Slough School Sport Network

Newly created on 1st September 2011, after funding for the former Slough & Wexham School Sport Partnership was cut, the Slough School Sport Network has been created to sustain the provision of sporting opportunities for young people in Slough. Working towards the new government initiative of the School Games, the Network is working hard to provide young people with new opportunities through PE & Sport – from trying new sports and competitions, to being able to access high quality leadership courses and access to other National projects, such as Sportivate.

With unwavering support from Head Teachers in Slough schools, every single Infant, Primary, Secondary and Special School has affiliated to the Network. Backing from MARS in the Community, Slough Community Leisure, Procinctu Teamwear and London Irish RFC, all now committed Community Partners of the Network, has yielded huge benefits in terms of the support that the Network has been able to offer schools; from funding for medals and certificates for all young people competing, to coaching programmes in schools, reduced costs for facility hire and discounts on team kit, the Networks relationship with external organisations has gone from strength to strength.

The Structure
Remaining at the hub site of Wexham School, the Network has been able to maintain core personnel within the infrastructure through Teacher Release funding, alongside the addition of some newly created posts. A 3 day a week School Games Organiser (nationally funded through joint government departments) is now in post and has the responsibility of overseeing a full calendar of competition delivery for the Network, linking both intra and inter school competition opportunities to the School Games pathway. Utilising high quality secondary expertise Network leads for the Olympics & Paralympics, Inclusion, Gifted & Talented, Leadership & Volunteering and CPD and Primary support have also been appointed. These leads work closely with all schools to support students and staff across these relevant areas.

Current Plans
With the London 2012 Olympics & Paralympics a mere 8 months away, the Network is striving to enthuse young people about the games and the opportunity to create a lasting legacy in Slough. A number of Olympic themed projects and ideas are running throughout schools, however highlights to date include: the launch of the Networks Olympic & Paralympic mascot, Olly Gold – the winning design created by Ryvers Primary School pupil Anisha Chaudry, cross curricular resources around the 7 Olympic & Paralympic values distributed to schools to demonstrate how the Games can be used as a topic in subject areas outside of PE and most recently, the appointment of Young Ambassadors in every Slough Secondary school (25 in total) working to create Olympic & Paralympic Sports Councils for their peers.

The Future
As a Network, we are very fortunate to have the professional and financial support from the Secondary School Head Teachers in Slough, who have agreed to fund the Network for the next 2 years. Alongside this support, Primary school and Corporate investment we hope to be able to continue to provide the best possible sporting experience for every young person whatever their ambition. The School Games is the government initiative that is in place to create Olympic & Paralympic legacy, in addition to using PE & School Sport as a vehicle for whole school improvement. It’s planned that subject to funding, this initiative will continue beyond the next 2 years and as a Network, we will be working hard to secure our sustainability too.

For further information please contact the Slough School Sport Network on 01753 825579