Annual Review 2019-20

Making a Difference

www.joininedinburgh.org/sports/active-schools/

Follow us @ActiveSchoolsED Welcome The new academic year started like every other year: Over 1,000 extra-curricular activities on offer across the city focusing on getting more pupils, more active, especially those who hadn’t been a part of the Active Schools programme before. 18,000 pupils took part in over 50 different activities with 80% deliverers being voluntary, (39% teachers, 47% senior pupils, 14% parents). The team worked closely with school staff, parents and pupils promoting the benefits of physical activity, including how it can affect mental health, stress and anxiety. Little did we know our world was about to change and that getting out of the house once a day to exercise would prove a lifeline and truly make a difference to our mental health and wellbeing. Now more than ever, we must continue to promote the benefits of physical activity and encourage everyone to get active. Physical activity and sport have the potential to enhance children and young people’s mental and physical wellbeing and will support children and young people to lead healthy, active lifestyles now and in the future. I hope this review will illustrate some of the impact the Active Schools team were able to make to certain individuals across Edinburgh.

Our Values... The Edinburgh Active Schools team’s values permeate throughout the work they do and within schools across the City of Edinburgh

Our mission is to get more children more active more often

To see more of what we do follow us on twitter @Active SchoolsED Messages from our key partners

Active Schools is an invaluable addition to In an active Scotland we all find ways to The Royal High School community. The be physically active every day and this Active Schools coordinator Mathew is the fundamental work of the McLachlan provides support for Edinburgh Active Schools team. Despite numerous clubs, enabling a very high the year ending abruptly in March the percentage of our pupils to take part in a team worked hard to address the focus sport whether for fun, fitness or areas of their plan, namely tackling competition. inequalities and prioritising inactive pupils. The contacts Matthew makes to support core Physical Education delivery gives our Throughout eight months of delivery in pupils access to a very wide programme schools the team successfully ensured ranging from cricket to rugby that the children and young people of from football to netball, gymnastics, Edinburgh continued to have beach volleyball and more. There really is opportunities to participate in physical something for everyone through the activity and sport. In addition, the team Active Schools programme. have continued to engage in the PEPAS agenda nationally and locally.

Pauline Walker Bob Wylie

Head Teacher, sportscotland Royal High School

Now more than ever it is important to The role Active Schools has played in offer opportunities to participate in facilitating participation in sport within physical activity and sport, as it has the our community has been vital. Active potential to enhance children and young Schools has been able to proactively people’s mental and physical wellbeing, overcome a wide range of barriers to enabling them to lead healthy, active pupil participation. lifestyles now and in the future. This understanding of our community The Active Schools team provide a varied and enthusiasm to engage parents in and extensive programme across the city. the ways that suit them best has led to Much of this would not be possible an exponential growth in extra- without the many volunteers recruited to curricular participation amongst our deliver these sessions. Over 18,000 pupils pupils and all of the numerous health took part before March and continued to and wellbeing benefits associated with engage with Active Schools during sport and exercise. lockdown via alternative platforms and social media.

Chris McMillan

David Bruce Acting Head Teacher City of Edinburgh Council Brunstane Primary School

Promoting Equity

Additional Support Needs Awareness WE VALUE

Many of the children in mainstream education with a disability may find they are the only child with a disability in that school. The chance to experience parasport activities is very limited and can be dependant on PE staffs’ knowledge and experience of delivering and promoting these opportunities.

To address this gap, in collaboration with Scottish Disability Sport, whole class sessions to raise awareness of Just to let you know M. loved the disability sport were delivered in PE. session you did at school. She For some pupils it was more couldn’t stop talking about it appropriate to offer this input on a yesterday! one-to-one basis. Six key schools across the city Alice Mountford received CPD sessions to support PE Additional Support for Learning Service staff in delivering disability specific (East Neighbourhood Centre) sports and raising awareness of disability sport opportunities in their classes.

Over 80 children gained a greater awareness of disability sport across the following schools; Holyrood HS, Stenhouse PS, Royal High PS, Parson’s Green PS, Portobello HS, George Watson’ s Girls at Broomhouse are getting more active with sporting variety being the spice of life! OTINGMOPR When Shona Clark, the Active Schools Coordinator at Broomhouse Primary School had a vision to help more girls in P6-P7 get active, she involved the local

EQUITY Community Sports Hub (CSH) and worked hard to remove the barriers to participation which girls identified they might face. These included; lack of confidence, cost, variety of activities and travel. Shona and the local CSH sports clubs overcame these challenges by providing all activities for free and offering sessions either at school or at Forrester High School (i.e. within walking distance).

The girls were able to come out of class for an hour each week on top of their curricular P.E. time, to get a taste of over 11 different sports and physical activities over courses of 4-8 weeks. After 89% each block the extracurricular club was advertised if already in existence or a new club was set up – including Triathlon, Water of P6- 7 girls have Polo, Swimming, Judo, Cheerleading, Yoga, Rugby, Football, taken part in Active Gymnastics, Badminton, Basketball and more! Schools sessions Involving young people in the decision making was a key part to the success, as one of many happy pupils commented “I enjoy the girls project because we get to do sports that we choose”.

Senior pupils also gained leadership experience, as Young Ambassadors and Girls’ Ambassadors helped support the younger Primary school pupils by preparing for their transition to the High School. There is more variety than ever at Broomhouse, with clear pathways for girls to continue participating in the sports they chose and enjoyed. When the project started only 33% of girls in P6 and 7 participated in Active Schools activities. This number has risen to 89%. Such a large proportion of female pupils have experienced increased confidence, and now have the experience to stay active and healthy for life.

GNITOMORP NEW clubs and Holiday Camps for ASN pupils! Y

Active Schools are passionate about promoting equity for children and young T I people with Additional Support Needs (ASN) in both mainstream and special U schools across the city. The ASN Co-ordinator Jill Coleman has long championed Q Parasport opportunities, liaising with schools and governing bodies to improve E ASN-specific provision across the city. This year has seen the establishment of new clubs and the first Active School’s ASN Activity camp at Liberton HS, in partnership with Edinburgh Leisure and Lothian Disability Sport. Pre-camp links were made with parents/carers to build ‘Attendee Profiles’ which proved hugely beneficial to ensuring a child-centred approach was followed. 6 Higher staffing ratios were implemented in conjunction with Mainstream activity sessions tailored to meet the specific needs of the schools with ASN children attending. Children who had not previously clubs experienced an Active Schools session were able to participate for the first time in a variety of activities – from goalball to boccia, basic moves to multi-sport The training of volunteers and school staff to support these fresh Thank you for such a fantastic week initiatives included 1-2-1 mentoring & at the ASN sports camp. The staff consultation sessions, Disability were brilliant; both the Active Inclusion Training and PE Schools team and your guest shadowing within the special school instructors. It was great to see cluster at Prospect Bank School. Liberton HS senior pupils getting involved too. In addition, Dean Park PS have launched a new ASN initiative with D Kay Gold & Gray Academy, specifically Parent of ASN club attendee for 10 pupils who hadn’t previously had such an opportunity. Plans are being implemented to start new clubs and camps in the future, utilising the successful model of delivery which has been developed thus far. Watch this space

Fresh opportunities for children with ASN prove popular and create pathway to ParaSport Festivals Summer Camps 2020 go virtual Tackling the challenges of Covid-19 restrictions has been a priority for the Active Schools Edinburgh team for much of 2020. Active Schools were concerned that children who would normally have access to our popular summer camps would

struggle to stay physically healthy. EQUITY

PROMOTING To overcome this obstacle a ‘Virtual Summer Camp’ was created and launched on twitter to encourage children and families to be more active over the summer holidays. Every day a different activity and challenge was featured, with variations to accommodate all ages and abilities.

The Active Schools team also assembled 500 paper activity packs including a goodie bag which were delivered to families who were receiving food parcels through Edinburgh Community Food Initiative. 500 Each goodie bag contained sports equipment that Summer Camp activity allowed young people to take part in all the activities at packs delivered to home, as well as a printed booklet of instructions for the families in need newly created Active Schools Fitness and Sports Board Games, A Mental Health Pack, the A-Z Physical Activity Challenges and the Number Challenges

The difference this made for hundreds of families across the city was significant, as one parent exclaimed “It was very exciting when we received our bag of activities – thank you!” Active Schools Edinburgh’s new mascot ‘Starlight’ made an appearance (look out for Starlight later on…) helping parents to engage with their children and encourage them to stay healthy and active this summer, even under lockdown conditions. Goalball scores a hat-trick at Blackhall Primary Sarah’s son Gavin had tasted the fun of Goalball at the annual Parasport event organised by Active Schools and Scottish Disability Sport. Inspired by her child’s enjoyment of the sport, she approached her Active Schools Co-ordinator Mattie McLachlan to explore volunteering opportunities. Sarah was passionate about EQUITY providing more activities for pupils with Additional Support Needs and specifically

PROMOTING those with visual impairments.

Goalball seemed the obvious choice. It is a truly inclusive sport as every player wears eye shades which eliminate sight, enabling visually impaired people to compete equally with non-visually impaired participants. Players must rely entirely on their other senses to score or save goals by bowling the ball along the floor past the opposing team. Sarah and Mattie worked together to start a goalball club for pupils across Edinburgh. With support from Active Schools, Scottish Disability Sport and Lothian Disability Sport, Sarah was able to plan and advertise sessions at Blackhall Primary, and even successfully applied for £548 of funding from Blackhall Sports Committee to buy goalball equipment for the school.

With fellow volunteers Emma and Jack, Sarah ran a successful first term of goalball at the school. Six pupils with either a visual impairment or additional support needs loved the New3 volunteers sessions. trained to deliver After Goalball’s attendance Goalball sessions success, plans are afoot to begin new visual-impairment activities in Judo and Tennis. Raising Aspirations

Developing young people and helping them to raise their aspirations is a fundamental part of Active Schools’ ethos and provision. This year over 100 senior

WE VALUE pupils from secondary schools across Edinburgh engaged in the Leadership Academy programme, established by Active Schools Edinburgh to complement the Young Ambassador programme supported by sportscotland. The largest cohort of candidates to date had the opportunity to gain experience in sports leadership, coaching and the development of opportunities in their school and community

Leadership Academy was amazing,. getting to speak to other people and getting to know more about ways to get people involved in sport and what we young leaders can aspire to achieve!

Leadership Academy Participant

Periodic workshops throughout the academic year enabled the young people to create new relationships with peers and increase their confidence in delivering sports provision, become a competition organiser, an official or an ambassador for sport. Training sessions equipped the candidates to increase their knowledge of sports coaching and inclusion via courses such as Introduction to Multi-Skills, Competition Organiser Training and Disability Inclusion Training by Scottish Disability Sport. As part of their learning experience each participant was required to commit to a minimum of 10 hours’ voluntary extra-curricular delivery with Active Schools Edinburgh. Next year will be the first year of our mentoring programme, whereby last year’s candidates will stay engaged with Leadership Academy in support roles to encourage the new group of Young Ambassadors and Leaders in sport.

Candidates who completed sportscotland’s Introduction to Multi Skills Workshop 23

Candidates who attended the Coaching Conference by Hibernian FC 27

Candidates who competed Disability Inclusion Training 38 Dance showcase draws the crowds Yet another sell-out at the Churchill Theatre in February 2020 as hundreds of children

RAISING and young people put on their dancing shoes and performed ASPIRATIONS for a delighted crowd of family and friends. The vision behind the Annual Dance Showcase was to shine a celebratory spotlight on pupils from schools across the city who dance week in week out in groups of all ages and abilities from recreational first timers dancing in their lunch break to competitive dance groups who train multiple times a week.

It is this diversity which makes the Active Schools dance programme so special, and we couldn’t do it without the dedicated dance companies, coaches, parent volunteers and senior pupils who deliver sessions with commitment and passion.

This year over 250 young dancers ranging from P1-S6 took to the stage in 24 groups from Primary, High, and ASN schools. Guest performances wowed the audience from Edinburgh College Performing Arts Studio Scotland (PASS) and several of our partner dance schools, including Live It The event was such a great way for the young performers to show what they have learned in front of an enthusiastic and supportive audience. We’re sure the choreography for next year’s show has already begun in enthusiastic dance groups throughout Edinburgh!

I was so impressed with the event and the organisation; my daughter really enjoyed her first Active Schools dance show experience.

Parent Pupil at Leith Academy gets Rugby fit Care-experienced young people can face greater barriers to participation in sport, such as limited finance, transport, low motivation or confidence, lacking the correct clothing or equipment and not having someone to support them in staying physically active. Active Schools Coordinator Lee Goodfellow sought to address

RAISING this, working in partnership with Leith Academy’s Senior Leadership Team, Leith Rugby Club and Edinburgh Leisure to implement the ‘Care-Experienced’ ASPIRATIONS programme, which aimed to empower vulnerable young people to lead more active, healthy lives and develop new skills through physical activity. Lee drew up a plan for an S3 pupil to be mentored for 4 periods a week, including rugby training in school, helping deliver Active Schools sessions in a cluster primary school, and fitness workouts in Edinburgh Leisure's local gym

By the end of the term the pupil The young person’s confidence increased was confidently and responsibly to the point where he felt comfortable leading warm ups and cool downs, attending the gym on his own and going setting up drills with equipment, interacting with the children and along to Leith RFC training sessions at helping to develop their skills - weekends. none of this would have happened at the start of the term The link between Active Schools, Leith Academy and the rugby club meant that Rugby Development Officer his membership fees were also subsidised. Leith RFC

Each pupil's needs are unique and tailoring each programme to their goals is important. The difference this project can make to young people’s career aspirations and general wellbeing is remarkable, and a great example of what can be achieved working in partnership.

Pupil at Liberton HS gets stronger and fitter Qualifications aren’t always guaranteed. Some young people struggle to maintain attendance at school for numerous personal and social reasons. A group of pupils at Liberton High School were identified as requiring extra support, one of whom was known to the Active Schools Coordinator from previous sports sessions in school. Robert Ure, the Active Schools Co-ordinator for the Liberton Cluster took the young person under his wing, developing a strength programme for him to follow in the school fitness suite to support him in the construction industry work experience he was gaining.

The pupil began to show new levels of consistency, regularly attending P.E and the change in his behaviour was noticed by the school’s Senior Leadership Team. The result was that he gained a National 4 qualification in P.E. against the odds of his previous academic record. This young person’s story illustrates what a difference a positive role model can make, and how Active Schools programmes can make a significant difference not just to participants’ health and wellbeing, but also to their academic achievement and future prospects. Creating Possibilities Community swimming club dives in at the deep WE VALUE end to help children with ASN Overcoming obstacles to create possibilities for children and young people is an essential skill for the Active Schools Coordinators. A pupil at Portobello High School with complex physical and learning needs was enrolled on to the High School Swimming Club. Unfortunately, due to the unmanageable risks involved in including a swimmer with these needs into a busy session, he was deemed unable to participate in the club. This decision did not sit comfortably with anyone involved, and Paddy Dearlove the Active Schools Co-ordinator for the Portobello cluster worked hard to find a solution, working closely with key school staff and with Aquatic Learning (a Community Sports Hub Partner) who offered one-to-one swimming sessions to the pupil, with the long term aim of him being able to participate in the mainstream extra-curricular club. Since the sessions started the pupil has made great progress and the Guidance department at the school have asked if another pupil with Additional Support Needs could be incorporated. This has again been successfully managed by Aquatic Learning at no cost to the school or pupil. Both pupils have benefitted greatly from increased confidence and independence, and their futures look brighter and more physically active thanks to the positive dedication of their school, community swimming club, and Active Schools Coordinator. New Jui Jitsu club for Edinburgh Juniors New opportunities in the community for children and young people to participate in Jui Jitsu began with an inquisitive local school parent, who noticed there was no Jui Jitsu. He expressed interest in setting up a new club to create these possibilities, and worked with his local Active Schools Coordinator, Eliot Ambrose, CREATING the Active Schools Co-ordinator to establish the Edinburgh Junior Jui Jitsu

POSSIBILITIES Foundation (EJJJF for short!). The Head Coach recruited volunteer instructors from local Universities, who received training and support from Active Schools as the new sessions were planned. Word spread fast through the Gillespie’s cluster schools and via social media. Within 3 months of the first club session in September 2019, a committed cohort of brand-new Jui Jitsu participants were learning fresh skills and gaining confidence, which culminated in the first ever club grading.

Our club has seen some amazing students; these children achieving moves they didn’t think possible to begin with. We saw quiet and reserved students coming out of their shells. Different groups and ages of students mixing with each other who wouldn't have done so outside the club. Seeing them grow in their ability, confidence and community has been amazing! Atif Ahmed EJJJF Head Coach

8 New volunteers facilitate first Jui Jitsu club

The New Year saw new members, new uniforms and new belts being worn with pride. EJJJF also plan to attend their first National Jui Jitsui Conference. The cherry on top of the martial arts cake was Sensei Atif Ahmed being awarded Scottish Instructor of the Year in recognition of his service. Active Schools are so grateful for the highly valued volunteers who are creating possibilities like this for children all over the City of Edinburgh. Students develop experience and skills through Active Schools opportunities Active Schools are so grateful for the highly-valued volunteers who are creating new possibilities like this for children all over the City of Edinburgh. This year we strengthened our relationships with Edinburgh Napier University, Edinburgh CREATING College and Performing Arts Studio Scotland (PASS – in Edinburgh College) to

POSSIBILITIES increase our ability to offer placements to students on sports courses in each Higher Education Facility.

Our first Volunteer Induction Evening took place the week before clubs commenced to give our new coaches the chance to meet their support network, learn the ropes and hear the development opportunities that lay ahead through Active Schools Edinburgh.

I really enjoyed the positive approach that you guys had and the positive energy that you spread during the session to make us feel comfortable. I really understood the massive organisation behind Active Schools and all the support that you guys offer. Fabrizio Di Battista Volunteer, Edinburgh College

The Dance and Drama Degree students from PASS starred as guest performers at our Dance Showcase, in addition to helping plan the event, assisting with dance club delivery and observing Dance Education in a High School setting. Timelines were in place which enabled students to progress from assisting to leading their own clubs in upcoming terms. The student volunteers helped inspire our senior pupils and show the wide variety of opportunities on offer to them in further education and, for dance especially, it highlighted the pathways into dance as a profession.

As relationships with colleges and universities across the city go from strength to strength, Active Schools are equipping and up-skilling a young workforce for a life in sport and physical activity. We look forward to the new academic year’s fresh wave of students. 42

new student volunteers gained work placement experience this year

Making a Difference

Inspiring teachers to go the extra mile WE VALUE

Lorraine Dickson, the Active Schools Co-ordinator in the WHEC cluster has always worked closely with the staff at Sighthill Primary, and this year she saw an opportunity to make a difference not just to pupils, but to teachers too. During an in-service day at the start of the academic year, she delivered a presentation on the exciting opportunities which Active Schools provide, and how rewarding it can be to become part of it as a volunteer coach.

After her presentation a few teachers stayed behind to chat further about the training opportunities they could benefit from and the support which Active Schools would provide to them as volunteer coaches. Lorraine encouraged the two members of staff to pursue their ideas of starting a basketball and cheerleading club respectively. Before long the new teacher- coaches had made the clubs so engaging and popular that they were running at full capacity!

I've always thought of doing a cheerleading club after school but i didn't know where to start.

Tricia Hepburn Sighthill PS

28 Momentum continued to build, as a third teacher expressed an interest to get in on the pupils enjoying action, having felt supported by Active Schools new clubs run by and inspired by the other two teachers. volunteer teachers Consequently a third new club – table tennis this time – launched in the final term. When Active Schools are able to work in partnership with school staff in such a positive way, we are able to make a difference that impacts not just pupils, but teachers, parents and the whole school community. Partnership Planning is PEPAS forte

Following a Physical Education, Physical Activity and Sport (PEPAS) meeeting, St John's RC Primary School created a pupil group to focus on improving physical activity provision with the PEPAS pupil group worked on a development plan to

MAKING A increase participation and worked towards achieving the School Sport Gold Award, DIFFERENCE an initiative rolled out by Sportscotland.

The pupils conducted a survey to find out what sports the pupils wanted to see within the extra- curricular programme. The pupil group also spoke to teachers to find out about their sporting backgrounds. Taking onboard the pupils views and improving sport specific CPD, Active Schools delivered a Multi Skills workshop for staff during an in-service day. The staff really enjoyed learning and took back their learnings to the PE classes. Pupils also wanted to thank the coaches and volunteers by writing thank you cards to show their appreciation for the many opportunities they had on offer and for the coaches hard work and effort.

Pupil voice is important and having the representatives in the year groups really helped ensure the activities on offer were what the pupils would like to participate in.

The ideas generated by pupils helped improve PEPAS and showed the schools appreciation for the hard work of the coaches and volunteers.The coaches really appreciated the Thank You cards from the pupils, the teachers enjoyed the CPD session and now have a resource pack to introduce new extra-curricular multi skills session going forward. Communicating with teachers in person really helped build a good relationship and added value to email communication as teachers now know more about what opportunities and support Active Schools can offer. Being present at P1 inductions and drop-in booking sessions led to attending parent council meetings and this has helped parents know the benefits of working together and getting involved as a volunteer. Collectively, the above helped progress towards achieving Gold School Sport Award for the school as a whole community.

Motivating & Inspiring

WE VALUE Thousands of families take on Active Schools twitter challenges during lockdown The biggest challenge faced by the Active Schools Team this year was the Covid-19 pandemic, which derailed all our programmes and events from March onwards. However, the Active Schools team quickly adapted and worked together despite being apart, each in their own homes planning how to continue motivating and inspiring children and young people in new ways.

The team took the programmes online, and reached out to thousands of families and teachers via daily ‘A-Z Challenges’ on Twitter. More than 20 fun videos have received over 30,000 views, featuring Active Schools Coordinators (and family members!) attempting a variety of homeadapted games. Everything from Tik-Tok dance-routines to loo-roll or balloon versions of popular sports, and even ‘Soccia’ – Boccia with rolled-up socks!.

Many schools have used our Tweets to encourage pupils to stay active at home. Engagement with education has been aided by literacy or numeracy learning elements being included in the challenges Participants were rewarded for sharing their attempts with Active Schools water bottle prizes – another incentive to stay healthy beyond Covid-19. BBC Radio Scotland even got wind of what we were doing and invited an Active Schools Coordinator on to the Breakfast Show to discuss the importance of staying physically active at home during lockdown.

This tangible increase in families physical activity level has created positive connections in our communities which continues to ripple out through homes and gardens across the city of Edinburgh.

LOCKDOWN 2020 2,600 LIKES Games @ The Hub goes Virtual

June is usually the time to celebrate our flagship event; Games @ the Hub where over 2000 P6 pupils descend on Forrester & St Augustine's Hub to participate in

over 15 different sports.

& INSPIRING MOTIVATING However this year Games @ the Hub 2020 went virtual for the first time, enabling an even greater number of pupils to participate, as evidenced by the 69 schools who registered (including 2 special schools).

The event consisted of an opening ceremony where pupils shared their active journey through lockdown via drawings, words and photos – all of which were very inspirational. A variety of 14 sports and activities gave the children plenty of choice for participation, with score-based levels which helped them to set goals and try to improve their best efforts. Hundreds of pupils showcased their participation on Twitter via photos and videos of their activities, and the Active Schools Twitter had 86,443 impressions on the day. The afternoon was rounded off with a sports quiz to rival ‘A Question of Sport’, and participants were able to tally up their scores and make their own medals at home.

A teacher at St. Peter’s commented that “Games @ the Hub was very exciting and just what the kids need at the moment”, a parent commented about her daughter while “The challenges for each sport really helped to encourage her to keep trying and improve her scores and skills” (Parent, Craigroyston PS) The Active Schools team would like to say a massive thank you to Sports Development Officers, Community Sports Hub Clubs and Scottish Governing Bodies for their input which made this event possible. Senior Pupils take the lead in Netball

Rabella, Arya and Sadiyah are three incredibly motivating and inspiring Girls Ambassadors at St Augustine’ s High School with a love for Netball. They wanted to pass this

passion on to younger pupils at St. Joseph’s Primary, by & INSPIRING MOTIVATING setting up and developing a weekly Netball club. Beginning with just a handful of pupils the sessions grew rapidl y in popularity to 28 regular and committed players! The three young leaders planned every lesson thoughtfully, organised fun friendly matches with other schools and even entered the EPPSA Netball festival.

The girls are excited about pursuing their Netball Coaching Level 1 qualification as soon as they can, and hope to continue 28 building on the truly vibrant, sustainable and fun club they have New netball players created. in P6-7 www.joininedinburgh.org/sports/active-schools/

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