The Big Picture

                What is Active Schools?

 

 

What Active Schools is all About?

Active Schools works with schools and communities to help make sure children start active and stay active. The Fundamental aim of Active Schools is to offer children and young people the opportunities and motivation 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. Active Schools also aims to introduce more physical activity into daily lives through sports, active travel, dance and play.

Sportscotland manages the Active Schools Network nationally and has a strong partnership working closely with Scottish Borders Council to develop and support Active Schools.

 

The Key Outcomes & Areas of Focus

Active Schools are working towards two aims:

·        To continue to increase opportunities for all children and young people to be engaged in physical activity and sport

·        Strengthen pathways to participation and performance through sustainable school to community links
 

Active Schools look to achieve their outcomes by concentrating on 4 areas of work.

1.      Building a sustainable infrastructure of volunteers, coaches and resources.

2.      Providing opportunities for school age children to participate in physical activity & sport and creating pathways from the school to the wider community to ensure lifelong participation.

3.      Increasing participation amongst “hard to reach groups” by adopting a targeted approach.

4.      Embedding the effective integration, planning, management and delivery of Active Schools.

The Role of the Coordinator

The Active Schools Coordinator has moved away from a delivery focused role to a more coordination role. Active Schools have several roles to achieve their aims. These roles include:  

• Support current, and develop new, high quality opportunities for school pupils, by:
  Identifying gaps and needs to successfully engage children and young people in activities.
  Developing an Extra Curricular program of activities and sport.
  Coordinating Holiday Sport Programmes.

• Establish a successful volunteer recruitment and management programme.

• Establish pathways from Active Schools activities into local community sports clubs and groups

• Target inactive young people and develop and support activities for them 

They can also offer support and guidance in relation to grants, funding applications and offer local club support through school taster sessions and advertising.

Coordinators work within a cluster of schools and have an important role to play in bringing together key local partners to create a complete approach to physical activity and sport.

The Borders Active School Team

Scottish Borders Council in partnership with sportscotland has invested in Active School through to 2011. This has allowed a staff structure to be developed which consist of an Assistant Manager, 3 secondary Coordinators covering all 9 secondary schools and 7 primary Coordinators covering all local primary schools.

Find out more about the Active Schools Team and who your local Coordinator is.