Year 7 Transition Event: The Paignton Zoo Challenge!

Context, Intent and Target Group

Background Information

Spanning the three South Devon towns of Torquay, Paignton and Brixham, Torbay has a collective population of over 136,000. Taken from the Joint Strategic Needs Assessment 2022/23, Torbay has:

• A predominantly low-wage, low-skill economy
• Pockets of significant poverty and deprivation, and is ranked as the most deprived upper-tier local authority in the South West. Inequalities continue to widen as relative deprivation worsens, and 27% of Torbay residents live in the 20% most deprived areas in England. 
• The second highest rate of ‘Cared for Children’ in England, and the rate in the South West. 
• A significant variation in health and wellbeing across the bay. In it's most affluent areas, residents can expect to live an average of over eight years longer than those living in more deprived communities. 

Whilst the event was organised for mainstream and SEND students in Year 7 who were struggling with their transition into secondary school, the above information was very much at the forefront of our minds when planning the event, as we saw the significant benefits for those from income-deprived families to be part of the event at Paignton Zoo.

What was the aim of work?

The event aimed to address the challenge of social inclusion and confidence-building among those students most at need, and it was therefore important that the event remained free of charge, even though the cost to deliver such an event were relatively high.

Which outcome(s) did it focus on?

• 3. To have a clear focus on secondary school engagement and transition points

Which expectation(s) did it meet?

• Using local insight and youth engagement to identify young people and schools that would most benefit from a targeted School Games offer.
• Developing a case study to show where you have made the most impact against local priorities, and through effective storytelling share your learning locally and nationally.
• Collaborating with key partners to inform the local and county offer to tackle inequalities and ensuring inclusive and safe practice.
• Work with schools to maintain and grow their active engagement in School Games.
• Engage with a minimum of one secondary school to promote 60 active minutes practice, and share this within the county and where appropriate nationally.
• Engage in county, regional and national networking by the Youth Sport Trust. This includes face-to-face and virtual support, Development Coach engagement, monthly updates and your termly review of your development plan.

Community links

• Active Partnerships
• Leisure providers
• SEND leads / SENCO

Intent

Our intent was to support those year 7 students, with a particular focus around engaging those from income deprived families, who were struggling with their transition to secondary school. We wanted to provide a fun event that was inclusive and that fostered friendships, boosted confidence, alleviated anxiety and encouraged teamwork. 

Target group

• Pupil Premium
• Secondary Schools
• Specific Year Group
• 7
• Targeted Groups of Young People

Implementation

Active Devon funded the event which meant that, apart from travel costs, the day was completely free for schools. Funds were understandably limited however, which meant entries were received on a first come, first served basis. In order to reach the schools with a greater number of participants from income deprived families, data was used to identify the schools we wished to target first. We collected data on the percentage of students having free school meals, and the IDACI decile and pupil location. Using this data (attached), we created three cohorts of schools - the first being the schools we most wanted to engage most of all, the last being the least. Invitations to the event were staggered, so cohort one received their invitation to the event several days before cohort two, and cohort two received their invitation before cohort three. This gave the schools we most wanted to engage more time to secure a place at the event and inform us of the number of children they would like to bring.

The day was structured to include a mix of problem-solving activities, teamwork challenges and animal spotting, enabling the students to actively participate and engage with each other in a positive, supportive environment (please see documents attached for further information about the day). A small, free reward (an ice cream or hot chocolate) was also offered to all participants after they had completed their challenges, which provided a little extra joy and excitement for the participants!

Impact

Five schools and seventy-nine participants attended the event, with an additional sixteen members of staff. Three out of the five schools were from cohort one (our priority group of schools), and the remaining two schools were cohort two. Unfortunately, due to an amber weather warning for high winds on the day the event was scheduled to take place, the event had to be postponed for a couple of weeks. This meant two additional schools were unable to make the new date, one of which would have been from cohort two.

The event successfully achieved its goal of providing a fun and inclusive experience for the participating students, as evidenced by the positive feedback received from both participants, school staff and a parent. The event prompted active engagement from the students, leading them to express their desire to participate in similar activities in the future.

Some stand-out feedback worthy of noting, includes: 

• Scared because I have never been here (participant feedback before the event)
• Seeing the animals / being silly made me feel sunny (participant feedback after the event)
• One girl said to me; I think there should be more events like this, I really enjoyed myself (teacher feedback after the event)
• What a wonderful way to encourage team work, as well as giving them an insight into all of these different amazing animals (teacher feedback after the event)
• My son has been having a particularly hard time with bullies at school, so giving him this opportunity to get to know other children outside of the school environment was really good for him. He thoroughly enjoyed it, thank you (parent feedback, after the event)

All feedback received:

School staff feedback:

• Thank you so much for yesterday's challenge at the zoo. The students absolutely loved it and want to do it again! What a wonderful way to encourage team work, as well as giving them an insight into all of these different amazing animals.
• We loved the event, thank you so much. The students really enjoyed having to answer the questions, they especially loved the selfie task! The ice-cream was also a lovely touch, thank you!
• Thanks, so much for organising. My staff thought it was brilliant. One girl said to me; I think there should be more events like this, I really enjoyed myself.

Parent feedback:

• My son has been having a particularly hard time with bullies at school, so giving him this opportunity to get to know other children outside of the school environment was really good for him. He thoroughly enjoyed it, thank you.

Participant post-it note comments BEFORE event had started:

• Scared/happy
• Anxious
• Bored/happy/sunny
• Good
• Terrified
• Bored
• Tired/annoyed
• Worried/excited
• Excited for it
• I don’t want to be here
• A bit nervous
• Good
• Sad and not happy
• I feel really happy
• Great
• Happy and excited
• Tired
• Nervous
• Cold
• Tired/happy/excited/crazy
• OK – ish
• Normal
• Scared/ worried
• I am feeling amazing
• Excited/happy
• I am feeling fine
• Happy and cold
• Anxious and scared
• Excited and happy
• Scared because I have never been here
• Happy and a bit tired
• I don’t know

Participant post-it note comments AFTER event had finished:

• Everything! Thanks
• It’s fun
• Everything- thank you
• So happy
• Good and tired
• Seeing the animals / being silly made me feel sunny
• Happy / tired
• Happy
• Good
• Very good – had lots of fun other than getting hit by a seagull!
• Good
• Tired / hot 
• Happy
• Happy and tired
• Hot and chilled
• Good
• Great
• Exhausting but good – I want to take a nap after this
• Good
• Good – the animals were really nice
• I am feeling very wild
• I feel the exactly same – really happy!
• Fun
• Fun / exciting
• I think it was amazing
• Good / happy
• Extremely good
• Good
• Happy
• Happy and tired
• Really happy
• It was a fun day

Challenges

Getting the messaging and communication right, and landing it with the right members of staff to ensure the group of young people we want to engage are reached and engaged.

Funding - such events are expensive and would not be possible without additional funding. With the help and support of Active Devon, we were lucky enough to be able to go ahead with the event and offer a completely free opportunity to our target group of young people.

Sustainability

Unfortunately, we were unable to secure any additional financial support or incentives from Paignton Zoo, such as a discounted family pass for participants that attended the event.  Active Devon however, have confirmed they will fund another Paignton Zoo event in November 2024, so we will use this opportunity to discuss with Paignton Zoo again if there are any opportunities to support participants returning in the future.

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