Shipley is a small Church of England village primary school, set in beautiful countryside surrounded by the Knepp Estate in Horsham. It has four classes and approximately 80 pupils on roll.
Shipley’s Headteacher is Jen Harvey who joined the school in 2016 and jointly leads PE. Jen is very keen to emphasise however that, being such a small school means that a whole school commitment to PE, sport and physical activity is required to make it work.
This case study looks how through promoting being active and developing opportunities to take part in physical activity both within and beyond the school day the schools ‘wheels programme’ that includes cycling, scooting and skating/skateboarding was developed.
The wheels programme includes;
- a annual wheels festival which now become an eagerly anticipated annual event and has gained support from a number of members of the local community,
- Monday and Friday lunchtimes are now dedicated ‘wheel playtimes’ where pupils have the option to cycle, skate or scoot within the school grounds, either using their own equipment from home or using the school’s set.
- The school also fully funds the Bikeability programme for its year 6 pupils to ensure it can be accessed by every child
- Weekly extra-curricular club
Impact
A local student has offered free bike maintenance support as part of his Duke of Edinburgh award, along with a local mechanic. Local cycle clubs have offered free coaching and a number of parents now support the event with marshalling, riding with less confident pupils, setting up the course and providing refreshments. Tic Tac skate school have provided coaching and are planning a new after school club for budding skateboarders. The school have even entered a mountain bike team at an event in Brighton.
Currently 25% of pupils regularly attend the weekly extra-curricular club which now always runs at capacity. The club has been extremely effective at reaching less active pupils at the school including GRT pupils.
The club has allowed staff, including the Headteacher, to build stronger relationships with targeted pupils which, in turn, has led to better behaviour from them throughout the school day.
The school is now seen as a local cycling hub. There are often pre-owned bicycles traded, given away or sold in the school playground, to help ensure every pupil can continue to cycle outside of school, too.
The school has achieved its long term aim for this programme and can boast that 100% of its year 6 pupils successfully pass Bikeability (level 2) each year. The school has also ensured that disabled and SEND pupils can access the programme by providing preparation support before the course and by securing the use of a tandem.
Read the full Case Study here
Support from Active Sussex Shipley CE Primary School receives ongoing guidance from Active Sussex as to how to utilise their PE and Sport Premium in the most effective and sustainable way. The school also subscribes to the monthly Active Sussex Education eNews that promotes opportunities to develop PE , sport and physical activity at their school. At the beginning of the 2021/22 academic year, Shipley's Headteacher, Jen Harvey, completed the annual Active Sussex primary school training needs survey, where schools get the opportunity to shape what Active Sussex support is provided throughout the year, including what CPD opportunities are organised. Through this survey the school were also able to highlight their impactful Wheels Programme, the details of which have now been put into an Active Sussex case study to share best practice with other schools throughout the county and now the country.