Fit To Succeed
The story so far………………………….
Fit to Succeed emerged in October 1999, the project was triggered from a number of key concerns identified both locally and nationally:
- Headteachers reported lethargy in the classroom and increasing difficulties in motivating children to reach their academic potential.
- Many children in Exeter and elsewhere are not sufficiently active to maintain good health. Lack of activity has been particularly identified in girls.
- Even more concerning, the levels of recorded obesity are high and increasing.
At the initiative of the Schools Health Education Unit (SHEU), a group was convened of organisations that may be able to help children in the Exeter area.
A partnership emerged which enabled these key concerns to be addressed in an innovative fashion. This collaborative approach has been crucial in finding practical ways to help towards solving these problems and at the same time helping to raise standards in schools.
Key elements included:
- A recognition that teachers have the motivation to get children into clubs and activities, and schools are keen to investigate a possible link between active bodies and active minds.
- Children were interested in participating in a variety of activities when provided with realistic opportunities.
- DC Leisure have extensive sports facilities and are keen to involve more children
- Devon and Exeter Councils have the contacts with schools to bring partners together
- The Schools Health Education Unit has the research expertise to monitor the effectiveness of the project.
2005
Following St Luke's successful designation as a Specialist Science & Sports College in September 2006, and the start of the Exeter School Sport Partnership a new infrastructure was established to extend the early work of Fit to Succeed and ensure that the benefits of that work were accessible for all young people.
The Fit to Succeed philosophy was central to both the Sports College bid and the Partnership Development Plan. The fundamental aims are:
- To raise the profile of health, fitness and physical activity, the importance of having a healthy diet and drinking water.
- To raise the profile of interventions in PEDPASS within the Every Child Matters agenda
- To demonstrate an unequivocal link between physical activity patterns and academic attainment
- To ensure that every young person is Fit to Succeed
During the Academic Year 2005/6 all 27 Primary Schools and all 5 Secondary Schools will have completed the Fit to Succeed questionnaire. Proactive analysis of these results will enable us to monitor the impact of the SSP and provide guidance around our future direction.
2006 and 2007
The number of students completing the survey has more than doubled from 2006. Last year 3,531 students completed the survey and in 2007, 9,600 have participated. Eight secondary and 53 different primary schools have taken part and are now able to view their results online. Individual schools can analyse their data by comparing percentages to a previous survey or to that of similar schools within their family. They also have the opportunity to study their results in relation to the whole partnership.
With over 13,000 student surveys having been completed in the past two years, the data set is proving to be a major resource for the partnership.
In addition to the main primary and secondary surveys, a Key Stage 1 pilot has been launched in response to the demand from first schools to take part. It is hoped that this development will be finalised shortly so that Early Years pupils access can be fully incorporated in the near future.
The impact of the Fit to Succeed data was highlighted during an Ofsted inspection at Exeter 's St. Luke's Science and Sports College :
“The personal development and well-being of students is good with outstanding features. The College makes excellent use of the data such as that from the “Fit to Succeed” survey. The outcomes of the survey have been carefully analysed and have had a positive impact on teaching and the ways in which students are supported and guided.” Ofsted 2006
Please direct any enquiries to: www.sheu.org.uk
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