County Durham American Sports Festival

Context, Intent and Target Group

Background Information

Many activities and events that are delivered in our area are based on historical events and the success that they have had. We wanted to deliver a new event that was based on the interests and ideas of children across the county and that could engage a different group of children who were not currently given the opportunity to represent their school in sport and physical activity. Youth voice was used to decide the type of activities that interested children and our Easington Young Leaders were involved in the planning and delivery of the day.  To aid transition from KS2 to KS3, children from years 6 and 7 were invited to take part. 

What was the aim of work?

The aim of the event was to engage a different group of children in physical activity and to provide a transition event that would give them more confidence when transitioning from KS2 to KS3. It was felt that the best way to engage a new group of children was to use youth voice to design a new event that was based on the current interests of the children that were going to be involved. I wanted to deliver an event that would engage children from across the county and not just children from my area.

Which outcome(s) did it focus on?

• 4. To support the personal development of targeted young people through youth engagement and leadership

Which expectation(s) did it meet?

• Prioritising resources to implement meaningful youth engagement so young people have a voice and choice of opportunity.
• Co-design and deliver a broad and balanced School Games offer that is informed by insight and youth engagement and embeds positive experiences. It is expected that an SGO will facilitate a minimum of 12 targeted inter competitions/events/festivals with clear intent.

Community links

• Active Partnerships
• Community sports clubs
• Leisure providers

Intent

The intent was to involve the children of County Durham in the design and delivery of a new event that would engage a different group of children in sport and physical activity. Once the theme of the event had been decided, it was important that students were still involved in the decision making process and so the Easington Young Leaders were given a key role in the planning and delivery of the day. The motivation behind the work was that I had not previously planned an event where most of the decisions were made by the children. I really wanted to champion how youth voice can be used to inspire children and to motivate them to take part in a range of activities that are relevant to them. I felt that this would make it a more meaningful experience and hope that this will help to provide a positive effect on their physical literacy. 

Target group

• Primary Schools
• Secondary Schools
• Specific Year Group
• 6
• 7
• Targeted Groups of Young People

Aligns to Schools Games Intents of:

• Develop confidence and competence within physical activity/sport skills
• Build social skills and connections (i.e. sense of belonging)
• Engage new/target groups of young people (tackling inequalities)
• Supporting transition
• Develop leadership, character, life skills
• Create positive experiences

Implementation

At the beginning of the year,  County Durham Sport (our local AP) completed a range of youth voice sessions where  discussions with children in a range of year groups took place about what type of physical activity interested them and what barriers they had to taking part. It was clear from the feedback that the children were motivated by American sports and that one of the barriers they had was that there wasn't easy access to sports that they were interested in. As part of our termly County Durham SGO meeting, we decided that I would be responsible for organising an American Sports festival, working closely with  CDS to organise and deliver the event. Other SGO's from across the county were involved in selecting children that would be targeted in their area to be involved. I worked with the Easington Young Leaders, meeting with leaders to get their ideas on what type of activity could be involved in the American sports festival and to ask for their ideas on what extra things we could do to make it more of a positive experience for the children. They were also given a budget so that they could decide what resources could be used to give a 'wow factor' to the event. They decided to buy flags, bunting, photo booth accessories, balloons and a variety of other American themed merchandise. 

Outside clubs were booked to deliver sessions in American Football, kinball, basketball, dodgeball, soccer and baseball. Our young leaders also assisted with the delivery of the event. The event was delivered in the summer term, using the Durham University sports facilities. 

Some of the schools that were targeted for the event were primary schools that had children transitioning to the secondary school that was also invited to take part. PE staff from the secondary school took time to speak to the children from the primary school that will be joining their school in September. Young leaders were also present from the secondary school and spent time with the primary school children that were planning to join their school.

Impact

The event had an impact on a range of levels. Firstly, the youth voice element gave children the confidence that their voice was heard. All children that were involved in the youth voice consultations were informed that their ideas were listened to  and that it had resulted in the delivery of the American Sports Festival. 

The children that attended were able to take part in a range of sports that were relevant to them and that motivated them to take part. PE leads were asked to identify children that do not usually take part in sport and physical activity and who had limited opportunity to represent their school. The feedback recieved from both themselves and their staff on the day was very positive. The primary children that took part were also able to meet staff and students from the secondary school that they will be transitioning to in September. This provided an invaluable transition event for them. Primary school PE Leads were told that this would be a transition event and that it would be good if they selected children that both might struggle with the transition to secondary school and that don't usually take part in physical activities where they get the chance to represent their school. 

Young leaders were given the opportunity to develop their planning skills by being involved in the design of the event. They were also able to develop their leadership skills on the day as they were involved in the delivery of the event. Two leaders worked with a basketball coach who has his own local company delivering basketball sessions to younger children. They developed a link with the coach and were keen to volunteer with him during his sessions in the community. In addition to this, the young leaders involved were given the opportunity to access the sports facilities at Durham University. This would hopefully inspire them and give them more confidence to access further education pathways when they leave school.

There was also an impact on the secondary PE staff who were able to build relationships with children who were going to transition to their school in September. This was particularly important as some of the children who attended may struggle with the transition to secondary school. Both staff and children found it very positive that they were able to have a friendly face that the children would recognise when they attend school in September.

Challenges

The main challenge was funding for the event. However, County Durham Sport were very generous and were able to fund the hire of the facility, booking of coaches and the purchase of the resources that the young leaders had asked for. 

Another challenge was the time of year that the event was delivered. As it was close to the end of term, some schools that were invited were not able to attend due to other events that were going on in school. We overcame this by inviting other schools but it may be worth considering the date of the event when it it is delivered next year.

Sustainability

All of the links have been made with clubs so that the event can be delivered again next year. Some of the resources that were bought were kept so that they can be used again. Other resources were  given to the school children for them to take back to school. The planning would largely remain the same as the feedback was so good. However, if youth voice in the future changes the direction of the events that we plan then we will be flexible enough to incorporate this in future events.

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