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

"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]