Dylan Thomas Community School is based in Cockett, Swansea and serves Cockett and Townhill areas. The school is in one of the most deprived areas of Wales and as of February 2022, it had the fourth highest percentage of pupils who were eligible for free school meals of all secondary schools in Wales.
A successful bid to the Sport Wales/Collaboration Fund had resulted in a new floodlit 3G training area being developed on the school grounds. This new facility is already benefiting the wider community. However, the school identified that additional provision would help user groups to maximise the use of the school facilities, such as access to indoor changing facilities and use of indoor facilities. The school also consulted six pupils (some who identified as non-binary) to design new gender-neutral changing rooms. AEBSD funding was spent on three areas to increase the offer of the school to the community in an inclusive manner:
- Refurbishing changing rooms for girls who were body conscious, providing privacy, plus developing a specific changing areas for LGBTQ+ pupils;
- Additional hours for school sports co-ordinator; and
- Provision of indoor sport equipment for after school and community use (e.g. fitness pack, storage).
The school received funding from January to December 2022. Due to construction delays in the upgrading of the changing rooms, the facilities have only recently been completed, and while initial feedback is positive, any longer term impact from the improvements is yet to emerge.
The need for this investment, however, is emphasised by recent feedback from pupils in the school. The school is also involved in a West Wales Participation Group pilot running in four different schools. Dylan Thomas are being supported by the local authority sports development team to work with a group of Year 9 girls who are disengaged from Physical Education. They are being supported through a co-creation approach to develop a physical activity offer that meets their needs, is appealing, and helps them transition into community based activity in the long term. This has involved several sessions listening to the group of pupils and talking about what prevents them from being engaged. The experience of using poor changing rooms and being seen by others, was a typical issue raised, and was a common finding from pupils in the three other pilot school groups. The AEBSD investment has now added to the quality of the overall facilities that are available to pupils and the community and has the potential to encourage those pupils who are less engaged with sport and PE to feel more comfortable in that environment.
Outcomes
Pupil benefits:
There has been an increased focus on inclusion through improvements to facilities and support from the local authority sports development team. The Headteacher identified that a key outcome has been the development of a changing area for the school’s eight or nine children who are going through gender identity changes. Prior to the upgrade, these pupils had been having to use a disabled toilet for changing in – which was in a different part of the school.
“That has been marvellous for a number of children... they feel more part of the school and accepted.” (Headteacher)
The Headteacher gave a specific example of a male pupil whose preference was to wear ‘female’ clothing, accessories and products. This individual felt excluded in their previous school and eventually had to leave before coming to Dylan Thomas, where the pupil was said to be far happier. The Headteacher commented on how the investment means that these pupils can now feel part of the school community and supported rather than separated from their peers. The positioning of the new facility also helps on a practical basis – it is easier for the staff to manage transfer between lessons when the whole class is able to use the same part of the building.
Community benefits
While at the stage of interview there were no new groups accessing the building, anecdotal evidence showed that those clubs that did use the school were having a better quality experience. There has been positive ad hoc feedback from users on the changing room improvements and this suggests that it has improved the school’s relationship with the community.
The investment has supported a more consistent community use. Previously, during winter months, clubs who used Dylan Thomas to provide outdoor rugby, football and basketball would normally change venues and use other facilities because of the lack of, or poor quality of changing areas, coupled with a lack of spaces to leave bags and equipment in the dry. This year, clubs have maintained their use into the winter months. This supports all year round provision and accessible exit routes for pupils - with club provision on the doorstep rather than having to travel elsewhere. A disability basketball group currently uses the school. The school also makes the hall available for community groups during poor weather conditions.
School benefits: A further benefit for the school has been knock on advantages when bidding for additional funding. The Headteacher described that because the school was able to demonstrate that they had sought and been awarded funding for capital projects and had gone through a thorough process exploring logistics and costings, it put the school in a ready position to put in a further bid to the LA. They were successful in securing further investment for male changing rooms – success of one funding bid brought in additional investment as part of a wider plan to develop the school as a community hub with quality facilities. “The various developments have complemented each other.”
The AEBSD funding has helped create safe accessible spaces with more outdoor lighting around the school, minimising dark areas and spaces that may have made pupils feel unsafe. The school has noted that a large number of people approach them to lease the two MUGAs on site, but the school does not feel it is appropriate to generate income from facilities that have been funded to address access and provision in areas where there are barriers to taking part for pupils and the local community (including cost).
Next steps:
The school is keen to do more to develop community use, including developing literature and advertising on social media to try and bring different groups in. This might include greater use of the indoor facilities and the school’s sports hall. The barrier is the time to develop the literature and advertising and to prepare the materials, although the school is discussing this with the LA sports development team. “If we can do that, that will help expand the offer we can provide.” There are longer term ambitions to make further improvements through facility investment and support to develop provision, including a full size pitch to support the adult community offer. This is one of the goals the school wants to explore, particularly as there is no other full size facility nearby.
The Headteacher strongly agreed with the following statements:
- Parents of our students have been engaging in the pilot;
- School governors are aware of the programme and are happy with how it has been delivered;
- The pilot has improved the school’s relationship with the wider community;
- The school has had increased engagement with the wider community since the pilot started;
- Local clubs and community groups have connected with the school through the pilot;
- The local authority have assisted in the implementation of the pilot.
“It has been a real enhancement of what the school provides to its pupils as well as the community...A large number of children participating in clubs wouldn’t have previously...It has allowed us to ensure our ethos of being an inclusive school is lived and breathed.”
