Project Background
One of the main aims of the Change4life Primary Sports Club in Sywell CEVA Primary School is to promote exercise in and out of school amongst children from reception and year 1. The club promotes exercise as a fun, exciting and rewarding way for children to lead healthy lives and grow in confidence.
Delivering the Project The Change4life Sports Club was delivered by me (a volunteer at the school) and four children from Year 6 (the Sports Crew). The club was delivered on Wednesday lunchtimes to six children from reception and year 1 (three children from each year group). The club provided excitement for all participating, including the Sports Crew from year 6 who helped in making the activities fun, exciting and engaging. Involving children in the delivery of the club was a huge success and contributed significantly to the structure and organisation of the club. One issue that did arise was the growing number of children wishing to participate in the club activities.
Project Impact
After several weeks of delivering the club, more children were joining in during the club activities which affected my ability to efficiently structure the time available. The lesson I took from this was to adapt a stricter approach to the participation of children in the club. Only those who were initially selected to participate in the club would be allowed to do so, unless they were unable to, in which case another child could take their place. Another issue that arose was the location for where the group activities could take place. During the warmer months of the year, children would be playing on the field which would leave the playground free for the activities to take place. However during colder and particularly wet weather when children are unable to play on the field there is limited space for the group to take place. However, this issue could be addressed by using one of the larger classrooms in the school to deliver the club.
The Future
I am hoping to continue delivering the Change4life Primary Sports Club in the near future as it was very popular with the children helping to deliver the club and the club members. The activities used during the time I had allocated for the group were a complete success and thoroughly enjoyed by the children.
Feedback
The wristbands were very popular with the group members and helped to create a sense of belonging. These promoted exercise outside of school and members of the group did show me on a regular basis that they had been using their wristbands outside of school. The stickers group participants received at the end of the club sessions helped to promote a sense of achievement and personal growth amongst the children. The activities attempted during the club sessions were successful and it was good to see the children having so much fun whilst gaining from the benefits of exercise at the same time. Some of the simpler activities were just as much fun as those that required the setting up of equipment and were therefore used on a more regular basis. They required less time to organise and enabled more efficient use of the time available to run the club.
Who to contact for more info about this project
Thomas Sturgess
(Volunteer at Sywell CEVA Primary School)