CYP LEGACY FOR LEICESTER AND LEICESTERSHIRE - Inspire ...

CYP LEGACY FOR LEICESTER AND LEICESTERSHIREThe East Midlands took very seriously the Singapore pledge to inspire a generation andChief Executives from across the region met with key figures from sport and education totry to bring the pledge to fruition. They determined to pool money from all nine EastMidlands Local Authorities in order to recruit a Legacy Coordinator on a five yearcontract. In June 2009 they appointed a coordinator specifically to work with and forchildren and young people.Five outputs had been highlighted:• greater participation in sport and physical activity• increased volunteering by children and young people• a higher awareness of and involvement with the Cultural Olympiad• greater understanding of the international dimension of London 2012• a strong commitment to the LOCOG education programme, Get Set.Since appointment the Legacy Coordinator for Children and Young People has workedclosely with partners in Leicester and Leicestershire local authorities, the County SportsPartnership, School Sports Partnerships, the LeicesterShire 2012 Management Group,national governing bodies, arts organisations, colleges and schools to deliver to theseoutputs. The Inspire LeicesterShire Director and Coordinator were invaluable allies..A target was set for Get Set registration of 80% of East Midlands schools and 50% in theGet Set Network; when the latter target was achieved the Network target was revised upto 60%. Schools in the Network were also entitled to apply for free Olympic andParalympic tickets under LOCOG’s Ticket Share scheme, providing the potential foreven more direct inspiration. The city and county totals, (see box on next page), showsthat the city and county had very similar take-up of both registration and Network statuswith around 91% and 80% respectively, well above both regional and national statisticson both counts.AuthorityEligibleEstablishments Registered %Applied toGet Set %Derby 105 95 90.5% 73 69.5%Derbyshire 447 398 89.0% 312 69.8%Leicester 130 119 91.5% 106 81.5%Leicestershire 328 297 90.5% 257 78.4%Lincolnshire 400 330 82.5% 259 64.8%Northamptonshire 358 328 91.6% 242 67.6%Nottingham 113 101 89.4% 78 69.0%Nottinghamshire 395 340 86.1% 251 63.5%Rutland 26 22 84.6% 18 69.2%Total 2,302 2,030 88.2% 1,596 69.3%Key Achievements:• The Get Set ‘end of term’ report put East Midlands 5th amongst Nations and Regionswith over 88% registration and 69.3% in the Network. (This compares favourably with anational average of 85.4% and 66.4% respectively, especially as the East Midlands isthe only region that did not host Olympic or Paralympic activity)• The good numbers for Get Set in Leicester and Leicestershire were achieved by theCoordinator working closely with Inspire LeicesterShire colleagues as well as officers atLeicester City Council and PDMs in city and county.

26 East Midlands schools received Department of Education funding for Plan Your Own2012 projects, sharing their London 2012 enthusiasm and expertise with neighbouringschools. 5 of these were from Leicestershire and 2 from the city, 7 in total – adisproportionate figure reflecting the proactivity of city andcounty.21 East Midlands schools were selected to take part in the flag bearing Guard of Honourfor athletes ahead of the Opening Ceremony of the Olympic Games, 7 of these werefrom the county and 2 from the city, again a disproportionate representation.City and county schools entered fully into the spirit ofLondon 2012 from the earliest possible opportunity.Early enthusiasts included Kegworth Primary School,the first Primary School in the county to join the GetSet network, whose pupils supported early InspireLeicesterShire events. Robert Smyth Academy ledthe way in terms of young ambassadors and theirproactivity earned them the first visit of a mascot to theregion.Loughborough College was the first of the region’scolleges to commit wholeheartedly to London 2012and its Flames, Lighting the Way project did just that,introducing thousands of children to the Olympic andParalympic values alongside healthy activity. TheCollege’s 1948 Torch and inspiring characters like thelate Tommy Godwin, Liam Tancock and Nicola Whitehad real impact upon the county’s youngsters.With 500 days to go to the Games Inspire LeicesterShire and the Regional Coordinatorfor CYP Legacy organised an unforgettable event which saw the 1948 Torch, carried byTommy Godwin and triathlete Mark Buckingham pass through 500 eager pairs of hands.The journey began at Loughborough College with RNIB students and moved on via StPeter and St Paul’s, Mountsorrel, Longslade College, Rushey Mead School, SoarValley College, Netherhall Special School, Taylor Road Primary School to theLeicester City football ground. There it was greeted by LCFC legend Alan Birchenall andthen manager Sven Goran-Eriksson.Further milestones enthusiasticallycelebrated were 400 days to goinvolving Charnwood Borough schoolsat Loughborough University, InspireDay at Leicester’s Live Site involvingchildren from Soar Valley College andKing Richard III Infants, 100 days togo with Abbey Primary and MayflowerPrimary and 100 Days to theParalympics with pupils from EllesmereCollege.

The city and county hosted visits from Jonathan Edwards, Paul Deighton and ChrisHolmes. Jonathan visited Glebelands Primary and King Richard III Infants inLeicester and Robert Smyth in Market Harborough where he also met Welland ParkHigh School pupils. Paul Deighton visited Loughborough College and Chris Holmesvisited RNIB College and Sacred Heart Catholic Primary School. Children fromFolville Junior School in Leicester joined the Regional Coordinator and InspireLeicesterShire in a feature on Legacy for East Midlands Today.The Regional Coordinator visitednumerous city and county school ahead ofLondon 2012 to spread the Legacymessage. She took assemblies, metSchool Councils and led teacher briefingsas well as fronting several Legacy eventsfor LeicesterShire and Rutland Sport(LRS). Since the Games she has visiteddozens of schools reflecting on the Legacyof the Games as well as facilitating severalevents involving Olympians andParalympians on inspirational visits toschools. One such event organised byLRS and Inspire LeicesterShire was thevisit of boxing gold medallist to TheLancaster School in Leicester and then at Shepshed Amateur Boxing Club where hemet young people from Shepshed High School.Further visitors have included Team GB basketballstar Drew Sullivan, hockey bronze medallistsNicola White, Sally Walton and Hannah MacLeodas well as GB men’s hockey player, Alistair Wilson.On his recent visit Lord Coe met young peoplefrom Woodbrook Vale from the county andStokes Wood Primary from the city.Further visits from Olympians and Paralympiansare planned with LRS, Inspire LeicesterShire andthe Coordinator all determined to ensure that theLondon 2012 flame continues to burn brightly incity and county.Young people’s participation in sport and physical activityremains a key output for the Coordinator and colleagues.Since the last election that has taken the form ofencouraging involvement in the School Games at all levels.The Coordinator has visited schools with some inspiringyoung sports stars like the Garner sisters, Grace and Lucy,with the LRS School Games mascot Dazzle and withinspirational characters like Torch Bearers. She hasattended Level 3 Finals and the School Games final atwhich she acted as MC. The Coordinator has facilitated atnumerous county level events for children and young peopleas well as acting as MC for Blaby, Learning SouthLeicestershire, Charnwood, Hinckley and Bosworth and Leicester City.

The Coordinator has linked with numerous CulturalOlympiad events including the Torch Relay in city andcounty, the Torch evening celebration in Leicester,The Lancaster School’s ‘Plan Your 2012’ evening,Inspire LeicesterShire’s Patchwork Pledge activity,Games Time in Loughborough, the BandstandMarathon. Certain schools have shown particularinterest in cultural activity, notably Kingsway andWelland Park for the Patchwork Pledge, RusheyMead for their ‘Art of Sport’ project and HastingsHigh School which really embraced the artisticpossibilities of London 2012 (see right).One school which took the cultural possibilities verymuch to heart was Barwell Junior School whichcreated a statue called Spirit, inspired by London2012. The Coordinator was invited along to itsunveiling and blessing by the local Archdeacon (seebelow).De Lisle Catholic Secondary School andWoodbrook Vale took a great interest in thejournalistic opportunities afforded by London2012 and both set up their own TV stations.The Coordinator provided both schools withinterview opportunities and exposure for theiryoung journalists.Rawlins College, Wreake Valley Collegeand Long Field High School were amongstthe schools that entered languagechallenges supported by the Coordinator. Inthese pupils had to plan a Pre GamesTraining Camp for a non-English speakingcountry.This last opportunity also touched upon the area of international understanding andseveral other county and city schools looked at this with enthusiasm. Sacred HeartCatholic Primary was the only local school to forge a link with a school through theBBC World Olympic Dreams programme, the school of a Chinese diving star. BrookvaleHigh School in the county and Judgemeadow School in the city took part in theCoordinator’s Inspire Mark project Musubi which won a silver medal at the PodiumAwards. King Richard III Infants held a six week celebration focused on the last sixOlympic host venues.One of the city and county’s strongest suits around London 2012 has been thedevelopment of some tremendous young leaders and volunteers, several of whom likeSophie Bingham of Robert Smyth Academy and Taj Sahota of LoughboroughCollege were rewarded by being chosen as Torch Bearers. Youth Council members PhilFuller and Anick Soni were also honoured with Phil lighting the cauldron at Abbey Park.The Coordinator has supported programmes like Step into Sport, Young Ambassadors,Sport Makers and the Inspire to Lead project for young disabled leaders. She hasprovided keynote addresses and run Q and A sessions at numerous events as well asbeing a leading light in the LRS Go Gold ambassador programme.