Pupil benefits:
One of the key successes has been the Disability Club. Working in partnership, the school, local authority and Action for Children (AfC) are using the school facilities to host the Disability club. This provides a good transition opportunity for pupils who will enrol at the Special School. The school’s facilities are made available at no cost to the WRU for the weekly wheelchair sessions. This adds to an inclusive rugby offer in the region. A representative from WRU noted that they hold a similar club in Newtown, but there are huge costs to hire facilities at the Leisure Centre, nor are the acoustics good for participants with neurological disabilities, whereas the indoor hall at the school has great acoustics and “is ideal. A couple of attendees at the Newtown session now travel to the Welshpool one because of this.”
In several clubs based at WCiWPS there is a mix of WCiWPS pupils and those who attend other schools. This includes the Disability Club and Newtown Youth Theatre, and enables pupils to mix within their own school and across schools, developing social skills and making new friends. There is a consistent offer (also supporting parents) as the club continues in some of the holiday periods. The Headteacher commented:
“Genuinely feel we are being inclusive; it is allowing us to be inclusive and that is one of our values and ethos for us because we have such a diverse demographic here and the fact we can work with different sports in different ways has just helped us increase that diversity.”
There was further evidence of the positive experience of pupils in relation to physical activity participation in the school’s most recent Estyn report (March 2022): “When given the opportunity, pupils take part in physical exercise activities enthusiastically”.
The Headteacher strongly agreed with the following statements:
- The pilot has increased the variety of sport and physical activity offered;
- The pilot has encouraged previously inactive children to become involved in sport and physical activity;
- The pilot has encouraged previously active children to become involved in the additional activity provided;
- 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;
- Senior leadership team are happy with how the programme has been delivered. Support from and reporting to school governors on the pilot was highlighted as part of this.
Enablers for this project include the following:
The relationship between partners:
This has been a new collaboration. The school, a local authority representative, a NGB and an established community group (Action for Children) worked together to benefit from the AEBSD intervention. The local authority representative coordinated the initial development of the project and application process. Their role, with experience in managing large scale projects and with links across different LA service areas meant they had a good understanding of the wider context of the region and where there were gaps in facilities and provision.
Ensuring there is a cross section of partners involved is important: for example, the relationship between the club, Action for Children and the school was fortuitous in some respects, as they weren’t all aware of each other prior to AEBSD. However, because the NGB representative was aware the school was looking to engage more community groups, they could therefore connect the existing club to a new facility with mutual benefits. Action for Children’s group was supported to take part in physical activity sessions (disability rugby) and access a suitable venue, and the WRU inclusion officer had a ready-made group with sufficient numbers to provide a good experience for participants, introduce additional participants and develop and grow participation. In separate interviews, interviewees described each other as “welcoming” “fantastic”, “incredible” and (working with them) “has been amazing”.
The school actively engaging with the community:
This was enabled by the school headteacher being a representative on the national and local Community Focussed Schools (CFS) groups, making connections. The Headteacher actively reached out to other schools and community groups to develop further community use of the school’s new facilities. One of the supporting factors was having capacity to do this role. The school had access to a school coordinator (and subsequently receiving funding from CFS for a second officer) to engage with families and the wider community. This active engagement is again supported by evidence from the school’s latest Estyn inspection report which stated that “The school knows its pupils, their backgrounds and the local community very well”, and “Leaders have a solid understanding of the diverse needs of individual pupils and the local community, they have a 'can do' approach and strive with great passion to meet these needs effectively.”
A simple but effective model:
For the Disability session, the model has worked particularly well. The school provides the facilities and “amazing” support. Action for Children have a ready-made group. WRU provides the rugby session and support from their staff. For the wider community the school is a quality facility that is accessible, with a range of indoor and outdoor options and a place that is comfortable and welcoming to participants and providers. This all helps to encourage participation and access to wellbeing opportunities.
Sustainability:
Those involved in this pilot are highly motivated to sustain the provision beyond the funding period and see this as their responsibility: “responsibility for sustainability lies with us...If the ‘free’ element changes, it won’t be the end of it” (WRU).
The pilot was hugely valued, as illustrated by this comment about AEBSD funding.
“It has been phenomenal really to be part of this. It is going to improve life chances of these children. If they get into sport they can go a long way, with their physical health, with their mental health, with a career in sport... it opens so many doors, it makes you a sociable person, they get to know people from the wider area”. (Headteacher)
