The latest data published by sportscotland shows that Active Schools is going from strength to strength with national figures at an all-time high and 7.3 million participant sessions delivered in 2017/18, an increase of 6% from 2016/17.
Contributing to the national figures, East Dunbartonshire Council ran 135,582 participant sessions in the last year, and 7,208 individual children and young people took part in a whole range of sports and physical activities in those sessions.
There has been a 2% increase overall in the percentage of the school roll now participating in Active Schools sessions nationally, and a 6% increase in the number of activity sessions, 7,659 of those sessions delivered in East Dunbartonshire.
Mel Young, Chair of sportscotland, said:
“It’s really encouraging to see the continued growth in participation in Active Schools activities across the country. The success of Active Schools is the result of strong local partnerships between Active Schools teams, school staff, sports development teams in local authorities, regional managers from the governing bodies, and local sports clubs. By working together, we can deliver more and better opportunities for young people of all abilities to take part in sport as these latest figures show.
“It is also rewarding to see the impact of programmes like Active Schools on the lives of the young people who take part, increasing their confidence and motivating them to continue an active lifestyle in the future.”
Active Schools, one of sportscotland’s longest running flagship programmes, is designed to provide more and higher quality opportunities to take part in sport and physical activity before school, during lunchtime and after school. Developing effective pathways between schools and sports clubs in the local community is also a priority and this year schools in East Dunbartonshire have identified 362 examples of links being reported including extracurricular links and holiday programmes.
Chair of the East Dunbartonshire Leisure & Culture Trust, Sandy Marshall, said, “The active schools programme is very well received in East Dunbartonshire with more and more children taking part in a large variety of different sporting activities on offer. By developing an interest in sport at a young age children are more likely to go on to lead healthy active lives throughout their adulthood – something we are keen to encourage here at EDLC Trust.”
Councillor Billy Hendry, Convener of Place, Neighbourhood & Corporate Assets, said, “I’m pleased the active schools programme is going from strength to strength in East Dunbartonshire and that the number of children participating increases year on year. Not only are our young people developing their sporting skills and improving their health, the active schools programme offers excellent leadership and teaching opportunities. Through this, children learn important life skills that will benefit them as they go on to further education or into the workplace.”
Delivered in partnership with all 32 local authorities in primary, secondary and ASN schools, the impact of Active Schools goes beyond the numbers with a recent independent survey commissioned by sportscotland providing strong evidence that programmes like this are making a difference to people’s lives.
The survey of over 4000 school pupils showed that 98% of Active Schools participants feel healthier thanks to their involvement in the activities while 94% are motivated to be more active in the future and 92% of those surveyed felt more confident.
Children and young people from right across Scotland have been able to participate in over 100 different activities ranging from football to dance and movement delivered by a combination of volunteers, including pupils, and paid individuals.
The number of secondary pupils delivering sessions has also increased year on year which is a fantastic endorsement of the leadership programmes now in place in the sporting system and something to be celebrated in this, the Year of Young People.
The full report can be accessed on the sportscotland website:
sportscotland.org.uk/schools/active-schools/active-schools-report-2017-2018/