08 Core Physical Education CORE Core PE Fund Guide for Applicants PHYSICAL 2015/2016 EDUCATION This document is designed to support you and set out the terms under which you will be applying to the fund. Throughout the guidelines you will see examples from previous bids and the criteria you are scored against. Core Physical Education Core Physical Education CORE PE FUND GUIDE F OR APPLICANTS Context Education Scotland is committed to building the confidence and capacity of practitioners to improve learning and teaching within physical education in Curriculum for Excellence, potentially linking to national initiatives such as Women’s Football World Cup, Tour de France, Netball World Championships, Year of Food & Drink, World Walking Initiative, Healthy Working Lives, in schools/clusters and professional learning communities in local authorities across Scotland. In providing the Core PE Fund, Scottish schools are being given an exciting opportunity to enhance learning and teaching in physical education as well as making connections to physical activity and sport. Page 1 Core Physical Education Fund Partners Education Scotland is a key national body supporting quality and improvement in Scottish education. As a new and dynamic improvement agency, Education Scotland is able to build on the best of current approaches to establish a more integrated, flexible and coherent national approach to promoting improvement and providing assurance on the quality of education, working in partnership with other agencies and organisations. Education Scotland are building on their strong partnership with Scottish Government with a continued commitment to high quality learning in physical education in schools/clusters and professional learning communities in local authorities across Scotland. sportscotland is the national agency for sport. They are the lead agency for the development of sport in Scotland. sportscotland invest expertise, time and money in developing a world class sporting system at all levels. They work with partners to develop this sporting system, investing in and joining up the people, places, partnerships and planning that make sport happen. Ultimately, they see a Scotland where sport is a way of life and in everything they do they act in the best interests of Scottish sport - putting sport first. sportscotland is working with Education Scotland to support local authorities to deliver on the Scottish Government’s commitment to 2 hours/2 periods PE in schools. The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring all schools in Scotland: Deliver the 2 hour/ 2 period target by June 2014 • • Support good quality learning and teaching in physical education through funding a number of stakeholders to engage and work with schools to enhance health and wellbeing and physical education in schools/clusters and professional learning communities in local authorities across Scotland • Consider national initiatives such as 2015 Year of Food & Drink, Tour de France, Swimming World Championships, Multi Sport Special Olympics, World Walking Initiative, Healthy Working Lives, to create stimulating cross-curricular/interdisciplinary learning (IDL) opportunities and encourage wider partnership working. Page 2 Core Physical Education The Overall Aim of the Fund To support practitioners to build on existing practice in physical education across Curriculum for Excellence, potentially linking to national initiatives, and/or to address one of the following areas: Increase the knowledge and skills of staff delivering physical education Sustained partnership working within the learning community to enhance physical education for children and young people A shared understanding of the progression of learning in physical education from early to fourth level Development and sharing of assessment approaches, reporting and profiling in physical education Exemplars of practice developed, piloted, evaluated and shared in: o IT in physical education o The role of physical education to overall health and wellbeing o Physical education as part of an IDL project o Outdoor Learning and physical education o ASL and physical education Education Scotland‟s vision for Scottish education includes a strong focus on improving outcomes in ways which seek to eliminate the inequity that currently exists amongst learners from different backgrounds and from particular vulnerable groups. Page 3 Core Physical Education Guidelines and Criteria Deadline for Application March 27th 2015 @ 12pm Timescale for our decision Mid June 2015 (15/6/15) Level of Grants Funding awards will be up to £3,000 per project. When applying as a cluster/associated school group each school may apply for up to £3,000. Each application will be assessed individually and funding awarded if successful. It may not be possible to fund every element of each successful proposal. Applications for funding will be assessed under 2 categories: 1. Early years, ASN & Primary 2. Secondary Early Years, ASN & Primary applications will receive 2/3 of the total grant fund available and Secondary applications will receive 1/3 of the total grant fund available. We aim to split the fund in this manner, however this may be reviewed once the number of bids from each sector is known. Eligibility Applications are invited from practitioners in schools/ clusters/associated schools groups across Scotland. If you have any queries regarding your eligibility or the application process, please contact your PE lead officer in your local authority or alternatively Education Scotland If you were successful in the 2012/13, 2013/14 or 2014/15 grant scheme you are not permitted to bid for the same project or a continuation of that project. Page 4 Core Physical Education How we assess applications Once the closing date has passed we will start to assess all applications submitted. We seldom have enough funds to support all the applications we would like to. When this happens we need to make some difficult decisions. We have a scoring system that helps us to do this. Please see the tables below for further information on how we do this. Applications will be scored 0-4 based on the following criteria: Unacceptable Nil or inadequate response. Fails to demonstrate an ability to meet the requirement. 1 Poor Response is partially relevant but generally poor. The response addresses some elements of the requirement but contains insufficient/limited detail or explanation to demonstrate how the requirement will be fulfilled. 2 Acceptable Response is relevant and acceptable. The response addresses a broad understanding of the requirement but may lack details on how the requirement will be fulfilled in certain areas. 3 Good Response is relevant and good. The response is sufficiently detailed to demonstrate a good understanding and provides details on how the requirements will be fulfilled. 4 Excellent Response is completely relevant and excellent overall. The response is comprehensive, unambiguous and demonstrates a thorough understanding of the requirement and provides details of how the requirement will be met in full. 0 Page 5 Core Physical Education Applications will be scored using the following headings: Criteria Score Weighting (0-4) (1-5) Max Score available Does the bid address all of the Aims and Objectives? 5 20 Does the bid address the quality of the learning experience in physical education? 4 16 Does the bid display innovative/creative approaches to physical education? 4 16 Does the bid connect to a national initiative e.g. Healthy Working Lives, 2015 Year of Food & Drink etc? 3 12 Does the bid represent value for money? 3 12 Total 76 Monitoring your grant If we fund your project we will need you to complete an end of grant report to confirm how the grant has been spent and what you achieved. We may also visit you to check how the grant has been spent and talk with practitioners, parents and pupils to gain their views on the impact of the project and the funding. We may ask you to hold an in-service or best practice event at your educational establishment or invite you to present at a national event. If you are successful If you are successful, we will inform you by email by mid June 2015 (15/6/15) so that you can proceed with project plans as soon as possible. Once we have awarded a grant we cannot give any more funding for the project. Page 6 Core Physical Education If your application is unsuccessful If your application is unsuccessful we will inform you of this via email. If you wish to receive feedback on your application, you can request this by sending an email to pepas@educationscotland.gov.uk Since we seldom have enough funds to support all the applications we would like to, if you send us the same application again our experience is that it is likely to be unsuccessful. Your time may be better spent seeking funds from other sources. We suggest you only apply again for the same project if you can make a much stronger case. Important points to note Your application must arrive no later than the given deadline; failure to do so may render your application invalid. You should assume that we have no knowledge about any previous funding you have received. If any sections are incomplete then this may impact on the assessment of your application. You only need to send in the completed application form. Supporting documents are not required. Please ensure that you retain a copy of the application form for your own records. We will assess your application based on the criteria detailed above. Partnership Funding There is no requirement to find partnership funding but it may be beneficial to your project if you were able to find additional cash or in kind funding to develop your project. The following gives guidance on what income can be used as partnership funding, and gives examples of what counts as cash and in kind. Cash contributions might include, for example: Earned income from your activities, for example ticket sales and fees charged. Funding from public organisations and local enterprise companies. Grants from trusts and foundations. A contribution from your own authority. Page 7 Core Physical Education In Kind contributions might include: Voluntary labour (but any time or services „donated‟ should be additional and not part of the person„s normal job). Donated equipment. Services donated from other companies or organisations. Use of premises or office space for the project. Carer support for people with disabilities. In Kind contributions may not include: The time or services of any employee for whom the funded activity would be within the usual scope of their job. Spending which forms part of the core costs of your organisation. The value of discounts on equipment. Complying with Conditions of Grant You must keep to the grant conditions shown in both our offer letter and any accompanying documents. In particular: You must not make changes to your project without notifying us first and providing an explanation of why changes need to be made. You must carry out your project in line with the timescales given in your application, and within the time limits shown in our offer letter. It is very important that you let us know about any delay or difficulties in keeping to the conditions so that we can give advice and help as necessary. You will be required to acknowledge our funding in any publicity relating to this project. Page 8 Core Physical Education Additional Important Information Please note that Education Scotland may, by giving at least 7 days written notice, assign any of its rights and obligations under a grant award, either wholly or in part, to any other person. Publicity Information on grants awarded will be made public by Education Scotland. Images submitted in support of your application may be stored electronically by us. If we later seek to use these for publicity purposes, we will contact you in order to obtain permission to do so. Openness and Accountability Reports from information you supply within your application and from comments made on your application by external assessors and staff members will be held digitally. The information you supply will be made available to those assessing your grant application. For the purposes of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (FOISA) Education Scotland is obliged, as a Scottish public authority, to make your information (which will include your application) available to anyone making a Freedom of Information request. By submitting your application you waive any right to raise any type of legal proceedings against Education Scotland as a consequence of, or in contemplation of, any disclosure of the contents of your application in response to an information request made under FOISA. Information that we may release If your application is successful we will release the following information from your funding application if we receive a FOI request: Your name The amount of funding requested Your project description If more detailed information is requested, we will consider this request under FOISA and apply the Act‟s exemptions and the public interest test appropriately. If more detail from your funding application is to be disclosed we will contact you and advise you of this. For further information on FOISA please see the Scottish Information Commissioners website: www.itspublicknowledge.co.uk Page 9 Core Physical Education Data Protection Information supplied by you in support of your application will be stored on our records system. The data we hold may be used for the following purposes: To report statistics To assess applications For accounting purposes For contacting you. Your name, address and contact details will be held on our records system. We will use this information to correspond with you. We will not forward your details onto any other organisations. The details of your application may become public information (see Openness and Accountability above). However, your personal details will be held by us and only our staff, appointed auditors and those involved in assessing or monitoring grants will have access to them. You have a right under the Data Protection Act 1998 to see the information we hold on you. By signing your application form you are agreeing that we can use your information as shown above. For more information on the Data Protection Act 1998 see: www.informationcommissioner.gov.uk Page 10 Core Physical Education Case Study 1 Abercorn Secondary Yoga Abercorn Secondary School is a very diverse school which aims to meet the needs of all of our students who experience a variety of additional support needs who come from a range of backgrounds and areas in Glasgow. o o o o 60% of our students - Living in the 20% most deprived data zones 25% of our students - Looked after children 5 % of our students - Young carers 100 % of our students - Children/young people with additional support needs. The PE department aim for our students to develop positive self-worth, good body image and the ability to relax. We believe that Yoga in education has the potential to address some of the health and esteem issues causing concern for our young people and will enable us to build and nurture strong, holistic foundations of wellbeing The “Core PE Fund” made it possible for a member of staff to attend a training course through “TeenYoga” over three weekends in 2014. For this member of staff the opportunity was invaluable. The knowledge and skills gained in teaching yoga for teenagers particularly, physical postures, relaxation and mindfulness will continue to be valuable throughout her teaching career and allow her to pass on the benefits of this activity to students and others staff. Students are already experiencing the benefits of this activity during lunch time Yoga classes and dynamic youth afternoons and requesting for there to be more yoga on the timetable. “Yoga has helped me with my head, it makes me calmer and I recommend it to you, everyone should do yoga” (Jack, S3) Page 11 Core Physical Education Case Study 2 Wishaw Nursery Centre: Bikeability in the Early Years Before applying for the Education Funding we had a multitude of trikes and push toys and we recognised that children needed a challenge in their learning. The success of the application enabled us to purchase a range of balance bikes, pedal bikes and also a few bikes for staff/parents to cycle alongside children. Our children now have daily access to a bikeability programme, enhanced by our cycle trainer, which actively supports and encourages children to develop their physical capacity to ride a two wheeled pedal bike without ever requiring stabilisers. The children can now talk knowledgeably about being safe and recognise and name the main parts of a bike. Parents are delighted that their children are so enthusiastic about the experience and regularly talk about it in the nursery and at home. One parent commented ‘Cara likes to give me a lesson about bikeability. She sits me down and explains ‘this is the wheels, they go around, these are the brakes, and they are for stopping’ she is so funny and a lot more confident. I am so proud of her!” Our outdoor curriculum has been brought to life. When observing children at play it is evident that peer learning is an integral part of the learning process for children. They are heard talking together about their own and each other’s achievements and can make decisions about what they will do next in learning: „I am not riding the balance bike today I can pedal now‟ Destiny Age 4. They also remind each other of their personal safety: „I wear my helmet and I like the cycle bikes with the two brakes, they are for stopping. The balance bike only has one brake for stopping‟ Ben Age 3 As a Nursery Centre we have planned a „pedal and push day‟ which will involve all children from the nursery, along with a parent or carer, using their own or a nursery bike to cycle around the local area. We will also have a cycle event in our end of term sports day to showcase the children‟s learning and celebrate this with their parents/carers. “Cara likes to give me a lesson about bikeability, she sits me down and explains „this is the wheels, they go around, these are the brakes, they are for stopping‟ she is so funny and a lot more confident, I am so proud of her!” Page 12 Core Physical Education Case Study 3 Tollcross Primary School: Canal QR Project Our proposal involved using our local area (Union Canal) for outdoor PE, pupils used QR codes to design and make an outdoor PE route with instruction for developing core PE skills. The route consists of 8 stations with 3 levels of difficulty at each station. The outdoor PE route was used by pupils at Tollcross primary, local families and local cluster primary schools. Learners had to identify core skills in PE and link movements in sequence. Pupils had to change and adapt their movement sequences. Pupils had to provide clear instructions for each PE activity and increase the level of difficulty for each PE station. Pupils used technology to make QR codes to provide instructions for each activity. Pupils used the iPod touch devices to scan the QR codes and follow the instructions for each station. Pupils tried out the PE route and made necessary changes. Pupils worked with groups from local cluster primary schools, explaining and leading the activities at the Union Canal. Pupils used feedback to develop the project. Evidence of impact on learners can be found on our PE Project Blog - http://tollcrosspeproject.wordpress.com Dr Alasdair Allan MSP, Minister for Learning, Science & Scotland‟s Languages and Shona Robison MSP, Minister for Commonwealth Games & Sport visited Tollcross Primary. During their visit, ministers met our P6/7 pupils and shared the Outdoor PE Route our pupils have created at the Union Canal. This is what the ministers said about the Outdoor PE Project … “Great to see the school so involved in designing and using something that helps you learn and keep fit at the same time. Sure other schools will want to copy.” Alastair Allan, Schools Minister “Really impressed with the use of technology in this project. Kids really enjoyed the activities and were “puffed” by the end, which is what I like to see! Would be good to see this idea shared with schools across Scotland.” Shona Robison, Sports Minister Page 13 Core Physical Education Case Study 4 Earlston HS Mountain Biking Project A recognition that outdoor education provision was lacking in the PE programme, led Earlston HS to apply for an Education Scotland core PE grant. Two years in to setting up the project, over 800 children have experienced a basic cycling block in core PE and there is now an oversubscribed cycling club run in the school. A fleet of 15 mountain bikes and the necessary safety equipment is supplemented by enough tools to complete basic repairs and adjustments by a group of enthusiastic Senior pupils. Commenting on the opportunities this initiative has brought, Headteacher Michelle Strong emphasised that “this funding has allowed our young people to challenge themselves in an unfamiliar environment and they have really responded to this opportunity”. Head of Faculty, Malcolm Changleng agreed, observing that “I have been particularly pleased that cycling in our PE programme has broadened the range of activities on offer and challenged the pupils to learn about how to interact in the environment that surrounds them in the Borders”. Clare, an S1 student summed her thoughts up by saying “I love being in High School PE because of all of these new activities I had never tried before and biking is my favourite!!” “ This funding has allowed our young people to challenge themselves in an unfamiliar environment and they have really responded to this opportunity.” Page 14 Core Physical Education Case Study 5 St Thomas of Aquins’ RC High School, Edinburgh Golf Project The Golf Project came from a desire to introduce a new activity into the core PE programme at St Thomas’ that could draw on a number of things. Pupil feedback consistently highlighted golf as an activity that they would like included in their core PE experience, having had a positive experience at primary via the Club Golf programme. The project allowed us to increase the places where outdoor learning took place. On this occasion we have formed a partnership with Bruntsfield Links short-hole golf course in Edinburgh City centre. This has given us the opportunity to use the Ryder Cup as a stimulus for further learning opportunities. Staff attended Golf Extreme training provided by Clubgolf development staff where the session highlighted a range of appropriate practices and approaches that staff could use to create a positive, safe and engaging environment. The project has been delivered in 2 different ways. Firstly, the entire S2 year group had the opportunity to take part through their additional Health and Wellbeing time. Secondly, pupils with additional support needs have been given 1 extra period of Physical Education per week to develop their golf skills and knowledge in a relaxed and supportive environment. Devon in S2 said: “Golf has been great, especially today when we got to go outside. We got to hit the ball really far.” Hannah said: “Golf is helping me to work on my patience.” Golf as a new activity and the small class size has allowed additional support needs pupils to flourish by experiencing enjoyment whilst developing holistically. By starting with fun and engaging games to help pupils understand the basic techniques required, we created an environment that allowed them to progress from the class to the course with confidence. “Golf has been great, especially today when we got to go outside. We got to hit the ball really far.” Page 15 Core Physical Education Reasons why applications were unsuccessful: Aims and Objectives When the impact of the proposal on developing attributes and capabilities of learners was not exemplified in detail. For Example Your proposed project doesn‟t show how it will support the learner to achieve in line with the PE experiences and outcomes. Having clear objectives that will ensure that you are able to measure impact, they are clearly laid out and In line with current educational policy. Building Capacity When the proposal did not relate to building confidence/capacity for teachers to deliver 2 hours/ 2 periods of core physical education each week. For Example Writing that they will be attending a training course or buying new equipment is not enough information. It is essential that the impact on staff and then the learners is understood and demonstrated in the bid. This could have been done by highlighting the impact of a gymnastics course on a teacher’s confidence to deliver gymnastics or the effect that attending a trampolining course would have on developing a teachers understanding of the context and their ability to support the learners needs. Quality of Experience When the proposal did not exemplify how the quality of learning experience in core physical education would be improved. For Example • As a result of the CLPL opportunity or equipment purchase, what improvements would you expect to see from the learners and how would you know that the CLPL/equipment has been the contributing factor in the learning experience. • It is also worth considering how you might gather the evidence of this and use it to feed back the success of the project. Project Budget When expenditure was not exemplified in detail. For Example: If the bid simply requested £3,000 and made no attempt to break down the spend. If some attempt was made to break down the amount requested but was not itemised. This will be time consuming, but careful attention in this area is essential if a bid is to be successful. Page 16