Name: SSG Adventure Games County Finals
Objective: To target the most inactive children in schools in Luton and Bedfordshire to
encourage them to participate in physical activity
Sports included: Adventure Scramble, Climbing, Sling Shots, Problem Solving, Orienteering, Archery and Air Rifles.
Number of schools involved: 8
Number of children participating: 80
Year groups; 4,5,6 only
Criteria for each school team: To bring 10 children to the day who are the least active in the school from across year groups 4,5,6. The aim of the day is to engage with those children who don't normally get involved in traditional school sports and who may not have represented their school in a competition before. The target group was also inclusive of SEND pupils.
Overall funding obtained for this activity: The Games were funded by SSG who also
designed the format in partnership with us and provided the staff to deliver the Games on the day.

SSG approached team BEDS&LUTON with the idea of an Adventure Games after several years of working alongside the School Games. As a local activity provider they had identified a way to engage with the less active pupils through non-traditional activities and wanted to take this idea to schools. The concept of an Adventure Games County Final linked to the School Games and the Primary Premium Funding was then developed. It was acknowledged that a number of schools are actively engaged at Level 2 School Games but will never make a county final for a whole host of reasons.

It was therefore decided that The School Games Manager would approach the SGOs and ask them to nominate one school in their area who are actively engaged in their School Games programme but have never made it to a county final. We then tied in with Key Indicator 1 of the Primary Premium Funding and invited schools to identify 10 children who were their least active across years 4,5,6 to bring to the day. We wanted to try and create an event where the least active children from several schools across Luton and Bedfordshire were able to come together to enjoy being active, enjoy competition and try and improve their physical literacy.

Enjoyment, Confidence, Competence, Understanding, Knowledge.

Enjoyment is the single biggest factor in motivating children to be active* So with this in mind we wanted to create an event where physical activity was seen very differently from their usual day today school experiences. Away from the pressures of other more physically active children and provide a safe and inclusive environment where new and different activities could be tried in a fun and unique format over the course of an entire school day.

*Active Lives Children and Young People Survey

We worked in partnership with SSG to:

• Liaise with the SGOs to identify the schools to invite
• Engage with the identified schools to help target the right individuals for the event
• Provide all the equipment,staffing and organisational support.

The Adventure Games provided an opportunity for the children to build self-belief, self-worth and self-confidence through the pride of representing their school, the success they achieved in the activities and the acceptance from being part of and contributing to a team effort. The Games have also enriched the school curriculum and allowed some children who did not engage positively with traditional PE to access physical education in a different way. They also introduced children to a completely different type of activity with very different dynamics to the standard PE curriculum which both enriches learning and is more inclusive for children with different interests and skill levels.

There was some lovely feedback from the Teachers.

Schools are able to use their PE Premium Funding to pay for their own format of the Adventure Games and also to up-skill staff through CPD so that they can continue to deliver a form of Adventure Games themselves if the funding ceases to exist.

The comments received on the day from the children were positive and you can see from all the photos how much they enjoyed themselves.

As a result of these positive changes seen on the day by the teachers themselves, a couple of schools are looking to introduce orienteering as the children loved running around trying to find the clues. They were being physically active without really realising it. This activity also helps to improve decision making skills and self esteem.

We would like to support other Active Partnerships, Schools and Community groups with their very own Adventure Games. ( A cost would be involved)

Please contact Gill Morrow (schoolgames@teambedsandluton.co.uk)
or Chris Watson (chris.watson@ssgservices.co.uk) for further details.