Active Schools and School Sport
The Scottish Executive awarded sportscotland (external link) a budget of £24 million to implement Active Schools throughout Scotland. This project consists of 32 Active Schools Managers and over 600 Active Schools Co-ordinators– all of whom are based in Local Authorities and schools throughout Scotland.
Scottish Borders Council is one of these local authorities and has a total of 16 Active School Co-ordinators working across the region.
The main aim of the Active Schools Network is to offer school-aged children the motivation and opportunities to adopt active, healthy lifestyles now and into adulthood. These opportunities are available before, during and after school, as well as in the wider community across the Scottish Borders.
But it is about more than getting school-aged children to take part in formal sport and exercise. Active Schools also aims to introduce more physical activity into their daily lives through active travel, play and dance.
Health Promoting Schools
The Scottish Executive has set a national target for every school in Scotland to be a Health Promoting School (external link) by 2007. This target involves the implementation of a whole school approach to promoting the physical, social, spiritual, mental and emotional well-being of all pupils and staff.
To help schools achieve this target, the Scottish Executive has set up the Scottish Health Promoting Schools Unit (SHPSU) to support health promoting school development throughout Scotland and is linked with the active schools programme.
Partnerships
These are fundamental to the success and sustainability of Active Schools in the Borders
- sportscotland
- local authority departments :education, transport and social work
- other agencies: Bright New Futures, Childrens Service Plan, NHS Borders, police, volunteers, local sports trusts, local charities and community groups
Active Schools Co-ordinators work closely with class teachers, school support staff, volunteers, PE Specialists, primary and secondary headteachers, sports development staff, school travel co-ordinators, governing bodies of sport and local sports clubs.
Key outcomes
To increase activity amongst:
- School-aged children
- Girls and young women
- Children and young people from ethnic-minority communities
- Children and young people with physical and learning disabilities
- Children and young people in areas of socio-economic disadvantage.
Active Schools also aims to:
- Improve motivation and attitudes amongst children and young people, and in doing so, increase their achievements at school
and in the community
- Increase activity, including sports participation, in formal and informal community settings
- Increase the number of young people acting as leaders and coaches in the school and community
- Local control over development in these areas is actively encouraged.
Borders Structure
There are 16 Active Schools Co-ordinators who are responsible to the Active Schools Manager each Co-ordinator is based in their respective cluster area.
Responsible for managing all the Active Schools Co-ordinators
7 Active Schools Co-ordinators (Full Time)
Responsible for a cluster area’s primary school aged children.
9 Active Schools Co-ordinators (Part Time)
Responsible for a cluster area’s secondary school aged children.
Unified Solutions.