. It might not happen overnight but it's something we're working towards.

Parents can find out how to help support children as young as three on our Play to Learn website. And find out how one Mum is getting her children active.

So who is Julie Rotchell?

Julie started her career as a PE teacher at Haberdashers Monmouth School for girls. After two years she was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to teach in Barbados where she remained for twenty years.

On her return, she became involved with Sport Wales as a PE & School Sport Coordinator in Blaenau Gwent. After a short time she moved to Sport Wales’ offices in Cardiff and is now a manager.

Julie is a golf addict and can often be seen in all weathers tackling the hills at her local club in Monmouth.

WHY YOU SHOULD GET INVOLVED IN NATIONAL SCHOOL SPORT WEEK

Richard Dando works for Sport Wales (and a part-time triathlete!) and in our latest blog he spells out the benefits of getting involved with National School Sport Week...

The Lloyds TSB National School Sport Week (NSSW), the UK’s largest celebration of school sport will be happening across the UK between June 27^th to July 1^st 2011 and schools still have the opportunity to sign up to take part in London 2012 inspired activities and be in with a chance of winning amazing prizes. 

The week uses the power and inspiration of London 2012 to get more young people taking part in and understanding the value of sport.  This year’s theme will be ‘Personal Best’ and young people will be invited to pledge to achieve a personal best in an Olympic and Paralympic sport individually, with their class or with their club, at every level and standard.

In 2010 14,000 schools and 5 million young people took part in NSSW across the UK.  In Wales, 176 primary and 83 secondary schools in Wales signed up in 2010 and took part in NSSW and - with London 2012 only five school terms away - we want to get more Welsh schools signed up in 2011. The deadline for registering is 17 June 2011 and nearly 400 schools have so far signed up across Wales.

This is another fantastic opportunity for schools and pupils to be inspired by London 2012 and to help get every child hooked on sport for life. For further information and details on how to register (registration in Welsh available) please visit www.schoolsportweek.org and look out for the bilingual update emails, resources and amazing prizes linked to London 2012. 

Schools that that register and take part in NSSW will be able to use this as evidence towards their London 2012 Get Set Network application and take advantage of further amazing London 2012 opportunities.

For the school, the week can:

·         raise the profile of sport among pupils, parents and colleagues

·         demonstrate your commitment to physical activity, sport and the values of the Olympic and Paralympic Games

·         engage pupils in your sport and health objectives

·         celebrate your school’s sporting achievements

·         encourage a whole school approach to celebrating London 2012

·         provide primary schools the chance to win tickets for the London 2012 Games

·         provide secondary schools the once in a lifetime chance to carry the Flame in the Olympic Torch Relay

For pupils, the week is an opportunity to:

·         do more physical activity and try new sports

·         take part in competitions and join a club

·         demonstrate and celebrate a personal best

·         develop social, teambuilding and leadership skills

·         build confidence that benefits overall academic performance in school

·         learn about and demonstrate the Values of the Olympic and Paralympic Games

·         have fun!

For the local community, the week is an opportunity to:

·         help the local school win amazing prizes by getting parents and the local community  involved by pledging their support to their local school via a designated website

·         win tickets for the London 2012 Games when pledging support to the local school

·         raise the profile of sport within the community

·         encourage links between schools and community clubs

·         encourage parents to volunteer at their local school during NSSW and beyond

·         encourage local Lloyds TSB branch staff to volunteer at a local school during NSSW and beyond