More students than ever take part in sport thanks to college Sportmaker
During four years as college Sportmaker at the City of Stoke-on-Trent Sixth Form College David Hardwick has successfully increased the number of students taking part in sport by a whopping 261 per cent.
The ultimate Mr Motivator, it would seem David has even managed to encourage the elusive female student community to take part in physical activity, with a 276 per cent increase in female students now taking part in a sport session since he began.
According to Sport England’s Active People Survey 2016, it confirms that 1.6 million fewer women than men currently take part in sport or physical activity once a week, a startling statistic which has big implications for future healthcare.
The college was one of 11 centres throughout the West Midlands who succeeded in securing Sport England funding to create the five year Sportmaker post, with the aim of increasing student involvement in sport, particularly among female students.
David draws on seven years of experience working in the sports and leisure department at Stoke-on-Trent City Council, and was picked from more than 50 applications for the post.
At that time there were 1,700 students at the college and 350 of them were doing a sports related course, which raised the question – what were the other 1,350 doing?
“It was challenging,” David admits, “but the response I had from the students and the staff has been really enthusiastic.
“We went from offering around six different sports to 28, which are largely recreational, anything from horse riding to skiing, archery to ice skating, yoga, climbing, badminton, basketball – you name it we’ve run it.”
The diversity and range of the activities is, David says, one of the keys to the college success in raising participation, as students are consulted right from the start on what they want.
“My approach has always been if they can get at least six students together who’d like to try something then I will make it happen for them. It’s all about consulting with them to find out what they want, as there’s no point putting on sessions they’re not interested in.
“For example, we’ve not run a squash club this year as there wasn’t much interest, but we now have a recreational basketball team. They don’t want to play for the college team or take it too seriously, they just want a game and to enjoy it.
“Then the easier we can make it for them the better, which is why we also use the dance studios here at the college to offer yoga and things like that, and we have a 14-seater minibus we use to take students to other venues so they don’t have to rely on lifts.”
Another example of bringing sport to them which has proved popular among students are lunchtime sessions of Instant Ping – a simple table tennis game which can be played anywhere.
“Instant Ping began after it was clear that a weekly table tennis club at Fenton Manor Sports Complex, a 15-minute walk away, had little attendance,” he says.
“Through Table Tennis England Instant Ping nets were purchased and set up on work tables in classrooms and proved really popular. Over the previous three years a total of 515 students have attended an Instant Ping session, usually dropping in during their lunch break in a social setting.”
Funded by Sportivate, The Fit 4 Work Programme proved another success. The six week programme introduced 74 of the most inactive students at the college to regular physical activity including archery and dodge ball.
“With the female students it’s all about consulting them and working within their comfort zone so they’re not joining a group of sports students, and giving them that opportunity to try something new like street dance for example.”
Previously 47 of these students did not even take part in 30 minutes of physical activity per week, and to make sure they stayed active outside of college hours they were given a pedometer challenge with prizes for the student who walked the most steps.
Aside from the obvious health benefits, David has also logged other benefits, from increased attendance in lessons among physically active students to an increase in employability skills and opportunities.
He said: “Attending sport enrichment sessions has had a positive effect on our student attendance. During 2015-16 our average student attended 91 per cent of their lessons, but students who regularly attended sports sessions had a higher attendance average.
“Not only that, but our Sport Ambassador and Sports Futures Programme has led to 327 sports qualifications being gained, with 12 students going on to employment with bodies including Stoke City Football Club, Stoke-on-Trent City Council or Progressive Sport.
“As a reward for offering their time as volunteers in assisting at sports sessions, either just helping out or coaching, we offer them opportunities for additional qualifications in things like coaching.
“The idea behind it is to increase their employability skills and additional qualifications if they are interested in pursuing a career in sport and this year we have 30 of them.”
An impressive tally of successes which has not gone unnoticed by the student community, whose votes in an online survey concluded the college sports programme matched their interests 100 per cent, with 93 per cent claiming it enhanced their experience of college life.
David concludes: “I’ve been very lucky that I’ve had lots of support in this project from all the staff here who have allowed me to come into lessons and hand out questionnaires, and at enrolment where I try and meet as many students as possible and encourage them to sign up to different opportunities – then it’s over to me to find funding for them!”
Sporty stats:
- Sports ambassadors – in three years a total of 1,641 volunteer hours were clocked up
- 327 sports related qualifications achieved in three years
- On average 30-40 students each year enrol as Sports Ambassadors
- 100 per cent of students either agreed or strongly agreed that sports at the college match their interests
- 190 sports sessions 2012-13 to 568 in 2015-16
- 97 female participants 2012-13 to 365 in 2015-16
- A total of 515 students attended Instant Ping sessions over three years
- 12 students in employment as a result of their work as Sport Ambassador
Anyone interested in studying at the City of Stoke-on-Trent Sixth Form College can log on to http://www.stokesfc.ac.uk or call 01782 848736.