Category Archives: Active

Inchlair youngsters lead the way

Isobel Edmond, Head Teacher of Inchlair Nursery School shares how youngsters have embraced the context of the Commonwealth Games and how this has had a tangible impact on learning.

The Game On Challenge has given our pupils the skills to try out new Sports. We are purchasing new equipment to ensure that the children can continue to develop their new skills in our wonderful outdoor play space. When the coaches are not available children can very ably organise equipment and ensure that their peers wait and take their turn. They could be the Sports coaches of the future.

There is a real noticeable increase in the confidence of children to apply learning to new situations. The Story of the birth of CLYDE, “Captain Bristle’s Thistles” really caught their imagination. From this they have had countless role play experiences using uniforms, telescopes, globes, flags, flower pots, thistles, climbing frames. We have noticed their play is more focussed and shared experiences give children more opportunity to talk and learn together during exciting, imaginative play activities. There can be no doubt that using the Commonwealth Games as a context for learning has added an exciting layer of experience which has enriched learning for all.

A year ago our pupils would mostly say they lived in Stenhousemuir not Scotland. A focus on the Commonwealth Games has made them very aware that they are Scottish. They recognise the saltire and call it the “X” factor flag. The baton relay has given them the opportunity to study Commonwealth countries, flags of the world, maps, and wild animals. Relations have sent them postcards from across the globe. Access to the internet and in particular the BBC coverage of the Queen’s Baton Relay has enabled children to see places for themselves which has made them much more aware of life beyond our own town. We have complied a short video which allows the children to share their learning.

As a school, we sponsor a child in Malawi. Our support means she can go to school. We sell Nursery Cookbooks to raise funds for this as part of our Enterprise project. As Malawi is part of the Commonwealth children have been interested in finding the country on the world map, recognising the flag and studying pictures of Rachael over the years. They see her home, a hut in a dry dusty garden. The fact that fascinates them most is that she never has any shoes. This has helped our pupils understand how fortunate they are to live in a country which recognises and values the importance of learning. They have been genuinely touched by the difference in lifestyle between Scotland and Malawi and are beginning to understand how fortunate they are.

We were thrilled to be part of the “Going for Glasgow” challenge. Our children have had the opportunity to take part in 12 sports activities. To develop the Legacy, children take our CLYDE toy to their after school activity classes. They take photos and display them in the Nursery along with posters from their sports classes. Hopefully this will encourage other children to join a new club. The children love to talk about CLYDE’S visits and Parents are fully engaged with this idea.

As an active nursery, we are committed to daily outdoor play and developing physical sports activities. Being part of the Game on Challenge this year has brought a real buzz and sense of excitement to the Nursery. There is a competitive spirit as older brothers and sisters tell us about what they are doing at school to complete their challenge. Our youngsters go home at night and share their learning with family and friends. A number of parents have been inspired by their enthusiasm and depth of knowledge.
The high spot of our year is receiving the award of a Game On Scotland Plaque by Shona Robison, Cabinet Secretary for Commonwealth Games, Sport, Equalities and Pensioners’ Rights. This award has given staff, pupils and parents a great sense of achievement and pride in the excellent work being done.

We would really advise anyone who has not already registered their Game On Challenge to do so. It has been great fun here at Inchlair, and we look forward to reading what you have been up to!

Commonwealth Games inspire Woodland Workout

Forestry Commission Scotland is encouraging young people to feel the benefit of the Commonwealth Games with a new Woodland Workout pack.

 Targeted at 3-14 year olds the pack promotes opportunities for quality, fun and safe physical activity in the outdoors and includes ideas for games, physical activities and staging ‘adapted’ Commonwealth sports in the woodlands.

 Sally York, the Commission’s Education Policy Advisor, said:

 “Children and young people are going to get really enthused and excited about a lot of sports when the Commonwealth Games start in the summer. They’re going to want to get active and maybe try out some of those sports and this pack is a way for teachers and schools to tap into that enthusiasm in a fun way.

 “All of the activities featured in the Woodland Workout – including the adapted Commonwealth Games sports – can be enjoyed at any time and it’s a great way to let children (aged 3-14 years) participate in enjoyable learning experiences that will develop enterprising knowledge, skills and attitudes and promote physical health and wellbeing.

 “With a relaxing and invigorating atmosphere, local woodlands offer the best backdrop for the activities but the idea is to be active outdoors so school grounds – or any nearby green spaces – are just as good. There are no templates or correct answers in nature so using the natural environment encourages children to cooperate and arrive at a ‘best-fit’ solution to problems and challenges.  

 The pack, complete with teachers’ guide, encourages young people to have fun but to also be responsible for their well-being and consider risk. As well as considering potential hazards in their activity space and taking risks with solving problems, it also allows children the chance to learn how to manage ‘failure’ through reflecting on performance to set new challenges. 

 The Woodland Workout, with Commonwealth Games supplement (WW(CG)) has been issued to schools across Scotland and is available for download at http://ow.ly/whhOL

Athlete Visits Programme for Schools

As part of providing exciting learning opportunities around the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games, Game On Scotland is delighted to announce that we are able to offer 100 education establishments across Scotland the chance to receive a visit by a Scottish athlete in the run up to the Games.

What might an athlete’s visit look like?

The format of each visit will be negotiated between the individual athlete and the school, but may include the following:

Whole school/year group assemblies: The athlete may participate in assemblies by providing the inspirational address for the day (eg. share their story, provide a key message, support a Commonwealth themed event, hand out awards such as the Game On Scotland Plaque)
Focus group input: This may involve an athlete visiting a specific class, target group (eg. school ambassadors or senior coaching classes) sharing his or her experiences and engaging in a question and answer session.
Active engagement: This provides an opportunity to share some of the expertise of athletes in their distinct area and may involve coaching sessions, skills development or offering taster sessions.

All visits will be arranged on a one-off basis. For more in depth athlete engagements please see the Champions in Schools programme.  However we aim to match athletes to education establishments within their reasonable travel distance to allow for the possibility of longer term educational partnerships.

When will the visits take place?

Visits will take place from the end of March until the end of June. The closing date for the first round of application is the 21 March and for this round visits will be allocated on a ‘first come-first serve’ basis. A second round will become available soon thereafter.

How to enter:

All education establishments in Scotland who have posted a Game On Challenge are eligible to enter a prize draw to receive a visit by a Scottish athlete, though secondary schools will receive priority.

To apply for a visit simply complete this brief survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/SW93KDZ

Are there any costs involved?

There is no cost to any school which participates, other than any costs resulting from individual programme arrangements (e.g. athlete lunch). Such costs will have to be covered by the participating education establishment.

Can I request a specific athlete/focus sport?

The aim of this initiative is to provide inspiration and generic insight into the life and work of a professional athlete. Much of the input will focus on a wider skills agenda and generic dispositions or values (eg. determination, aspiration, fairness and sportsmanship). We will not be able to guarantee visits by specific athletes from a particular sport, however we will take a school’s particular sporting interests into account when matching athletes.

First Edinburgh Schools to receive Game On Plaque

Wester Hailes Education Centre and Pilrig Park Special School joined the list of ‘firsts’ to be awarded the Game On Scotland Plaque. Amidst an exciting programme for young people to engage in the Commonwealth Games, Wester Hailes Education Centre became the first secondary school in Edinburgh to receive the award by the Game On Scotland ambassador, Holly Cram, on a day of activities from street dance to gymnastics. Holly also provided a coaching session for the school’s girls hockey team. The day was also supported by former Gold medallist Steve Frew who set learners a number of gymnastic challenges stretching from the pommel horse to ring exercises.

Pilrig Park Special School put on an exciting award ceremony for Holly and Education Scotland celebrating their plaque award. The head boy and girl, the Legacy ambassadors and Baton bearer as well as head teacher Ellen Muir outlined the impressive record of Games related activities of the school from their own Commonwealth Song and dance performance to learning about the 70 nations and territories.

Well done to both schools.

Game On!

Game On: Sport Your Trainers for Glasgow 2014!

[Please click here to visit the latest Sport Your Trainers post, including details of a great blog competition!]

The countdown is on, with less than six months until the best athletes from 70 nations and territories arrive in Scotland to compete at the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games.

To warm up for Scotland’s biggest-ever festival of sport and culture, you are invited to join in with Glasgow 2014’s annual Commonwealth Day celebration, Sport Your Trainers. The big event will take place on 10 March 2014 and organisers are continuing their tradition of encouraging young people to wear their trainers on the day as a symbolic gesture of support for Glasgow 2014. It doesn’t stop there: in the lead up to summer, the Games provide a platform for learning across the curriculum and beyond.

Sport Your Trainers is a great opportunity to bring the XX Commonwealth Games to life in your school, group or local community. Game On Scotland, the official Glasgow 2014 education programme, contains a wealth of information, resources and opportunities which can be used to design your own inspiring Sport Your Trainers activities. Why not learn about the nations and territories of the Commonwealth or arrange taster sessions in Games’ sports? Sport Your Trainers provides the perfect moment to celebrate Games-related learning and activities as we count down to the Opening Ceremony.

Over half of the people in the Commonwealth are under 25 years of age and we want to make sure that the children and young people of Scotland have every chance to engage with Glasgow 2014. Why not start making plans today?

To register for this Scotland-wide project and to receive a link to a Digital Toolkit filled with Sport Your Trainers resources, please email SportYourTrainers@glasgow2014.com

Please note pupils are encouraged to wear their trainers to school on Sport Your Trainers day, Monday 10 March. However, it is not compulsory. Local Authorities/school senior management should use their discretion as to whether this is appropriate footwear for their schools.

1000 tickets for Game On Scotland

Game On Scotland is delighted to have been allocated 1000 ‘Legacy Tickets’ by the Scottish Government. The education programme aims to engage learners across Scotland with the Games by creating exciting learning opportunities across the curriculum. These tickets will be instrumental in contextualising learning and provide young people with the once in a life time experience that helps to create a lasting legacy well beyond the Games itself.

If you don’t want to miss out on the opportunity to be considered for Legacy tickets’ through Game On Scotland make sure your school is part of the ‘Game On Challenge‘ network and features on the interactive map.

Game On – “Be part of it!”

New projects: Xtrayard and Get Scotland Dancing

Game On Scotland is delighted to announce that we have just added two more projects to the Other educational projects section of the site. From the outset we’ve been keen to create a one-stop-shop for teachers and educators interested in learning using the Games, and the curation of other projects is an important part of this process.

XtrayardXtrayard is an online platform that encourages young people to take part in physical activity and track it on a virtual route. To celebrate the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games they’ve re-created the Queen’s Baton Relay route, which will allow your learners to journey around the 70 nations and territories of the Commonwealth by taking part in physical activity and eating healthily.

Get Scotland DancingGet Scotland Dancing is a celebration of dance and an invitation for every person in Scotland to join in. As a Commonwealth Games Legacy programme, Get Scotland Dancing aims to get more people dancing in Scotland in 2014 than ever before. There’ll be a lot of different parts to the initiative as it develops, but broadly speaking they’ll be increasing opportunities to dance, promoting mass participation and developing young talent.

These are just the latest projects to be added to an already full programme, but Game On Scotland is a live programme and more materials will be added all the time – sign up to the network to make sure you’re the first to know about new opportunities.

Lead 2014 registration now open

Lead 2014 logo
Now entering its fourth year, Lead 2014 is a partnership between the Youth Sport Trust, sportscotland and Glasgow 2014 that aims to harness the enthusiasm and potential of young people to create the next generation of sports leaders.

This exciting programme for young people consists of a series of conferences that will help you develop your leadership skills, gain valuable experience through volunteering and play your part in raising the profile of the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games across Scotland.

Registration for 2014’s conferences is now open. As ever the programme is expected to be very popular and places are limited and allocated on a first come first served basis. You must register by 15 November.

The conferences will take place on the following dates and venues:

• 20 February – University of the Highlands and Islands (Inverness)
• 28 February – Strathclyde University (Glasgow)
• 11 March – St Andrews University (St Andrews)
• 13 March – Robert Gordon University (Aberdeen)
• 20 March – Stirling University (Stirling)
• 24 March – University of Edinburgh (Edinburgh)
• 26 March – University of the West of Scotland (Hamilton)

To find out more and to register your school, head to the sportscotland website.

Go Scotland!

17 Sports, 1 Team (copyright Commonwealth Games Scotland)

Earlier this month, marking the 300 days to go milestone, Commonwealth Games Scotland announced the first 27 athletes selected to represent Team Scotland. These will be the first of many sporting Scots who will carry the hopes of a nation when the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games kicks off on 23rd July 2014.

In all 17 sports, athletes have been aiming to meet qualification targets and claim their spot on the team. It’s been a busy and successful summer and next year will be even better!

You can find out more information about the athletes who make up Team Scotland on the Go Scotland! website, where they have a special ‘Meet the Team’ section. The section will be updated with athletes as they are selected.

Game On Scotland will shortly be developing a Team Scotland section within the site, but you can already access lots of information about Scottish athletes at the Go Scotland! site, including a range of downloadable posters of athletes across the 17 sports.

What is talent?

Understanding Talent

In any discussion about sporting events, the word talent comes up, but what does it really mean? Often the concept of talent is not particularly well understood, particularly when evidence doesn’t seem to support it being a natural process.

The Talent Team at the sportscotland institute of sport have developed a film (screenshot pictured) which hopes to help people to understand the concept of ‘sporting talent’. It is aimed primarily at young athletes (11 – 17) but is also very relevant to those who influence them –from their coaches and teachers to parents, peers, neighbours and role models. The film is available at http://youtu.be/LfUvchfrcS0.

The hope is that young athletes can gain a new perspective on what ‘talent’ really means and ultimately encourage them to work hard at their sports. The message is simple – hard work and determination can lead to sporting success.

If you would like to find out more about talent and the work of the Talent Team at sportscotland, visit www.sisport.com/talent. Along with the film, the site contains a range of materials on talent, which could make for interesting discussions in classes or sports clubs.