The English Sports
Councils Big Picture reinforces how the ESC in
collaboration with a range of different partners is aiming to develop
sport in the future. The Big Picture is a generic term
describing how the ESC has developed programmes around the 3 key
headings of:
More People playing
sport
More places to play
sport
More Medals won through
higher standards of performance
Under each of these headings
there will be a set of initiatives that together will create what
we believe will be the most comprehensive sports development programme
in the world, and one that will lead to immeasurable, clear and
achievable outcomes.
In terms of Youth Sport
Development this is all about More People
playing sport in schools, in the community and in clubs which will
lead to higher levels of participation in sport.
The English Sports Council
is therefore now proposing 3 comprehensive programmes and a new
approach under the following headings:
Active Schools Building
on our work through the National Junior Sport Programme and introducing
new programmes essentially linked to schools to encourage young
people into sport and to keep them there. (Table Tennis is already
heavily involved through the BT Top Sport programme!);
Active Communities
To ensure that the whole community has the opportunity to take part
in sport and active recreation whatever the interests and standard
of play - participation remains the important feature;
Active Sports To encourage
those who have the interest and ability to improve their performance
will be about providing opportunities particularly for our best
young players, for quality performance.
The Big Picture
is completed by linking the 3 More People programmes
to the World Class programme where the opportunities to excel
are being developed through closer liaison with our major Governing
Bodies of Sport.
Active Schools aim is
simple - "to support Physical Education and school sport to
stimulate participation by all young people". Active schools
will continue to build on the 12 TOP activities that have been developed
through our partnership with the Youth Sport Trust - it has been
a huge success because of the way it links to the National Curriculum
and despite the new pressures on PE at primary level we are continuing
to develop dance and fitness packages.
But Active Schools is more
than just TOPS:
The Coaching for Teachers
scheme is on schedule to reach 12,000 teachers and remains a major
programme with 15 sports including new sports of badminton, volleyball
and boccia. A key role of the ETTA RDOs is to influence Local
Education Authorities to provide more table tennis courses for teachers
In its first 2 years Sportsmark
has attracted 20% of our secondary schools to apply for accreditation.
For its third year we are making the programme more developmental,
particularly where extra curricular provision is concerned .....
and we hope to have a recognition award scheme in place
soon for primary schools to assess their sports provision against
best practice benchmarks
In its first year the Challenge
Fund programme reached over 1000 schools, representing over
60 different sports - the new Sportslink scheme will
continue to promote school and club links - it will be launched
nationally in April under the Awards For All
banner as part of the Millennium Festival and will provide significant
new funds for schools and sports clubs to continue to work together.
This will offer a great opportunity for table tennis clubs to link
with their local schools and help obtain funding to develop school-club
link programmes.
We are also expecting the
Aussie Sport Sport Search model to encourage
young people aged 11-15 to find out about sports in their area -
sports they may enjoy - sports that may suit them and sports they
may just be good at. The aim is to reach every school in England
and every young person in England over the next 4 years.
Active Communities
- the aim here is to achieve continuous improvement in the
delivery of sporting opportunities and services at the local level
for all the community. Building on the success of the Lottery
community programme is vital - it has had a huge impact on our communities,
supporting local people and specialist provision, but not all of
our communities have been reached. The new Minor Grants scheme being
proposed will look to work with clubs who are not asset-owing -
Awards For All is the theme, and significantly
we will be working not only with existing sports clubs and governing
bodies, but also with non sporting agencies like Youth Clubs, Health
Centres, Womens Groups and Community Organisations to help
extend their activities to include sport. Imagine the impact on
local sporting communities of 10,000 small grants in the next 2
years - this is our target! Again more opportunities for table tennis
are here especially through the new ETTA TOP CLUB structure.
More information and application forms should be available from
April 99 - watch this space for further details!
As part of Active Communities,
sports education and training through Running Sport will
help to make our community sports more effective, plus the Sportstrain
initiative and new proposals to work with teenage girls will be
important in helping our partners in the youth work sector to promote
sporting activities. In addition TOPS in the Community
follows on from the curriculum delivery with after school sports
specific clubs operating on school sites and then moving to leisure
centres and club sites.
Finally, the third strand
of the More People programme is for those young players who have
the ability and desire to start on the pathways to the top of their
sport - Active Sports - an into performance programme
to provide a strategic, nationwide and co-ordinated programme to
help our best young people to improve their sporting skills and
give them access to organised sport through clubs and development
squads, and for the very best, access into the World Class Programmes.
The frameworks for delivery
of Active Sports are being developed as we speak and the English
Sports Council will be working closely with Sports Governing Bodies
and County Consortiums over the next few months to establish the
most appropriate format for partnership working and the implementation
of the Active Sports Programme. In the West Midlands the delivery
of Active Sports will be via 6 consortiums in Birmingham, the Black
Country, Warwickshire (including Coventry and Solihull), Shropshire,
Staffordshire and Herefordshire / Worcesterhire - and will bring
together local authorities, education and county governing bodies
to concentrate on:-
Links between competitive
school sport and sports clubs and NGB squads
Progression using approved
NGB Development Frameworks delivered locally
Co-ordinated support progarmmes
for coaches, clubs, volunteers and officials
Special measures programmes
for young people who are disadvantaged and currently excluded
In conclusion, the above
is a summary of the new initiatives under the More
People programme being introduced over the next 12 months
or so. For further details and developments watch this space and
keep in touch with your Regional Development Officer.
If you have any queries about
table tennis in the West Midlands contact the Regional Development
Officer Chris Newton who is based at The Training & Development
Centre, Popes Lane, Oldbury B69 4PJ.
Tel 0121
569 4461
E-Mail:
ChrisNewton@etta6214.freeserve.co.uk
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