Don’t wreck our golden goal

Cuts will set school sport back by ten years — MP

Opposition to plans to cut the £162 million schools sports grant which finds and nurtures the Olympic stars of the future has forced the Government into an embarrassing rethink.

The proposal to cut all funding for the £162 million Schools Sports Partnerships (SSP) — which nurture talent in primary schools, secondary schools and colleges — has been attacked by leading Olympic and Paralympic stars including former Oldham swimmer Sascha Kindred.

The 2008 Paralympic gold medal winner added his name to a letter from more than 75 leading sporting figures, accusing the Government of wrecking grassroots sports.

Sport for disabled children will also be affected.

Although Prime Minister David Cameron has since called for a rethink on the plans, Oldham head teachers met this week to decide how to keep the momentum going and to build on the links already forged in Oldham’s primaries and secondaries.

Failsworth Sports College head teacher John Meagher led a meeting of eight heads and co-ordinators on Monday and set up a steering group which will meet again in January. He said: “People want to keep this going and are looking for sources of additional funding.

“If there is no addition funding, we will try and ways of being creative.

“I understand we have to try and save money but we need even more ways of trying to make this project even more successful and try to be leaner.”

Ashton Labour MP David Heyes, who represents Failsworth wards, says the Government’s cuts would be an “own goal”.

During a debate in the Commons he warned that youth and school sports in Oldham will be decimated by Government cuts.

He pointed out that the Failsworth School Sports Partnership, — which supports Oldham Sixth Form College, six secondary schools and 38 primary schools — had 45 per cent of its pupils taking part in competitive sport last year.

He says the “ill-conceived and spiteful” cuts will set school sports back ten years and told Michael Gove, Secretary of State for Education: “The loss of funding will inevitably lead to piecemeal, patchy sports provision in the primary sector.

“Talent will not be spotted at an early enough age for children to become Olympians or sports professionals, and the opportunity to develop transferable skills such as teamwork, leadership and volunteering — all of which can be developed through sport — will be lost.

“Some of our greatest sporting achievements in recent years have been in the Paralympics, and I wonder what thought the Secretary of State has given to the potential damage he is doing to our ability to spot and nurture sporting talent among students with disabilities?”

There are two School Sport Partnerships — Failsworth and Waterhead — working with all schools and colleges in Oldham.

Vicky Dean is the development manager for the Failsworth School Sport Partnership, Paul Clarke her opposite number at Waterhead Academy and formerly at Counthill School.

Vicky said the immediate affect of Michael Gove’s proposed cuts would be

::A loss of approximately £575,000 to Oldham each year

::School Sport Co-ordinators will no longer be funded

::Primary Link Teachers will not receive funding to be released from timetables on 12 days a year.

::Flexibility to investigate new ways of working with particular focus on school requirements as opposed to national strategies would be lost.

She said it would fracture links between school, community sport and the wider health, crime and anti-social behaviour agendas.

She said: “So far the impact of SSPs has been the biggest public relations tool with primary schools and their pupils.

“School sports co-ordinators have two days to improve links with primary schools, organising and delivering activities on both primary and secondary school sites.

“They have engaged secondary school pupils in new activities through Big Lottery Funding and Sport Unlimited funding including golf, handball, rock-it ball, snowboarding and many more.”

Workplace and leadership skills are forged on leadership courses, sport specific training and there is extra support for gifted and talented leaders.

PE and sport have been used as a driver to improve behaviour, attainment and attendance and contribute to the school ethos.

Oldham also has the highest number of schools in the North-West able to utilise the 2012 Olympic Get Set education logo.

The partnerships have led to better community and sports club links and improved opportunities to access funding.

School sport opportunities are integral to Healthy School and Enhanced Healthy Schools awards, and create links with other partners including the Integrated Youth Service, Oldham Community Leisure, and Oldham Athletic Community Trust which has provided activities for a number of schools at heavily subsidised rates.

She added “It has engaged pupils in positive activities within and beyond the curriculum decreasing anti-social behaviour in local communities in the evening times. Some schools have opened up facilities on Friday and Saturday evenings to provide positive activities in the community.”

Lorna Phillip, director of sport at Hathershaw College and school sport co-ordinator, has seven schools in her cluster Broadfield, Holy Rosary, Medlock Vale, St Martin’s, Greenhill, Coppice and Lyndhurst.

She said: “My school gets a grant to release me for the equivalent of two days a week, and we have two to three events every week.

“There is football at Greenhill, cross country in Alexandra Park, we get the infants involved in competitions, we have really structured playtimes and lunchtimes.

“The individual teacher in primary schools has not got time to organise cluster events, or even make the phone calls.

“All our schools have represented Oldham and gone on to regional honours.

“There has been a marked improvement in running, we do golden miles in lunchtimes, and host a cross country festival. It is also a way of tackling the obesity target.

“Our youngster go on to be sports leaders, and quite often gain employment or go to university. We also have formalised links with sports clubs, and we talent spot and can find youngsters as young as five who we guide and support.”