School age girls

Girls Active London: "Our Voice, Our Choice, Our Sport"

Girls Active is a national programme to create opportunities for girls to express how they feel about PE and sport and provide opportunities for girls to try different activities and make an informed choice.

The Girls Active London project: "Our Voice, Our Choice, Our Sport" aimed to empower and inspire girls to organise an Girls Active day leading to a Girls Active club at their schools.

Project detailsProject duration: 09 September 2007 - ongoing
Organisation: 
TEAM Central School Sport Partnership, Waltham Forest
Project name: 
Girls Active London: "Our voice, Our choice, Our sport"
AudienceBME, Deprived communities, Disabed, All women
Age group: 
0 - 15
Innovation
Hopefully the girls are inspired and empowered with the financial and staff support to make a difference to their lives and those of other girls. The Empowerment days and Girls Active clubs are different and unique to each school because the girls lead on them making girl's sport and activity important and valued.
Recruitment and promotion
10 Disengaged and non-active girls were targeted along with a few pro-active girls within partnership schools to attend a Girls Active Empowerment Event. These days, lead by the girls, take place within the girls' schools, targeting particular age groups or those who are disengaged. The days lead to new after-school/lunchtime and curriculum opportunities for girls to continue the tested activities, using the Girls Active club and other girls specific clubs, competitions and leadership opportunities.
Location
Local
How was your project delivered?Dance, Rugby League, Other (judo, tag rugby, handball, dance mats/rowers/Wiis and skipping to name a few)
Funding
YST Grant as a Regional Centre for Girls Active: £5,000 Sports Unlimited funding Accessed: £6,000 Resouce pack given to girls provides the contact information for student and staff led funding opportunties (Sky Living, Sports Relief etc to make projects sustainable). A positive impact on girls' participation would encourage schools to continue funding
Partnership
Youth Sport Trust / WSFF / Greenwich Leisure Limited / Local Authorities / National Governing Bodies (e.g. Judo / Handball) and other (skipping) / County Sport Partnerships and other School Sport Partnerships all played a role and support us and continue to do so.
Results
Lessons: 
The project is still ongoing. The girls plan their own empowerment day after attending an empowerment day in north London involving 11 School Sport Partnerships in Barnet, Enfield, Haringey and Waltham Forest (4 have taken place / are due to). The Girls Active clubs are running until the end of term in schools (some may start after the empowerment day) Questionnaires completed by the girls at the event stated: 38% still thought you had to be good at sport to do it, The majority thought sport was not uncool, Many stated that they had much more choice at school now, When they enjoyed PE it was because it was fun and no-one was mucking around - if they liked the activity they tended to have more fun and also had more fun when it was new, interesting and not repeatative. At schools that have had a Girls Active day they have seen a marked increase in girls taking part in out of hours learning activity and clubs at school. The Girls Active days and clubs work best when the girls have teacher and school support. Registers are to be submitted for the Girls Active clubs as well as plans and numbers for the Girls Active days.
Evaluation: 
Link to the school timetable - Girls Active empowerment day needs to take place in September/October. Communication is an issue when including North London (need admin support to communicate and collate information and monitoring and our own Girls Active website) Success of project depends on the support girls get from teachers and own Senior Leadership Team at their schools - girls have the financial means, ideas and resources, but still need someone to believe in them.
Themes

Facilities

Improving facilities

Questions were asked about facilities in the student questionnaires to ascertain how much that had an impact on participation  - and obviously girls would like better and new facilities, but for many this would  not be a barrier to participation.

Growing and sustaining participation

Working with hard to reach groups

The Girls Active project is designed to help schools consider innovative ways of encouraging, engaging and retaining girls involvement in physical activity and sport. A drop off seems to take place from year 8/9/10 which will or not be confirmed by this year's PE and School Strategy for Young People data which is reported by gender. Girls Active uses different projects/clubs/sports/interventions to prevent this drop off and build girls' self esteem. It is trying to use the power of sport to transform lives and get girls active and enjoying PE, sport and physical activity. Peer group, socialisation and media/profile factors all play a role in the divide between girls' and boys' participation, particularly at secondary school.

Workforce development

Coaching

YST has just released funding to develop qualified coaches, leaders and volunteers who are all female. My team are working on a development plan which we will link to career and employment opportunities.

Promotion, marketing and raising the profile

PR and media coverage

Coverage in Sportsister (April or May 2010) and the School Sport Magazine (June 2010) YST, and some local coverage.

Social networking

Developing with Shokk.

Role models

Coaches on empowerment days are, where possible, strong female and positive role models reflecting the diversity of our partnership and challenging sterotypes (judo, tag rugby - England and Ex-England female players turned coaches and motivators).

Brading & marketing

Our Strapeline thought of by girls emcompasses what we are trying to do. 'Our Voice, Our Choice, Our Sport' T-shirts are branded Youth Sport Trust, School Sport Coordinator, County Sport Partnership and are black and shocking pink but also have the schools' individual names on them.

Confidence and self esteem issues  

The key aim of the programme is to use sport/physical activity to develop girls' confidence and self esteem which is why the initial event is an empowerment event. We want them to believe in themselves and who have life aspirations.

Health & wellbeing

Linked to the above and key - we will all be better people who live better lives when we are active and healthy and with loads of energy and drive!

For more information, contact:Tanya Irvine, Partnership Development Manager, TEAM Central School Sports Partnership, Norlington School, Norlington Road,  Leyton, London E10 6JZ,  London Borough of Waltham Forest, Tel: 0208 5393055 (sch)

[email protected]

Young women and girls' physical activity

This factsheet summarises the recent key findings on young women and girls' physical activity.

It brings together quantitative data from a number of sources including the NHS Information Centre; Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS); Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF); Youth Sport Trust (YST); Girlguiding UK; and WSFF.

 

Last updated 20 December 2010

  • Just a quarter of girls meet current recommended levels of physical activity a week
  • Female drop off in sport starts earlier than males’ and is also more dramatic
  • Despite PE being compulsory in schools, one in five girls still does no activity in a week. This is twice the proportion of boys
  • For girls, being fit and healthy is the most popular reason for taking part in PE/sport. Other motivations include working as a team, making friends, being considerate and helping them to think about others
  • Girls think sports traditionally played by boys, such as rugby and football, are seen (by society) to be more important that sports played by girls
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FACTSHEETyoung_womenand_girlsFINAL281010.pdf
[email protected]

AimHI

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Case_Study_girlguides.pdf

Aim HI  is a resource that contains over 50 activities for girls, based on the idea that good health is a combination of physical, mental and social wellbeing.  The resource supported Girlguiding UK’s Healthy Individual Campaign for 2008. The activities touch on the areas of health, good and bad, that young people may encounter in their day-to-day lives. The pack was designed to show leaders that including healthy living activities in their programmes is easy and fun and to encourage them to continue doing so in the future.

Project detailsProject duration: 01 June 2006 - 30 September 2006
Organisation: 
GirlguidingUK
Project name: 
AimHI
AudienceGirls and young women
Age group: 
0 - 15
Age group: 
16 - 24
Innovation
It was focused on the “holistic” approach to healthy living, including all aspects of being healthy, and it was something that girls of all ages could get involved with, enjoy and learn from.
Recruitment and promotion
The resource was promoted through our website and online shop, magazine, e-updates, and messages to local guiding to spread the message to every volunteer leader. We also promoted the resource with two training weekends aimed at our own volunteer trainers and interested volunteer leaders at two of our Training and Activity centres.
Location
National
How was your project delivered?Not focused on a specific sport
Funding
Through Girlguiding UK funds, as part of the Healthy Individual Project. Staff time was covered through our internal budgets and the cost of the pack was covered through sales, this means that the project is self-sustainable.
Partnership
None for this resource
Results
Lessons: 
We would have liked to have had some sponsorship or partnership to make the resource more interactive, but There is nothing major we would have done differently, as the resource has been a great success. Others could learn from the popularity of AimHI, that there is a lot of interest from girls and young women in healthy living and activities around the subject, especially something about balancing healthy living between eating well, keeping fit, and also keeping the mind healthy and happy.
Evaluation: 
This was measured in book and badge sales, which were very positive – for example, between June-September 2008 alone, there were 1563 resource packs sold, and 16,993 badges sold. We also had a feedback form on the Girlguiding UK website, which brought such comments as: “Plenty of choice, approx. times useful to plan meeting, plenty of scope to expand themes.” “It was great fun and everyone enjoyed the activities. We are going to do lots more from the resource as there are so many good ideas. “A valuable resource that could be used again and again. We based our Pack Holiday theme around it as the girls wanted to have a girlie/pamper weekend.” “Brilliant! I love training on it also! Thank you for such a brill pack!”
Themes

Rebranding/reversioning sport

Made girls realise that sport doesn’t have to be something formal with rules and leagues and positions, but you can use a sport and do what you like with it with your friends - for example having a football race instead of playing the traditional game, or making volleyball less serious and more fun by playing with a balloon.

Targeting confidence and self-esteem issues

The Head section is all about promoting good mental health, thinking of yourself and others, for example an activity where girls pay each other compliments, or an activity discussing how famous people are portrayed by the media.

Health and well-being 

Targeted obesity in a positive way, making healthy eating and exercise something girls actively enjoy rather than dread. Head section deals with mental health thinking about attitudes to yourself and others and how to deal with problems without letting them get you down, for example text bullying. Targeted obesity in a positive way, making healthy eating and exercise something girls actively enjoy rather than dread.

Head section deals with mental health thinking about attitudes to yourself and others and how to deal with problems without letting them get you down, for example text bullying.

Key links: 
Girlguiding UK's AimHI resource pack

Futsal Fever

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Case_Study_futsal_fever.pdf

Futsal Fever is a project which targets females aged 16+ who attend FE and HE institutes across Bedfordshire.

Project detailsProject duration: 01 October 2009 - 01 April 2010
Organisation: 
Bedfordshire FA
Project name: 
Futsal Fever
AudienceSchools
Age group: 
16 - 24
Innovation
The project both increases number and keeps the women’s game sustainable locally. It is great to see a mix of women from various backgrounds and cultures taking part in a new sport and developing their skills throughout the project. The link with the fire service has improved community awareness, enhanced the feasibility of the project and provided additional career options for those taking part.
Recruitment and promotion
A meeting was held with all Partnership Development Managers (PDM) and Further Education Sport Coordinators (FESCO) within Bedfordshire to explain the project. A request was made for them to forward details of the contact at each FE/HE institute. Promotion was done internally by the contact, once sessions were up and running numbers began to increase as word of mouth was used to recruit more players.
Location
Regional
How was your project delivered?Football
Funding
The project is reliant on project funding, the Bedfordshire FA & Bedfordshire & Luton Fire service have funded the project.
Partnership
Bedfordshire & Luton Fire Service FE/HE institutes taking part Local women’s clubs
Results
Lessons: 
The project took a while to get started after our initial contact with the PDM’s, some FE/HE institutes were really proactive whereas others were very slow organising dates/times for taster sessions. Have more Level 2 coaches who can deliver the coaching sessions, it is difficult to get to every session and sometimes a physical education teacher can not always be present.
Evaluation: 
So far the project is proving to be a success by enabling women to participate in futsal and play in regular fixtures. Monitoring has been via numbers turning up to sessions and the number of club links. The project does not finish until April where a full evaluation of the project will be completed.
Themes

Growing and sustaining participation

The two university teams already have an established squad who compete within the BUCS league. Many of these players do not play for local clubs, so the aim is to link these women in to local teams. Some teams have a mix of local club players and new players. Other teams have players who have never played futsal before, or haven’t played for a few years so the aim is to try and get these women actively taking part in futsal regularly. The project enables access to various BME groups and players from deprived communities.

Re-versioning sport

At times advertising futsal can be difficult to attract participants, as many are still unaware of what futsal is. Futsal has been marketed as ‘indoor 5 a-side football’.

Making sport sociable

Many students at the university have found the sport sociable and explained that they have made many new friends from the futsal team.

Targeting confidence and self-esteem issues

Many women have body confidence/self esteem issues, but with futsal being played indoors in an enclosed environment, many of the women who attend feel more comfortable than they would outside where others could watch.

Workforce development

Coaching and officiating opportunities are accessible to all those taking part in the project. New teams have to identify a captain/manager, to volunteer their time and ensure communication about fixtures or training is delivered.

Key links: 
Bedfordshire FA

Teenage girls and dropout

This factsheet explains the reasons why teenagers drop out of sport, and provides solutions for NGBs, clubs and coaches for retaining them.

It was first recognised in the 1957 Wolfendon Report that teenage girls were dropping out of sport at a faster rate than boys, this remains the case and unless the sport's sector acts this will not change.

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Teenage_girls_and_dropout.pdf

The Energy Project

The Energy Project

This handbook documents the journey, research and findings of The Energy Project, a study that aimed to find ways to increase physical activity among schoolgirls, at both primary and secondary level, through the creative use of existing school time. The ultimate aim was to help sow the seeds of active lifestyles that would stand girls in good stead for the rest of their lives.

if you’re interested in encouraging more girls and boys to take part in and benefit from physical activity, this guide is for you.

Key links: 
Helen Storey Foundation
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ENERGY_FINAL_GUIDE.pdf

Fit For Girls - Bishopsbriggs Academy

We wanted to increase girls' participation in sport and physical activity at Bishopsbriggs School in Scotland.

Project detailsProject duration: 17 August 2009 - ongoing
Organisation: 
Bishopsbriggs School
Project name: 
Fit for Girls - Bishopsbriggs - Netball League
AudienceSchool
Age group: 
0 - 15
Recruitment and promotion
We kick-started the programme with netball team trials evenings, using posters and staff to promote the events; approximately 60 girls from S1 and S2 attended. We then used a second trials evening to further encourage these pupils and to sustain their interest. At this point girls were informed they had all been successful in their try-outs, that they would all be invited back and that they had ‘made’ the team.
Location
Regional
How was your project delivered?Netball
Partnership
Support from partners has been essential. Netball Scotland provided specialist coaches, constant guidance and advice; while the local sports centre provided the hire of facilities and equipment; and local newspapers promoted the league and reported on fixtures.
Results
Lessons: 
On average 90 girls from the six participating schools competed in the league competition. Around 40-50 of these pupils also attended the monthly coaching sessions.The league has resulted in a significant increase in the number of girls participating in regular sport and physical activity. The trials evenings ensured the girls developed a sense of identity and pride in representing their school and allowed us to sustain the high number participating in weekly training sessions, match fixtures and monthly specialist coaching sessions. We now find ourselves with around 5 squads and struggle to provide them all with a team kit! We have seen a vast improvement in the fitness level, skill level and overall attitude towards sport and physical activity; 80% of our S2 girls have gone on to select Standard Grade PE as one of their subjects to study in S3/S4. “Training and match nights were great fun and taught me a lot more skills and how to play netball better. I think that S2 netball was really good. I hope the S3 league is as good as I hope to have great fun again.” S2 pupil All schools have committed their involvement to the S1/S2 league next session, and an S3/S4 girl’s league will be introduced to continue the pathway for current participants. Netball Scotland has also requested that this programme be taken forward to set up an East Dunbartonshire Coaching School to develop an elite squad of netballers who will have the opportunity to be selected by scouts to represent Glasgow and/or Scotland Netball squads.
Themes

Growing and sustaining participation

The Bishopbriggs Academy was created to increase girls' participation in sport and physical activity. The schools involved in the programme conducted weekly coaching sessions with a focus on netball skills and fitness. The combination of competition and skills was critical to sustaining the group of girls. 

We invited specialist coaches to run monthly clinics for players that were interested and ran a weekly competitive league.

We have seen a vast improvement in the girls' fitness and skill levels and overall attitude towards sport and physical activity.  80% of our S2 girls have gone on to select Standard Grade PE as one of their subjects to study in S3/S4.

We have also introduced a transition netball programme for P6/P7 girls and a league style competition between primary schools.

Key links: 
Bishopbriggs Academy
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