Sky has committed to an expansion of its Living with Sport schools initiative and is targeting 175 secondary schools to benefit from the programme this year.
Sky Sports Living for Sport, part of Sky Academy, is a free secondary school initiative delivered in partnership with the Youth Sport Trust, that uses sport stars and the skills learnt through sport to help young people build confidence and develop life skills.
Launched last year in Ireland with Ambassador Katie Taylor, over 100 schools have already participated and the aim is to increase this to 175 schools during the 2014/2015 academic year.
Irish rugby star Jenny Miller, Paralympic Gold Medallist Mark Rohan and Ireland’s finest canoeist turned coach Eoin Rheinisch were in Dublin yesterday to launch the new year campaign and give some insight on their own involvement in the programme.
Roster
“The programme consists of each of us taking on a roster of around ten schools a year,” said Rohan.
“The initial visit is to meet with the whole school to introduce the programme and then there is a second day when we get really involved with a group of kids around a programme which the school itself has designed.”
“It’s a structured way in which we can give something back to schools that were for the most part so important in our own sporting success,” added Murphy.
“We can offer lessons from our own life journey that will perhaps resonate more with them than if they were told by a parent or teacher.”
“The programme is really aimed at the kids who are not at the top end of the sports spectrum,” said Rheinisch.
“Many are not sporty at all but a new voice can make a difference and we have connected in areas like timekeeping, commitment and literacy.”
Communication
“We could set a project to learn about a new sport, and by asking them to read rules and explain them back to class mates we are helping to develop their communication skills through a challenge which they can embrace.”
“The students we meet are really receptive and very mature,” added Rohan. “Especially when I think back to what I was like when I was their age.”
Thousands of Irish students have experienced the positive impact sport can bring to their young lives through visits by other Sky Sports Living for Sport Athlete Mentors including Alan Quinlan, Natalya Coyle, Michael Conlan, and Alison Miller.
Session
This year schools that sign up to be part of the programme will also have a chance to win a gaelic football session at the school with this year’s new ambassador for the programme Bernard Brogan, who also was unveiled yesterday as the new President of the Federation of Irish Sport.
“Sport is a hugely important part of my life and I’m delighted to support this initiative. Like all aspects of life, sport can be challenging and requires focus, discipline and self belief, so it’s fantastic to see how Sky Sports Living for Sport helps students learn skills and adopt behaviours to help them succeed.”
“We are building on a very successful first year and now we want to expand and attract even more secondary schools to take part in the programme,” added Sky Head of Corporate Affairs in Ireland, Mark Deering.
Curriculum
Teachers can run the Sky Sports Living for Sport initiative on a stand-alone basis or as part of existing curriculum activities by selecting up to 20 students who they feel need support and submitting a simple project plan in outline. Sky then sends them an information pack and t-shirts. Teachers set project goals with their groups including asking them to lead their own sports event, before finally celebrating the group’s achievements.
Participating schools receive up to two visits from an Athlete Mentor who will share their inspirational story of how they have had to overcome challenges to achieve success and how participation in sport has helped them throughout their lives. The visits are designed to inspire the students and demonstrate that lessons learnt through sport – such as mental toughness and planning for success – can help them achieve their own goals in life.
This is a well designed programme, tried and tested though more than a decade of experience in the UK.
Sport is a critical part of education and can help to reach children in ways that can be transformational in how their lives develop. Sky brings recognition, star appeal and a structure that works and is a valuable partner for schools that step forward.
Sport for Business is currently working with the Active Flag programme in primary schools and scholarship programmes run through third level institutions including the Dublin Institute of Technology to look at ways the whole arc of education can be developed through sport.
