The Department has successfully been involved in the School Sport Co-ordinators Project over the last four years and is entering into the next phase of the programme.

Background

What are they about?
School Sport Coordinator (SSCo) partnerships are families of schools that come together to enhance sports opportunities for all. The partnerships are made up of a Specialist Sports College, eight secondary schools and 45 primary or special schools clustered around the secondaries and the College (partnerships start life smaller). Each partnership receives a grant of up to £270,000 each year. This pays for a full time Partnership Development Manager, the release of one teacher from each secondary school two days a week to allow them to take on the role of School Sport Coordinator, the release of one teacher from each primary or special school 12 days a year to allow them to become Link Teachers, and Specialist Link Teachers who fill the gaps created by teacher release.

The partnerships' overall aim is to help schools to ensure that their pupils do spend a minimum of two hours each week on high quality PE and school sport. Six strategic objectives have been set:

• Strategic planning — develop and implement a PE/sport strategy
• Primary liaison — develop links, particularly between Key Stages 2 and 3
• Out of school hours — provide enhanced opportunities for all pupils
• School to community — increase participation in community sport
• Coaching and leadership — provide opportunities in leadership, coaching and officiating for senior pupils, teachers and other adults
• Raising standards — raise standards of pupils' achievement

Milestones

• By September 2002, there will be 700 School Sport Coordinators and 3,500 Primary or Special School Links Teachers — Target Met (there were 765 Coordinators and 3,525 Link Teachers).
• By September 2003, there will be 1,150 School Sport Coordinators and 5,500 Primary or Special School Link Teachers — Target Met (there were 1200 Coordinators and 6100 Link Teachers).
• By September 2004, there will 1,700 School Sport Coordinators and 8,500 Primary or Special School Link Teachers.
• By September 2005, there will be 2,400 School Sport Coordinators and 13,500 Primary or Special School Link Teachers.
• By September 2006, there will be 3,200 School Sport Coordinators and 18,000 Primary or Special School Link Teachers.

Partnership model

Each partnership is individual. But in developing new partnerships and expanding existing partnerships we are promoting a partnership model (the diagram shows our preferred partnership model).

Partnerships will therefore normally:

• Be clustered around a specialist sports college managed by a full-time Partnership Development Manager whose role is to strategically develop and manage the partnership.
• Include four rising to eight secondary school partners each of whom appoint a School Sport Coordinator (an existing teacher from the PE department) who is released from the timetable for two days a week to develop after school activities, sports competitions and links with the local community.
• Include 25 rising to 45 primary or special school partners (clustered in a family around the sports college and secondary schools) each of whom appoints a Link Teacher who is released from the timetable for 12 days each year to help develop high-quality PE and school sport in their school.
• Appoint Specialist Link Teachers (qualified PE teachers) who backfill the gaps created by releasing the School Sport Coordinators. Partnerships are able to appoint one full-time Specialist Link Teacher for every two secondary schools

Each partnership receives a ring-fenced grant of up to £270,000 per year. This pays for the above posts and teacher release. Partnerships are also encouraged to find some additional funding from other sources (for example sponsorship) but this is not a condition of receiving the grant.