Written evidence submitted by Youth Sport
Trust
1. INTRODUCTION
1.1 The Youth Sport Trust (YST) is an independent
charity focused on building a brighter future for young people
through high quality Physical Education (PE) and sport. Since
its creation in 1994, YST has sought to promote the importance
of PE and school sport and ensure that it is attractive, accessible,
affordable and appropriate to all young people.
1.2 PE and sport are crucial components of a
well-rounded education provision, having the power to improve
young people's physical, intellectual, social and emotional development.
Both PE and competitive sport are included among proposed "Pupil
Guarantees" in the current Children, Schools and Families
Bill, which would see them become a legal requirement within schools.
1.3 YST conceptualised the model of School Sport
Partnerships in 2000 and has worked with government to build a
national network of 450 School Sport Partnerships (SSPs) across
England. SSPs are families of schools working together to deliver
more opportunities for every young person to participate, perform
and lead in PE and sport. Every school in England is part of one
of these partnerships with an aspiration to provide all young
people with access to five hours a week of sport and PE by 2012.
1.4 At present, over 90% of young people
aged 5-16 participate in two hours of PE and sport a week.[11]
In order to achieve and sustain this level of participation, YST
has developed resources and programmes for schools aimed at increasing
access to high quality PE and sport for those young people who
are not traditionally interested or engaged in sport. Winning
the right to host the Olympic and Paralympic Games in London in
2012 is a unique opportunity to turbo-charge this work and ensure
that PE and sport in schools is revolutionised.
2. The Youth Sport Trust's Role in the Olympic
Legacy
2.1 YST is committed to transforming the
PE and school sport offer for every young person and this is the
focus of our contribution to the domestic sporting legacy of London
2012.
2.2 YST is working with government and other
partners to achieve the aspiration outlined in Public Service
Agreement 22—to deliver "a successful Olympic Games
and Paralympic Games with a sustainable legacy and get more children
and young people taking part in high quality PE and sport."
As part of this aspiration, there are specific targets concerned
with the percentage of 5-16 year olds participating in at least
two hours per week of high-quality PE and sport at school, together
with the percentage of 5-19 year olds participating in at least
three further hours per week of sporting opportunities. Progress
toward those targets is detailed in the relevant section below.
In addition, YST is a lead partner in the London 2012 Get Set
Education programme, with specific responsibilities in the PE
and Sport strand and Healthy and Active Lifestyles strand.
2.3 Internationally, as part of a programme
called International Inspiration, YST has successfully partnered
over 250 Sports Colleges with foreign schools, for a variety of
sport-based projects. Working in partnership with the British
Council, UK Sport and UNICEF, this programme was created as a
direct response to the successful 2012 bid. It is focused on creating
opportunities for young people of all abilities in schools and
communities across the world to have access to high quality and
inclusive Physical Education, sport and play. The PE and school
sport system in the UK is recognised as a powerful model that
can, with the right delivery, be successfully used to support
other countries and cultures in the enhancement of their systems.
3. Ways of maximising the value of the Olympic
Legacy both within the host boroughs, London and across the UK
3.1 The 2012 Games present a huge opportunity
to increase participation in, and enjoyment of, PE and sport in
schools. Many schools are using the 2012 Games to inspire learning
right across the curriculum from PE through to English, maths
and science, and beyond. YST is actively working with a group
of sports colleges to maximise 2012 legacy and our strategy falls
into three areas:
— Recruiting, training and embedding a
new generation of coaches for a range of Olympic and Paralympic
sports. The aim is to ensure an improved supply of coaches to
respond to an anticipated demand following the 2012 games, particularly
in some of the lesser known sports. Linked to this, YST is working
with sports colleges to create more (and different) junior sports
clubs and developing clubs on school sites.
— Creating PE change teams to improve the content
and delivery of PE and ensure its appropriateness for all young
people. Outcomes will be shared with all schools so that PE in
schools further improves beyond 2012.
— Pioneering the use of all things Olympic
and Paralympic across the school curriculum and using athletes
with an interest in different subject areas to develop 500 visible
pieces of work and resources to support every school to do the
same from September 2012.
3.2 The 2012 Games provide a valuable opportunity
to profile athletes that compete in sports not usually broadcast
on mainstream media and act as a catalyst for increased take-up
of those sports by young people.
3.3 YST has developed a number of resources
and programmes that capitalise on the power of the Olympic and
Paralympic Games. These range from nurturing gifted and talented
young athletes in order to progress their talents, through to
providing greater opportunities for young people to do more sport
at school. YST has also developed a number of widely used interventions
aimed at those young people most disengaged from sport and wider
school life. Below are examples of some initiatives created by
YST as a result of London winning the bid to host the 2012 Games.
3.4 Young Ambassadors, launched in
2006, was the first initiative to receive the London 2012 Inspire
Mark[12]
for education, awarded in 2008 by the London Organising Committee
of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games (LOCOG). Young Ambassadors,
aged between 14 and 19 years old, promote Olympic and Paralympic
ethos and values to other young people, acting as sporting role
models to young people in their own communities. To date there
are over 4,000 Young Ambassadors in England, 40 in Scotland and
10 in Wales, and by March 2010 there will be 40 in Northern Ireland.
By 2012 there will have been a total of 6,000 Gold Young Ambassadors,
7,000 Silver Young Ambassadors and 8,000 Bronze Young Ambassadors
across the UK.[13]
The YA programme was specifically designed to involve a more diverse
group of young people as leaders and to broaden the range of volunteering
opportunities on offer.
3.5 National School Sport Week, sponsored
by 2012 Games sponsor Lloyds TSB, aims to excite and motivate
pupils to do more sport by celebrating and profiling achievements
in PE in schools, and to launch new sport based initiatives. To
achieve this, YST and Lloyds TSB provide free resources, including
visits from Olympians and Paralympians, to help schools inspire
their pupils. In 2009, over three million pupils from 10,000 schools
across the UK made a "Sports Pledge", ranging from learning
about an Olympic country to committing to do more physical activity,
by trying new sports. Olympic and Paralympic values, such as inspiration,
equality, respect and excellence, are captured within the activities
of the week. National School Sport Week shows that increased participation
can be achieved through an Olympic and Paralympic inspired events.
In a survey shortly after National School Sport Week 2009, 92%
of schools said the week inspired more young people to do more
sport, and 71% of pupils who took part tried a new sport. By 2012,
YST aims to have involved more than 20,000 state and independent
schools across England, Wales and Scotland.
3.6 The UK School Games (UKSG) is
in its fifth year and will take place in the North East of England
in September 2010, with around 1600 competitors from 10 sports.
The Games have previously been held in Glasgow, Coventry, Bristol
and Bath and south Wales. The UKSG targets elite athletes of school
age, with disabled athletes competing at the same event as able-bodied
athletes. It integrates Olympic and Paralympic themes by ensuring
that the values are promoted through volunteer training, opening
and closing ceremonies and an athlete village, which itself includes
an innovative Culture and Education programme for all athletes.
They also create opportunities for young people to become engaged
in volunteering at major sports events both as technical officials
and event volunteers. These volunteers include international young
leaders, as part of the Olympic Cultural Legacy. Of the 400 volunteers
at the 2009 UKSG, 76% were under 24 and 53% under 18. Furthermore,
30% of the officials were under 24. YST believes that the opportunity
for competitors to compete in Games of this nature or similar
is of immense value. 86% of interviewed competitors, team managers/officials,
and volunteers said the 2009 UKSG had given them an appreciation
of what the Olympics or Paralympics might be like, and 92% said
they have been inspired to improve themselves further by their
participation in the UKSG.
3.7 National Talent Orientation Camp
(NTOC) is an annual camp held to prepare talented young sports
people aged 14-16 for the personal, sporting, academic and vocational
challenges beyond compulsory education. The camp offers the opportunity
to experience a multi-sport camp and train alongside other like
minded young people. They get to meet hugely successful and respected
role models from their sport and from other sports as well as
find out from Paralympians and Olympians what it really takes
to be the best in their sport. The camp is a blend of training
sessions, workshops and key note speeches. The athletes will undergo
several scenarios that may happen in the life of a real high performance
athlete. Parents and teacher mentors are encouraged to attend
the final day workshop. There is also a university road show to
help the young performers find out about the sport support at
those universities.
4. The use and management of the Olympic
Park and venues after 2012
4.1 YST would like to see the venues used
in the 2012 Games opened up to future competition for young people.
The Olympics will create memories indelibly attached to the stadia,
and that can serve as a huge incentive for young people to achieve
and excel in their sport at school. Following the Paralympic Games
in 2012, YST would like to see the venues used for the UK School
Games, providing athletes with an opportunity to compete in high
profile venues and also opening up the venues to thousands of
school children, teachers and parents to attend the UK School
Games as spectators.
5. Progress towards meeting targets to increase
grass roots participation in sport
5.1 Whilst there is continuing and close media
scrutiny on how many more people are regularly participating in
physical exercise, the most recent Annual Health Survey for England
noted that children did better than adults in attaining their
daily suggested amount of physical activity. Half of boys aged
2-10 (51%) and a third of girls (34%) among the 7,500 surveyed
did an hours moderate exercise every day. Overall 92% of areas
have had a five-hour offer in place for young people since September
2009. Further, 90% of children aged between 5-16 doing at least
two hours per week of high quality PE and Sport.
6. How success in delivering lasting legacy
can be measured
6.1 A lasting legacy should be measured through
a sustained participation at school level and beyond. The Games
must also create further capacity in the system, including more
coaches and clubs for young people and an improved competitive
pathway. Like any major sporting event, there will undoubtedly
be an increase in sporting activity around the time of the Games
but the real test is sustained engagement and participation in
sport well beyond 2012.
6.2 Research shows that PE and school sport can
be used to drive whole school improvement and achievement. Sports
Colleges have achieved annual increases in the percentage of pupils
getting 5+ A*-C including English and maths in each of the last
four years,[14]
suggesting that the specialism has a positive impact on academic
performance. Research evaluating School Sport Partnerships[15]
support PE as also improving behaviour and attitudes to learning.
Qualitative case studies have demonstrated that Head Teachers
use sport to enhance motivation, particularly in targeted groups,
and that PE was an effective vehicle for impacting on attendance,
particularly where it was part of a wider package aimed at whole
school change. PE also instils at an early age the importance
of leading a healthy lifestyle before, during and after school.
6.3 By means of example, Droitwich Spa High
School established an "Olympic Framework of Learning"
to enable effective transfer from middle school, integration into
high school and development towards 2012. The programme was launched
minutes after the Paralympic handover in Beijing, watched live
in the school theatre. As a result, the initial Year 8 cohort
(now in Year 9) evidenced the lowest exclusion rate in the school
and student progress grades demonstrate significant improvement
in effort and behaviour.
To reflect the diverse range of learning opportunities
the Olympic and Paralympic Games presents, Hellesdon High School
developed a new house system to provide pupils with a link to
the Games in 2012 and raise pupils' motivation to take part in
sporting activities. The school engaged its students in activities
across the curriculum including in Technology (through a "mini
monuments" competition), Languages (developing a city guide),
English (creating athlete biographies) and science (development
of materials/Paralympic equipment such as running prosthetics).
Further examples of how schools are developing
programmes and driving improvements using the Olympic values are
available on the Get Set website.[16]
7. CONCLUSIONS
7.1 YST believes that high quality PE and
school sport should form part of a well-rounded school curriculum,
can be adapted to include those young people not traditionally
engaged in sport, and can help young people to develop important
life skills useful in employment after their education, be that
within sport or in the wider job market.
7.2 Working with partners across the sport and
education landscapes, including Olympics sponsors, we are developing
interventions, programmes and resources to engage for all young
people, tailoring where necessary to recognise the need to engage
particular types of young people, be that to help Gifted and Talented
pupils on a pathway to success or to engage more females and ethnic
minorities.
7.3 When the impact of Olympics and Paralympics
in increasing PE and school sport participation is measured against
official targets strong progress is being shown. However, as a
tool to increase sport and PE participation the 2012 Olympics
also contribute to wider impacts on academic achievement, improved
behaviour, attendance and social, mental and physical well-being.
January 2010
11 2007-08 School Sport Survey. Back
12
As part of their winning bid, London promised to use the 2012
Games to inspire millions of young people through sport. The London
2012 "Inspire mark" recognises outstanding, non-commercial
initiatives inspired by the Games. Back
13
Gold Young Ambassadors work across School Sport Partnerships,
Silver Young Ambassadors work in secondary schools and Bronze
Young Ambassadors work in primary schools. Back
14
From national data supplied by Department for Children, Schools
and Families. Back
15
The impact of School Sport Partnerships on pupil Behaviour, found
at http://www.lboro.ac.uk/departments/ ssehs/research/centres-institutes/youth-sport/pages/School%20Sport%20Part%20pdfs/Behaviour%2008.pdf Back
16
http://getset.london2012.com/en/home Back
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