Sporting Schools is all about fostering a lifelong interest in sport among Australian primary-aged children.
By getting your primary school involved in Sporting Schools you will help to provide your students with the opportunity to access sport-based activities before, during or after school.
The key purpose of the programme is to encourage more children to do more sport-based activities, and empower schools to help them to do that.
As a sporting school you can:
- Help your students foster healthy and active living habits;
- Support health and physical education outcomes in the school curriculum;
- Access nationally-endorsed sports products and certified coaches;
- Access a range of training and development material to support teachers to deliver sport-based programmes; and,
- Design programmes that create important links between your school, sport and your local community.
The aim is to bring sport and schools together to provide a supportive partnership, encouraging participation in sport by over 850,000 children.
Sporting Schools funding will enable the delivery of high quality and inclusive sport activities and games, before, during and after school hours. This will offer flexibility to suit the needs of schools and students across Australia. The focus is about participation and enjoyment, or more simply “skills not drills”.
All Sporting Schools programmes will be endorsed by national sporting organisations (NSOs) and all coaches will be certified. Funding is also available for other forms of innovative programme delivery.
As of this month, schools can apply for funding on the Sporting Schools website, with the programme starting in July 2015. Support for developing your application, online resources and information about local coaches will also be provided.
Once your school is registered and it has met the eligibility criteria your school can get annual funding to provide up to three terms of sport-based activity for children.
Go to the funding section of the website at www.sportingschools.gov.au/funding to find out more about the grants.
In addition, the other benefits of registering includes access to a range of resources through the website including a webportal that enables schools to locate and communicate directly with trained community coaches or coaching providers in your area. In areas where community coaches are unavailable or limited, your teachers can register as a coach to deliver sessions (provided they meet the minimum Sporting Schools coach registration requirements). Teachers can also access coaching plans and tools to help them plan and run sport-based activities outside of Sporting Schools sessions.
As a Sporting School you can:
- Help your students foster healthy and active living habits;
- Support health and physical education outcomes in the school curriculum;
- Access nationally-endorsed sports products and certified coaches;
- Access a range of training and development material to support teachers to deliver sport-based programmes; and,
- Design programmes that create important links between your school, sport and your local community.
You will also have the chance to engage with more than 30 national sporting organisations (NSOs) that are partnered with the programme. Students can participate in a broad range of sports including:
Registering your school is an easy process:
- Select the “register” icon at the top of the website at www.sportingschools.gov.au;
- Sign up as a Sporting Schools individual member and activate your account via the email link sent to you;
- Select ‘Register a School’ and enter your school details;
- Agree to the terms and conditions and submit the form;
- A registration team has been established with staff available to assist you with your application;
- Schools, coaches and sporting organisations will be encouraged to create a profile page on the Sporting Schools website – this will help to create connections in local communities; and,
- Contact the registration team via the ‘Get in Touch’ form in the footer of the website.
From term 3, 2015, all primary schools will be invited to participate in Sporting Schools. Over time, there will be opportunities for secondary schools to be involved. Secondary schools keen to be a part of Sporting Schools can register their interest on the ‘Stay Connected’ section of the Sporting Schools website to ensure they receive the most up-to-date information on how to access the programme. If you would like to know more about Sporting Schools jump onto the website – www.sportingschools.gov.au or email us directly at info@sportingschools.gov.au
Sporting Schools staff will assist you in getting the maximum benefit from the programme.