The development of such partnerships has benefits both for the school and for the local community. For instance, by creating a close link with a local sports club the school could benefit by volunteer coaches from that club coming in and running activities for pupils after school or in the holidays, thus creating greater opportunities to participate in sport. One way the club could benefit would be from being able to access directly a group of children from which to recruit new members for their junior section. Also, working in partnership strengthens the opportunity of obtaining grant funding for new projects or facilities.

The school has already made great strides in developing its community links.
Here are a few examples:

In developing girls’ football, the school hosted a number of Kickstart introductory coaching sessions for local girls organised by Bedfordshire FA. The project culminated in the girls being directed to further sessions at Sandy Colts FC, who have worked hard to retain a large number of them - the club enters the local girls’ league in a number of different age groups.

The club also provided coaches to staff the school’s Easter Academy coaching sessions, and are involved in a project to develop new outdoor changing facilities to serve both the school site and the Sunderland Road pitches owned by Sandy Town Council.

Currently 8 local clubs ( Sandy CC, Potton CC, Southill Park CC, Henlow CC, Langford CC, Ickwell CC, Great Barford CC and Clifton CC ) are actively involved in a new Cricket Development Group, also involving the school and Bedfordshire Cricket Board.

Plans are now in place for the following year that should see the following activity taking place: a floodlit cricket tournament in April; schools coaching for local Middle Schools leading to a tournament/festival hosted by the clubs to help them recruit new players; coach development courses being run for local coaches on the school site; plus much more.

Mid Beds District Council has decided to build a new athletics facility on the school site. Biggleswade Athletics Club are relocating to the new track and therefore the school is now developing very close links with the club and the Bedfordshire Active Sports Athletics Co-ordinator.

Planned activities include taster sessions in local Middle Schools; a new “entry level” session for local young people on club training nights to encourage more youngsters into the club; plus May/June Half-Term and Summer Holiday Star:track coaching schemes for local children run by club coaches.

The school is working with the Bedfordshire Active Sports Hockey Co-ordinator and Shefford and Sandy Hockey Club to help the club put together a development plan and attain national governing body accreditation.

The club are also providing coaches to help staff the school’s Easter Academy coaching sessions

The school is developing links with Biggleswade RUFC and the East Midlands RFU. The club are assisting in the running of the Easter Academy coaching sessions by providing volunteer coaches. The EMRFU have run a Tag Rugby Coaches course hosted by the school that was attended by the school’s PE staff as well as by representatives of local lower schools and middle schools and Mid Beds District Council. All schools attending received free resources from the RFU (balls, bibs, tag belts etc.).

The above is just a snapshot of the sort of links and activity that is starting to take place. Further developments are taking place in Basketball (new junior basketball club) and Dance (after school clubs and curriculum delivery in local Lower and Middle Schools, and a day of street dance activity as part of the Easter Academy); and links are also developing with other local agencies for example enabling the school to run activities in partnership with the Youth Offending Team and Connexions.

Paul Blunt (p_blunt@sandyupper.beds.sch.uk)
Partnership Development Manager