Coaching Edge 33 2013 | Page 34

COACHING EDGE |PRIMARY SCHOOL SPORT FUNDING |

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Mark Curtin, the charity’s head of programmes,
asserts that Greenhouse provides a great model
for head teachers to invest in sustainable,
specialised, curriculum-linked programmes that
have a wider effect on pupils’ confidence and
behaviour and ignite a love of sport.
‘Our view is that funding is only ever available
in parliamentary cycles. It’s always very short
term. We think our model helps schools to
make the money go further,’ he states.
‘The only way that things are going to be
sustained is to have in-house capacity and
capability which unfortunately government
money doesn’t foster because it’s so short term.
You end up making people redundant every
time the money runs out every couple of years.
‘We are insistent that we don’t provide casual
or sessional coaching. Our model is very much
about building a partnership and providing a
coach who’s based in the school working with
those kids all of the time.’ Greenhouse typically
funds 50% of each of their sport programmes
from private trust and corporate money, with the
schools paying the other half themselves.
Curtin adds: ‘If primary schools want to work
with an organisation like us, they could use the
new PE funding to leverage the money that we
raise ourselves as a charity to bring about fulland part-time programmes delivered by
specialist coaches, rather than non-qualified
coaches or teachers.
‘Until there is proper investment in placing sports
coaching specialists into primary schools, they’ll
never really get the quality that’s required.’
Colin Mason is a grass-roots coach delivering
a host of sports including baseball/softball,
football and swimming around schools in Bury,
Greater Manchester. He hopes the new
funding will encourage schools to introduce
pupils to new sports and states that coaches
with more wide-ranging qualifications will be
best placed to appeal to head teachers.
‘It’s an advantage for coaches such as myself if
you can deliver more than just football, for

example,’ he says. ‘It really helps in primary
schools. When you introduce something like
softball, kids are enthralled. The Year 5 and
Year 6 kids love getting that aggression out of
them by smashing the ball with a bigger bat.’
Mason worries that some head teachers might
mistakenly view coaches as a short-term
investment and see bats, balls and pommel
horses as more sustainable.

proposition for schools looking to enrich and
expand their PE provision. Neither can head
teachers, in turn, ignore the value of fullyequipped, qualified, knowledgeable specialists
to work alongside teachers in changing
children’s lifestyles and kindling the flame of
lifelong passion for sport. C E

‘Heads up’ for head teachers:

‘I go into these PE cupboards and often see
equipment which has never been used,’ laughs
Mason. ‘You think, “Why have they bought
that?” they don’t even know what to do with it.

sports coach UK’s new online portal is a
hub of info for head teachers looking to
recruit coaches to support their school’s
PE provision. It gives tips on:

‘We’ve gone into schools to introduce them to
what we want to do, giving quality coaching
and expanding their offering of sports, but it’s
so important that teachers learn from us too.
Teachers can develop themselves by watching
and working alongside us. I give them session
plans, assess the children, and pitch the lessons
at the appropriate national curriculum level.

• tools to help schools recruit the
right coach

‘A lot of teachers don’t have any confidence, and
this is where this money comes into its own. Over
this two-year stretch, we can carry on going in
schools and keep delivering quality PE lessons
which will provide teachers with those skills.’
Primary school head teachers seeking out
opportunities to begin or expand engagement
with coaches will be able to access sports
coach UK’s new online portal of advice and
guidance from the start of the autumn term.
Another useful resource, for both coaches and
schools, is sports coach UK’s new guidelines
on the minimum standards for coaches of
children. On a sport-by-sport basis, the
document advises on the appropriate
qualifications for lead coaches (ie those who
can work without supervision) in schools, and
also recommends additional training.
Overall, it’s clear that the limited time frame of
the new primary PE funding will make it tough
to create an indelible legacy of physical
literacy and sport participation in schools.
However, there’s still no excuse for coaches not
to mobilise themselves into an attractive

• training opportunities for school staff
• tips on making coaches part of the
school community
• info on PE provision for disabled
or special educational needs
(SEN) children.

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