Introduction (continued) - About us - Dartford School Sport Network

Introduction (continued)

The School Sports Partnerships are part of the PESSCL Strategy along with the Specialist Schools Programme, most SSP's are based within Sports Colleges. Swan Valley Community School is the Dartford SSP's home base, and it became a Specialist Sports College in September 2006. Specialist Sports Colleges provided designated schools with the opportunity to use PE and Sport as a mechanism to engage young people whole school, as a tool to assist in driving up standards and as a lever to raise attainment. As the Department for Children, Schools and Families states, ‘Sports Colleges are expected to develop a visible Sports College character throughout the school and within their local community which inspires their students' and support the Government's aspiration for all young people to have two hours high quality PE per week within and outside the curriculum.

School Sports Partnerships are measured via the PESSCL survey every May/June. This survey's have now also become the mechanism by which Department for Children, Schools and Families award the Activemark and Sportsmark awards each year. This years PSA target is that 85% of 5-16 year olds participate in 2 hours PE and School Sport within and beyond the curriculum. Our partnership surpassed this target a year early and are now working towards 90%. With the Olympics of 2012 looming ahead of us the 2010 target of ‘4 hours of PE and School Sport' became the partnerships long term aim and inspirational objective. School Sport Partnerships aims to support the national PSA Targets for PE and School Sport along with the delivery mechanism outlined within the PESSCL Strategy.

http://publications.teachernet.gov.uk/eOrderingDownload/LTPES2.pdf

At the outset of the Dartford School Sport Partnership in 2005, we undertook an audit with all phase one schools. Then when the phase two schools joined the partnership in 2006 they were also audited us. This gave us the baseline data we needed to set the key actions for the next two-three years. At the end of July 2008, we will have completed our first three years, the application for extension was submitted in January 2008 and we are now I the process of starting the next three year plan. However at present our Key actions are as follows:

• Increasing the PE Curriculum provision toward the 120minute target
• Increasing the provision and opportunities for OSHL, Competition and Performance
• Improving whole school attitude and behaviour
• Increasing whole school attainment and achievement
• Increasing and improving access to community based sports activities - creating links to local clubs

Since the inception of the Dartford School Sport Partnership we have seen the percentage of schools providing 2 hours of PE increase from 63% in 2005 to 87% by 2007.

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