Active Suffolk - Primary School PE and Sport Newsletter - First edition

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Hello, welcome to the first edition of Suffolk’s Primary PE & Sport Newsletter.

Firstly, the entire team at Active Suffolk would like to send you best wishes during these unprecedented times as we all deal with the current Covid-19 outbreak. We appreciate that it is a very unsettling period and that it may have impacted on your usual routine, however, we hope the information we share during this time will support you and your school to stay active and healthy.

We hope you will find this newsletter a useful tool in allowing us to stay connected with you and to continue to offer our guidance and support every step of the way.

This edition includes; resources to support you and your school, key contact details and a message from one of our partners at Youth Sport Trust on considering the impact Covid-19 has on PE in our schools.

A message from Danny Burton – Secondary PE lead, Youth Sport Trust

Danny Burton is a former secondary school teacher and senior leader, having worked in the sport and PE environment for 15 years. In his role with The Youth Sport Trust, Danny is responsible for the development and improvement of PE and School Sport at a national level within secondary schools and works within the Charity's PE and Achievement team. He holds a Master's Degree in Advanced Educational Practice, which focused on transition and student voice. He has been involved in training NQTs and trainees from a range of providers, embedding student leadership across schools, partnership development and developing teaching and learning. He is author of 'Teach Now! Physical Education'.

"Whilst the world eulogises about the 'nation's PE teacher' - let us stop, (but not for too long!), and take a moment to consider the impact of COVID-19 on the status and position of Physical Education (PE) within our schools.

First and foremost, let me say, well done to all of our counties Primary Schools – great job in getting our young people active at a time when we are being encouraged to sit on our sofas with no better excuse to do as little possible. Joe Wicks has captured the hearts of the nation and seems to be appealing to both primary and secondary ages. With over 15 million viewers in his first week, not only is he getting the nation up-and-ready at 9am every weekday, but he's surely getting more people, more active, more often, which is a winning formula that any PE enthusiast wants to hear about.

Furthermore, teachers and coaches across the world have been sharing ideas and innovative ways to stay home and stay active. At the Youth Sport Trust, free-to-access 'Home Learning' activities have been added on a daily basis – attracting over 48,000 webpage visits in the first week of lockdown, and over 100,000 downloads to this date.

Alongside this, another workforce prominent in the School Sport sector; our School Games Organisers, have been tasked with ensuring the local needs of their communities are met during this challenging time. Regional campaigns have been launched throughout the last week to ensure that young people continue to experience the physical and emotional benefits of daily physical / sporting activities.

When considering the impact of this pandemic, a number of whole school priorities will arise, such as, improving student's mental wellbeing, encouraging social interactions (whilst probably maintain elements of social distancing), stress management, and dealing with uncertainty – could PE be well-positioned to contribute to an effective and pro-active solution for schools?

Many teachers are juggling the challenge of setting online 'lessons' alongside the daily check-in's with vulnerable or key worker pupils in school. For the parents, it's a case of what can keep my child (or multiple children of varying ages and ability levels) engaged whilst I'm also working myself or keeping on top of home / family life. So, my main message to you all is: "Please stay safe and look after yourselves and your loved ones"."

Check out the Youth Sport Trust, free to access 'Home Learning' activities by clicking HERE.

Active Schools Project

Active Suffolk's, Active Schools project is delivered in targeted Primary Schools in Suffolk, where there is an identified need based upon evidence and insight. The project focuses on 3 key outcomes, these include:

- Reducing childhood excess weight
- Improving physical and mental health
and wellbeing
- Improving school attainment

Active Suffolk work closely with schools to meet their needs through the development of an individual bespoke action plan. Please note, the project is currently working in Babergh & Mid Suffolk and has recently branched out to West Suffolk in partnership with Abbeycroft Leisure Trust, funded by the Realising Ambitions Fund.

Check out our latest Active Schools case study HERE

The team delivering the Active Schools project, have had to adapt to a new way of working as of late and we would like to thank all schools involved in this project for being so understanding. We will continue to work with you to reassess action plans so please contact Megan Felton on megan.felton@activesuffolk.org to arrange a virtual meeting or phone call.

Meet the team at Active Suffolk!!

A virtual hello from our Children & Young People's team...

We thought this would be a good way for you to virtually meet our Children & Young People's team. The team are highly passionate and enthusiastic in supporting young people to lead healthy and active lifestyles. As a team, they cover multiple projects including Primary School Support, Active Schools, School Games, the Suffolk PE & Sport Network, Satellite Clubs, Active Lives CYP Survey, Topleader & Topleader Academy.

For further information on any of the projects above, please feel free to get in touch with one of the team below:

James Payne, Senior Development Officer, CYP & Safeguarding Lead, james.payne@activesuffolk.org

Megan Felton, Project Officer (Community Sport & Physical Activity), megan.felton@activesuffolk.org

Tom Wright, Project Officer (Community Sport & Physical Activity), tom.wright@activesuffolk.org

Olly Ambrose, Assistant Co-ordinator (Community Sport & Physical Activity), oliver.ambrose@activesuffolk.org

Find out more about the work this team do at
www.activesuffolk.org/children-and-young-people

Give it Your Best Go...

Active Suffolk's Weekly Challenge

As some of you may already know, we launched our very own Give it Your Best Go campaign to inspire all ages and abilities to try our weekly challenges set on a Monday, with the aim of improving your attempt by Friday.

Each week, we will be releasing a new activity which your school can share with staff, parents and pupils, encouraging them to give it a go. These will go live every Monday at www.activesuffolk.org/give-it-your-best-go-weekly-chal or on the Active Suffolk Facebook, Twitter or Instagram pages.

Please share your weekly attempts and improved efforts with the team by tagging Active Suffolk on social media or sending it to giveityourbestgo@activesuffolk.org

We'd love to see more schools and their pupils taking part and setting themselves personal goals!! Check out this week's video HERE.

Resources & shared learning

Due to the current situation, many organisations are now offering digital resources to support teachers and parents with physical activity at home during lockdown.

Below are a few we've picked out to share with you, but we have also collated a number of additional resources that may support you and your school during this time at www.activesuffolk.org/coronavirus-covid-19

#ThisIsPE - supporting parents to teach PE at home

PE specialists across the country have come together to provide parents with two-minute videos, helping you to educate at home. Forget expensive sports equipment, these activities can be done with things like teddy bears, rolled up socks, and toilet roll! Check the videos out here.

#ThisIsPE are looking for more PE specialists to get involved and we would love to see some Suffolk teachers featured! Find out more on how to get involved by simple clicking here.

VisionED

VisionED have developed their fully accredited, National Qualification in Leadership & Management in Primary PE to completely online. The course is a distance learning programme with video support, conferencing and access to further support materials.

Available now to support teachers at this time and a great way to empower schools during home working/school closures. Click here to access or find out more.

Kieran Lawler, Head of PE at Wells Hall Primary in Great Cornard

"Here at Wells Hall Primary we have created weekly PE task sheets for the children to have a go with at home. All tasks are designed using resources/equipment from around the home, and are in line with our curriculum map at school. On top of this we have been encouraging the children to take part in as much physical activity as possible. They have been sharing this on our new online teaching system and twitter. I have also been uploading daily videos onto the school twitter page which has had a great response too."

Check out Kieran's daily videos on Twitter by clicking HERE.

News

 

Suffolk schools are leading efforts to help children stay active during the Coronavirus lockdown.

Everyone is having to adapt to new routines very quickly as a result of the covid-19 pandemic, however a selection of innovative... Read More »

 

Suffolk pupil recognises the importance of activity at home

Active Suffolk have been supporting selected primary schools in the Babergh and Mid Suffolk area for almost two years as... Read More »

 

Get involved in The Joy of Moving Home School Festival for your chance to win an ITFC signed squad photo

The Joy of Moving Programme, delivered in partnership with Ferrero UK locally by 23 English Football League (EFL) Club Community... Read More »

Healthwatch Suffolk have launched a wellbeing survey for people who work in education (closing date - 25th May)

All responses are anonymous. The findings will be shared with the people in charge of local services, so that they can understand how to support emotional wellbeing difficulties resulting from the restrictions, and to inform the recovery after restrictions have been lifted.
This survey is for anyone who works in any type of education setting in Suffolk, and takes around 5 minutes to complete:

https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/EducationStaffLink

Please feel free to share this newsletter with colleagues and encourage them to sign up to the newsletter through our website at

www.activesuffolk.org/active-suffolk-newsletters

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