Education CommitteeWritten evidence submitted by The Lawn Tennis Association and the Tennis Foundation

Executive Summary

1. There is an established, successful, and growing programme of tennis in schools across the Great Britain. The Aegon Schools Tennis Programme, delivered by the Tennis Foundation in partnership with the Lawn Tennis Association, has now supported over 15,000 schools across the GB and will continue to engage new schools.

2. We have welcomed the Government’s recent schools sports announcement, and believe it will provide both vital funding and support to schools. We are especially encouraged by the decision to pilot a new scheme allowing 120 teachers to train as PE primary specialists.

3. We recognise the important role that the London 2012 Games played in providing a platform for promoting greater participation in sport, especially amongst children. We have looked to use this increased profile through our established schools programme which supports primary, special and secondary schools.

4. We believe that the development of a long term strategy for school sport, underpinned by a cross-party political consensus, will ensure a sustainable and effective legacy in schools sports.

Contents

5. British Tennis’ submission will cover the following areas:

Introduction to the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA), the Tennis Foundation, and the Aegon Schools Tennis programme;

British Tennis’ response to the Government’s announcement on school sport;

The impact of London 2012 on school sport;

Future measurements to ensure a sustainable and effective legacy in school sport from the London 2012 Games.

Introduction

6. The Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) is the national governing body for British Tennis. It invests and supports tennis at all levels—from grass roots to elite.

7. The Tennis Foundation is Great Britain’s leading tennis charity. It works closely with the LTA and a wide range of partners to deliver inclusive and accessible community tennis.

8. The Aegon Schools Tennis programme is delivered by the Tennis Foundation in partnership with the LTA. The programme provides young people with an early experience of tennis, with the hope that this will be a factor in their progression and retention in the game as they get older. Since its inception in 2009, it is has achieved the following:

Supported more than 15,000 schools across Great Britain with free teacher training, resources and equipment, with the vast majority being state schools;

Provided training to 26,000+ teachers and coaches to help them deliver tennis in schools;

Increased the number of children taking part in school team competitions—last year more than 46,000 pupils took part in a schools tennis competition with secondary competition up 14% in last two years alone;

Boosted links between schools and clubs and community tennis facilities;

We recently undertook our annual YouGov survey of our schools programme, and 95% of schools who took part in the survey (1,300 schools) are drawn from the state sector and the vast majority (95%) agreeing that the programme was helping to make tennis more inclusive and accessible for their pupils.

9. The Tennis Foundation and LTA work closely with the Youth Sport Trust, other National Governing Bodies, professional sports clubs/organisations, Government Departments and the Association of Physical Education to ensure the Aegon Schools Tennis programme and wider resources meet the needs of both teachers and learners. We also use the opportunity to work with key stakeholders to speak as a collective voice around key issues and the positive impact PE and school sport can have on the lives of young people.

Government Announcement on Schools Sport

10. The LTA and Tennis Foundation welcome the Prime Minister’s recent announcement outlining the ring-fenced investment of £150 million into primary schools across the country for school sport.

11. Both organisations believe that the funding will support our work in primary schools by not only helping teachers offer more PE and school sport, but also aid the development of physical literacy at a primary school age. We were especially supportive of the proposed Government plans to pilot a new scheme allowing 120 teachers to train as PE primary specialists.

12. We also welcome the decision to ensure there is transparency in how schools spend the money, the role of Ofsted in assessing the effectiveness of school investments, and the new support provided to the County Sport Partnerships by Sport England.

13. Given the Aegon Schools Tennis programme provides free teacher training, resources and equipment to schools, we believe this new funding will help foster relations between schools and clubs, and we will continue to work with partners such as the Department for Education, Youth Sport Trust and County Sport Partnerships to help foster and develop these relations.

The Impact of London 2012 on School Sports

14. The London 2012 Olympic Games and Paralympic Games provided a great platform to showcase sport across the UK, and encourage people of all ages to make physical activity and sport a part of their lives.

15. British tennis looked to benefit from the success achieved in both the Olympic and Paralympic Games with targeted schools engagement linked to the 2012 Games. An example was the hosting of a free coaching session organised by Aegon (Lead Partner of British Tennis)) for 100 children from five Edinburgh schools. Nicole Wilson from Pirniehall Primary said, “Today has been an amazing chance to play tennis…it’s been really fun. I love watching Andy Murray so it’s been great to see him on television and then go out and play”. We also organised school visits pre and post London 2012 with Paralympic medallists Lucy Shuker and Andy Lapthorne.

16. The platform for this engagement was our existing schools tennis programme that had been in place for the previous three years. In 2008, a new schools tennis strategy was developed, and rolled out from 2009 in a phased approach starting with primary in 2009–10, secondary in 2010–11 and special schools in 2011–12.

17. The research that informed this strategy identified clear barriers to tennis in schools. At primary level this included a lack of teacher confidence and tennis equipment; whereas at secondary level, teachers frequently cited a lack of courts, and wanted advice on how to make tennis more fun and relevant to the different ages and abilities.

18. The competition structure at secondary level was also felt to be oriented towards independent schools and there were seen to be too few opportunities for young people of different abilities to take part in team tennis competitions.

19. The current programme is designed both to extend tennis’ reach in schools, and improve the quality of what’s on offer. Providing a quality experience of tennis at an early age will also support long-term retention and growth among adults, with fewer people discouraged by a poor schools tennis experience.

Primary Schools Tennis

20. Much of the Tennis Foundation and LTA’s work is focused at primary level which includes a specific course developed to give teachers the confidence and tools to deliver tennis to a class of children in a small space, like a school hall or playground. This includes a DVD with an interactive coach demonstrating the different skills, in case a teacher lacks confidence in doing so.

21. Thousands of state primary schools have also been given a free equipment bag, with 30 rackets, 60 balls and a mini tennis net—that’s around 400,000 free rackets; and all have had teacher training alongside this to ensure that equipment is used effectively.

Secondary School Tennis

22. The current programme for secondary schools was launched in 2010. Alongside teacher training, lesson plans and other resources, we encourage coaches and tennis venues to link to their local schools. We have also raised teachers’ awareness of adapted forms of tennis and how they can appeal to different groups. For example, mini tennis can offer rapid progression for older beginners, shifting some perceptions that tennis is too difficult.

23. Furthermore, we have promoted Cardio Tennis, a tennis-inspired fitness workout on court, and have developed a 3-hour teacher training course and dedicated resource to support schools to deliver this exciting activity.

24. As well as increasing opportunities to play, tennis offers scope for young people to develop skills and experience through leadership and volunteering, including through the “Tennis Leaders” course for pupils aged 13 plus. Since we made changes last year to broaden its availability, this course can now be teacher delivered, as well as offered by coaches, and as a result we’ve seen a 100% increase in those taking part.

Schools Competitions

25. All schools tennis competitions are team based, and more than 46,000 children pick up a racket each summer, to take part. At primary level, the priority competition is for years 3 and 4, aimed at those who are beginners or new to the game. In England, the Year 3&4 Mini Tennis Red Competition has been part of the School Games, ensuring tennis contributes fully to this programme.

26. Competition begins locally with events for clusters of schools to compete against each other, with winning teams progressing through to partnership or local authority finals. The winners then progress to School Games County Festivals, which are one day, multi-sport events with opening ceremonies and involve more than 1,000 young people competing in a range of sports. Tennis was involved in 43 of the 46 Level 3 County festival events in 2012, one of the highest represented sports across the board (behind only athletics).

27. At secondary level, the Aegon Team Tennis Schools Year 8 & 10 competition has seen 14% growth over the last two years, with 2,600 teams from across the country entering in 2012. With opportunities for players of all abilities, the Aegon Team Tennis Senior Students Competition is designed for 16–19 year old less experienced players. The number of teams entering is up 5% since 2010 and the proportion of maintained schools reaching the finals has also increased, indicating progress in the important work to increase the diversity of players and schools entering.

Future Measurements to ensure a Sustainable and Effective Legacy in Schools Sports from the London 2012 Games

28. We welcome the Government’s announcement of new funding and support for the delivery of school sport, and believe the Aegon Schools Tennis Programme will complement this new package of funding, and support the growth of sport in schools.

29. We believe it is vital, especially at primary level, that the teacher is integral to the delivery of sport and PE. As a result, we welcome the decision to have a pilot scheme for PE primary specialists, and hope that this becomes an established option across the country.

30. We would welcome any move that made resources available to measure the number of young people participating in sport, as this would help inform the development of our schools tennis programme.

31. We believe it is vital that there is greater support for the work of the school sport professionals (eg School Games Organisers). With the cessation of funding to secondary schools for teacher release posts, these roles will become more challenging, particularly in areas where current funding does not ensure the existence of a full time role.

32. Finally, we recognise that a significant factor in the success of the 2012 Games was the strength of the cross-party consensus, and we believe that a similar consensus which recognises the benefits of long term planning will help to ensure a sustainable and effective legacy in school sport.

March 2013