Sofrydd Primary School

School Focus: Collaboration between sport and youth services; a school as a safe space to be active

Expression of interest overview

Within the isolated community of Sofrydd, situated on the outskirts of Blaenau Gwent, there are no facilities or open space within the community, outside of the school. A recent report found that 33.4% of the population in Sofrydd do not own a car, which is higher to the regional (29%) and national (22.9%) figures, meaning that transport options for residents, to travel to facilities, are limited. In response to this, Sofrydd Primary School sought to extend access to the school grounds by keeping the access gate open for extended hours. Where weather prohibited outdoor activity, or training delivery was required, indoor spaces (e.g. library, classroom) were made available. The intention was for the AEBSD funding to be spent on the following three overarching areas to support increasing the offer of the school to the community in an inclusive manner:

Staff costs
Equipment
Provision of workshops

Programme implementation

The school received funding from November 2021 to July 2022. Attendance numbers recorded by the school fluctuated across the months, with the greatest attendance in March (120 participants) and the lowest in April (51 participants). Monthly learning logs listed activities the school had been offering, such as dance, Taekwondo, Off the Streets provision, arts and crafts, multi-sports sessions, portable skate ramp, and play equipment. Through the monthly completion of learning logs, the following key reflective points were highlighted, and the school’s implementation of the programme was documented in the timeline shown in Figure 9.

What worked well:

Parents wanted provision in Sofrydd area
Consultations with pupils
Physical activity levels increased
Engagement with Aneurin Leisure and external providers to deliver and support sessions

Learning points:

Staff to pupil ratios were limited due to ill health which caused some sessions to be cancelled – the school is looking at additional staffing options for the future

Next steps

Summer holiday provision organised, using learning from previous months

PERCEPTIONS OF STAFF AND PUPILS

Figure 10 shows the positive experiences and the areas for improvement drawn from the focus groups and interviews with pupils and staff, respectively. Overlap between the responses from the pupils and staff was found. For example, both reported that just having something to do and somewhere to go was a positive. In addition, pupils reported positives such as making friends from other schools, opportunities for play, and food provision. The staff member noted how the community cohesion and the partnership working were positive aspects. Regarding areas for improvement, one suggestion from both pupils and staff was the need to split sessions for different age groups. Furthermore, pupils would like more structure, to try new activities, and to have themed sessions or trips. The staff member suggested the school could become a community hub and aim to improve behaviour.

NEXT STEPS – SEPTEMBER 2022 ONWARDS

School to embed the learning from the pilot into a sustainable long-term model.

The following data was not available for reporting for this school: Pupil’s survey

Positives

Pupils	Pupils and Staff	Staff
Make Friends from Other Schools	Something to do	Community Cohesion
Opportunity to Play with Friends		Partnership Working
Food Provision		“Making sure those children have a place to go to where they are safe and looked after, they’re cared for.”
“Because I’m bored on my switch, then I realise it’s Tuesday today and I want to do something fun.”		“Community cohesion has really been a priority to bring in.”
“I go outside and play with the boys or sit inside and chill.”		“Having some of these external providers in to provide that different activity for young people.”
“Every time I come here, I either make new friends or do different things.”		“The kids have got somewhere to go of an evening.”
“I come here for the food…and for the sports.”

Improvements

Pupils	Pupils and Staff	Staff
More structure	Split between age groups	Become a Community Hub
Try new activities		Behaviour
Themed sessions or trips		“I think just that community buyin from the school, you know, school is in a perfect location to be that hub.”
“More advanced stuff, sports wise…basketball yeah, football.”		“I’d love to have that as a proper community for all ages (yeah) and parents involved, be a hub for the community.”
“Start a basketball team and have a trainer come in.”		“I know the team have come up with behavioural issues which you know you can get in any session. I think then that is just kind of a case of those guys managing that.”
“You know on Halloween, do a scary thing.”
“Do a younger one’s version and the older ones.”
“The age range is sometimes quite broad, so I think it’s just kind of managing that within the session.”

Findings

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Evaluation Of The ‘Active Education Beyond The School Day’ Programme

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Sofrydd Primary School

School Focus: Collaboration between sport and youth services; a school as a safe space to be active

Expression of interest overview

Programme implementation

What worked well:

Learning points:

Next steps

PERCEPTIONS OF STAFF AND PUPILS

NEXT STEPS – SEPTEMBER 2022 ONWARDS

Positives

Pupils

Pupils and Staff

Staff

Improvements

Pupils

Pupils and Staff

Staff

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