Shooting Stars!
Youth Sport Trust/FA Girls’ Schools Football Partnership
Developing innovative ways to deliver football for girls, improving participation from their very first experience and creating the next generation of female footballers, coaches and volunteers.
St Mary’s College, delivered by Hull Active Schools, are one of 153 designated FA Girls School Football Partnerships along with Cottingham High School (East Riding West SSP) and Oasis Academy Wintringham (North East Lincolnshire SSP).
In 2017, the Football Association (FA) launched their new strategy, ‘The Gameplan for Growth’, which set out a significant vision for girls and young women in football. Firstly, to double the take-up of the game and secondly, ensure every young girl can experience and learn through football.
The FA recognised that participation-based initiatives and programmes for schools are not enough on their own and as a result, the FA partnered with the Youth Sport Trust (YST) to build a unique network of FA Girls’ Football School Partnerships and provide them with bespoke programmes for their local network of schools based on individual needs and, most importantly, connect with existing education and community providers.
The first year saw FA Girls’ Football School Partnerships in place in over 50 locations across England, incorporating 3,000 schools. In order to drive the game forward in line with the FA’s goals for 2020 and beyond, this year, the aim has been to double this reach to a total of 6,000 schools.
In the primary sector, the Partnerships are working to increase the physical literacy of five- to eight-year-old girls through programmes such as Active Play through Storytelling sponsored by Disney. The Secondary offer involves the development of character education skills using the vehicle of girls’ football in the curriculum underpinned by the Youth Sport Award, a reward and recognition tool.
Across all school sectors, the goal is to engage, excite and encourage girls to become more physically active with improved well-being and develop their confidence and competence to play football at school and in a community setting, making football a part of their life.
The role of FA Girls’ Football School Partnerships will be to:
Demonstrate the value of girl’s football within whole school through delivery of bespoke interventions for schools through which schools can access FREE CPD and resources
Advocate the impact of football on girls’ wellbeing, leadership and achievement
Develop and test specialist interventions and learning that create transformational change through the vehicle of football in schools and communities
Collaborate with partners to support transition of young people to sustain their involvement in girls’ football.
For further details contact Mark Arridge
Hull Active Schools Secondary and Inclusion Partnership Development Manager
St Mary’s College, Cranbrook Avenue, Hull
