Education Policies and Structures
Their impact on the delivery of Gaelic Games
Session objectives
• To appraise delegates of how the
implementation of key DENI policies may
impact on the delivery of Gaelic games
• To consider if new structures will impact on
school and community coaching
• to review best practice as required by Safe
Practice in Physical education
• “Looking into the future gives me a headache”
• “ Those who can - do
those who can't - teach
those who can’t teach - teach physical
education”
“It’s all been said
before but nobody
listened so it’s
time to say it all
again” [Agite]
• Putting Children First Shaping the Future
• “ we must prioritise the needs of our children
over institutions and make sure that it is the
needs of all our young people that are to the
fore”
Key educational Policies
• Schools for the Future A Policy for Sustainable
schools
• Every School a Good school A Policy for
School Improvement
• Shared Futures Policy
• Safe Practice in Physical Education
• “I intend to step up the pace in terms of
implementation and delivery of existing
policies” ( John O’Dowd 2011)
How Good is Our School System
• Significant gap between the highest and
lowest achievers
• Reading - 19th out of top 30 countries
• Mathematics - 27th out of the top 30
• 1:5 children leave primary school with a
significant difficult in Maths and English
• 9,000 pupils leave without out 5 GCSE ( incl
English and Maths)
Schools for the Future A policy
for Sustainable Schools 2009
• Stable enrolments Primary 140 urban/105
rural
• Post primary 500 – 11 – 16 600 11 – 19
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85,000 spare places - 150 schools
1/3rd of 863 Primary - less than 100
1/5th of 217 post – primary less than 400
50 of the 172 sixth forms - less than 100
Impact on the delivery of Gaelic Games
• Potential loss of school numbers employment
viability issue?
• Potential loss of numbers in school
competitions - larger schools
• The “emotional” effect on communities
• The need to link this effect with other changes
in community structures
• A need for greater social cohesion in
communities
Every school a good school A
school Improvement Policy 2009
• “the interests of pupils rather than institutions
must be at the centre of efforts to improve
educational achievement and tackle
underachievement”
• Child centred provision
• High quality teaching and learning
• Effective leadership
• A school connected to the local community
Impact on delivering Gaelic games
• Curriculum Sports Programme: 3 Key aims
• develop generic physical literacy skills
• Help raise children’s confidence, self-esteem,
motivation to learn – supporting achievement
in other curricular areas ( literacy, numeracy)
• To raise the confidence and skills of primary
teachers in delivering physical education
How well are you doing?
• Strengths:
• Opportunities to build on FMS in coaching and
PE sessions
• High levels of participation and engagement
• Inclusion agenda
• Teacher confidence and working relationships
“ Activity = learning”
Areas for Improvement
• Provide opportunities for collaborative
planning - learning intention / learning
outcome - Personal and interpersonal
skills/communication /application of number
/critical and creative thinking skills
• Link the CSP programme to literacy and
numeracy contexts
• Coach evaluation and pupil self evaluation
Impact on delivery of Gaelic Games
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Progress / attainment in PE and School sport
Increased involvement in healthy lifestyle
Behaviour - school and club
Attendance
Attitudes to learning
Attainment across the curriculum
Leadership
Citizenship qualities Inclusion in PE and sport
Safe Practice in Physical
Education and School Sport
• “ a need to ensure that the programme aims are
clearly recognised and the roles and
responsibilities of the schools and the coaches
clearly established (ETI report 2010)
• Adult other than teacher AOTT
• “people who do not hold a recognised teaching
qualification but operate in schools with the
permission of the principal”
• “he who is his own lawyer has a fool for a client”
Role of the School
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Child protection pre-employment check
Relevant coaching qualification
Competence of the coach in:
Quality of relationships - knowledge of the
pupils – pupil management – knowledge of
the activities – observation and analytical
skills
• CSP in enrichment not a substitute for PE
Role of CSP - AOTT
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Have appropriate coaching qualifications
Public liability insurance
Be aware of school policies
Understand the duty of care
Ensure sessions are pre-planned with clear
learning objectives matched to the schools
schemes of work
• Promote the community opportunities
Making a difference
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KISS approach
Evidence base
Strengthening partnerships
“ you want to do the right things for the right
reasons but if you don’t apply the right
processes you just hit the brick wall again”
(Covey)
• Learn from previous strategies and meet the
identified needs of the key stakeholders
Making a Difference
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External Context
Gov Policies
SNI/DCAL strategy
Community
Employment /Leisure
Tourism
ESA ( 5 Elb’s)
Internal Context
GAA corporate plan
C.S.P
Shared Future
Employability
Professional Dev
Thank you
• Making a difference to young people