Activity
Sports Hall Athletics
Audience
Year 6 and Year 7 Students
Location
Countywide
Overview of School Games
The School Games is a government led programme, inspiring young people to be physically active for life through positive experiences of daily activity and competition.
Kent School Games now has a greater focus on targeted provision and engaging those young people most affected by inequalities. By identifying what skills and attributes need developing, the Games support the wider development of children and young people through six different themes: Physical Me, Social Me, Thinking Me, Personal Me, Healthy Me and Competitive Me.
In December 2022, Kent School Games delivered a Transition Event in partnership with Sports Hall Athletics. This transition event was a Social Me event which was aimed at students who do not regularly take part in physical activity and find it difficult to connect with others. The event and the activities aimed to help the students feel more confident about taking part in PE at secondary school, improve their social skills and ease the transition for year 6’s into secondary school. Working in mixed year teams, the students engaged in a range of activities which encouraged them to communicate and problem solve.
“We were delighted to partner with Active Kent & Medway to develop this event. It was wonderful to see the students, who possibly wouldn’t have had this opportunity before, engaging in a range of sports hall athletics challenges and having fun”. Adam Burgess, Sports Hall Athletics
Impact of the Transition Event
On the day, year 6 students were asked how confident they felt about the transition from primary to secondary school and taking part in PE and school sport before and after the activities. Responses were rated on a scale of 1-10, 1 being not very confident and 10 being very confident.
Before the event
39% of students rated their transition confidence below 5 and 48% of students felt confident in taking part in PE and sport at secondary school
After the event
12% of students rated their transition confidence below 5 and 73% of students felt confident in taking part in PE and sport at secondary school
The responses show that these Social Me transition events are having a positive impact on the students, changing their perspectives of PE and school sport and creating a sense of excitement about the opportunities they will get at secondary school.
Student Voice
We also asked the students a number of questions about being active and this is what we learnt:
What I like about sport and being active…
"It keeps me healthy"
"You become more social"
"There are a lot of opportunities in sports and activities"
"Competition and having fun with friends"
I would be more active if…
"More sports were available"
"My family and friends wanted to"
"I wasn’t on my phone as much"
"There wasn’t big breaks between clubs in half term"
What are the benefits of being active…
"Becoming more fit and healthier"
"Making you feel happier about yourself"
"Having fun with friends"
"Becoming more social and fitter"
Next Steps
With these events being focused around Social Me it is positive to see the clear link that the students have made between being active and the social, mental and physical benefits which it brings.
Bringing together Year 6 and Year 7’s into an active environment breaks down barriers, reduces anxiety and helps with the transition process. Driven by insight, these transition events will continue to be delivered and provide further opportunities for these students to continue to build their confidence and develop their social and communication skills.
Contact Us
If you would like to find out more about Kent School Games and how your school can get involved, please get in touch with Natalie Harris at Active Kent and Medway via email: natalie.harris@kent.gov.uk
