Barclays.comBarclays Spaces for Sports announces FairPlay programme
20 January 2010
Jason Leonard OBE, Lead Ambassador for Wooden Spoon
“Rugby is a contact sport which has a proven track record of helping young children manage their aggression, increase their aspirations and effort, and modify their behaviour for their own benefit and that of the communities from which they are drawn.
"From previous projects Spoon has found that rugby helps young people at risk of violence feel less threatened, it manages individual anger problems, and the discipline of the sport is helping young people fit into education and employment.”
Jason Leonard OBE, Lead Ambassador for Wooden Spoon
YOUNG PEOPLE excluded from mainstream education are being offered the chance to get their lives back on track through an innovative rugby-based initiative.
FairPlay supported by Barclays Spaces for Sports comprises a series of training schemes throughout the country aimed at changing the attitudes, enthusiasm and lives of more than 2,400 ‘at risk’ youngsters.
Children’s charity Wooden Spoon has teamed up with Barclays Spaces for Sports, the Rugby Football Union (RFU) and Enterprise Education Trust to launch a series of eight-week schemes for those either in or on the edge of the criminal justice system through exclusion from school.
Working in two phases - the first starting in January 2010 and finishing in July 2010, the second starting in September 2010 and finishing in April 2011 – the project will deliver 120 intensive eight-week schemes across England, combining both physical rugby training and classroom learning including life, enterprise and financial skills.
Many of the youngsters targeted have some of the poorest rates of educational attainment and future employment as well as some of the highest rates of teenage pregnancy, drug and alcohol abuse and long term unemployment.
The coaching programme will be delivered by RFU Community Coaches, who have developed relationships with youth offending teams and local rugby clubs in their areas during an initial ‘Try for Life’ pilot funded by Wooden Spoon, making them well placed to ensure the right partnerships are established to deliver a strong programme to those young people that need it most.
The classroom element will be delivered by Enterprise Education Trust (EET) trainers who have links with Pupil Referral Units, schools and business mentors throughout the country.
The partnership will encourage young people to return to education, enter training programmes or secure employment. To assist with this, participants will gain academic credits which build towards formal qualifications. Barclays will also support training young people in how to look after their finances, as part of the Barclays Money Skills initiative.
