Featured – Amber Valley School Sport Partnership CIO

In Camps

AVSSP Easter Holiday Camps – Another ‘eggcelent’ camp!

01/12/2023

This Easter we ran 9 days of Holiday Camps across our three trusty venues Alfreton Leisure Centre, Ripley Leisure Centre and William Gregg VC Leisure Centre. Throughout the 2 weeks of the Easter holidays we catered to around 1,800 children and thanks to the Government’s HAF programme, we were able to once again offer more funded places to the children of our schools and give equal opportunities for as many people as possible.

Whilst on camp children took part in lots of different activities ranging from Tennis to Cricket to Boxercise to Gymnastics! Each activity delivered by an experienced member of staff with fantastic knowledge on sport delivery and working with children. Whilst we pride ourselves at AVSSP on our determination to keep young people as active as possible, we are aware that not everyone is a sport fanatic. We want all children to feel welcome and to enjoy our camps even if they don’t like sports which is why we have Arts and Crafts rooms/station at all camps and why we are so grateful for the use of the swimming pool at each leisure centre because it gives that little bit more of a variety and means everyone has something to do and enjoy throughout the day!

We are always so pleased to see our Holiday Camps so well attended and liked. All of us at AVSSP appreciate everyone who plays a part in the delivery of our camps, we wouldn’t be able to create such a great environment for the young people of our borough without your help. So once again, thank you!

Looking forward to welcoming you back in May Half Term. Stay tuned for updates.

Click here to access our booking page or to join our mailing list and be up to date with all the Holiday Camp news.

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In News

Junior Sports Leadership with AVSSP!

04/10/2023

The first Friday back after half term saw AVSSP host their annual Junior Sports Leaders (JSL) conference at Ripley Leisure Centre. The day consisted of two sessions, one in the morning for Yr 5/6 and one in the afternoon for Yr 2.

The idea of the conference is to introduce children to the role of a JSL and give them tips and ideas on how to become a successful leader.

Throughout the day children took part in 6 different activities that were designed to up-skill them in different areas of the role. For example, one activity was based on games without equipment. Some schools don’t always have lots of playtime equipment available or, the leaders don’t always have time to get equipment out. Therefore we wanted to introduce games and ideas for children to use when they are flying solo. Such as Stuck in The Mud, a classic tag game that can be played by anyone and everyone in the playground.

Another activity was set up to give JSLs the chance to practice delivering their own games. Leaders are given a resource pack at the start of their JSL training, this pack is their cheat sheet to being a leader. It has a number of different game ideas in it and explains step by step how to deliver and play the game. Children had the chance to read over one of the games in the resource and then practice delivering it to the other members of their group. With the help of AVSSP staff, JSLs were able to understand and execute an active playtime game with their fellow leaders.

The Junior Sport Leaders programme is a fantastic chance for the eldest children in school to become an active role model to younger students. Their job is to increase participation in physical activity throughout the school day whilst also assisting with equipment pack up, PE lessons, sports day and much more.

If you haven’t yet had Junior Sports Leaders training in your school and you are interested in being a part of it contact anna@avssp.co.uk

Thank you to everyone who joined us at the conference, we hope you had a fun day

In Uncategorised

Children’s Mental Health Week – My Voice Matters

12/07/2023

This week is Children’s Mental Health Week with the focus being My Voice Matters. My Voice Matters is about empowering children and young people by providing them with the tools they need to express themselves. When we feel empowered, there’s a positive impact on our wellbeing. Children who feel that their voices are heard and can make a difference, have a greater sense of community and better self-esteem.

To get involved in this year Children’s Mental Health Week, head over to Place2Be’s Website to download helpful classroom resources that can be used to get children talking and thinking about how they can best express themselves and what they need to feel empowered!

In Uncategorised

Staff CPD – A chance to improve

07/07/2023

As we come to the end of the first term a brief update on how our CPD programme has shaped up so far this year and what is upcoming in term two.

Our CPD programme aims to improve school staff confidence and competence within different areas of Physical Education, School Sport, and Physical Activity. By upskilling staff within schools, we are providing more sustainable opportunities for pupils to access and thrive within this sector and therefore promote active and healthy lifestyles.

This term we have had a total of 4 sessions two PE Practical Delivery Sessions in Athletics and Gymnastics and two PE and School Sport Improvement Sessions based around how to be a more active school and our guest speaker session with Teach Active on how to make Maths more active. These have been well attended with 20 different schools having accessed at least one of these sessions.

We know there is demand for Swimming CPD in the borough, something we’d hoped to deliver this term, but this has proven challenging to arrange. We hope to provide a positive update in term 2.

Also coming up in Term 2 are:

PE & School Sport Improvement Workshops

ECT PE Development: Tuesday 23^rd January 2024
Physical Literacy & Other Inclusive Interventions: Tuesday 12^th March 2024

Practical PE Delivery Workshops

Dance: Wednesday 7^th February 2024
Swimming: Date TBC

Our mid-year PE Subject Leader Meeting is also taking place during term two on Wednesday 14^th February. This will provide you with updates regarding competitions, summer term ideas/opportunities and looking in more detail at the recently released Sport England physical literacy consensus statement and what impact that could have within your school

In News

Staff CPD – A chance to improve!

13/04/2022

As we come to the end of the first term a brief update on how our CPD programme has shaped up so far this year and what is upcoming in term two.

Our CPD programme aims to improve school staff confidence and competence within different areas of Physical Education, School Sport, and Physical Activity. By upskilling staff within schools, we are providing more sustainable opportunities for pupils to access and thrive within this sector and therefore promote active and healthy lifestyles.

This term we have had a total of 4 sessions two PE Practical Delivery Sessions in Athletics and Gymnastics and two PE and School Sport Improvement Sessions based around how to be a more active school and our guest speaker session with Teach Active on how to make Maths more active. These have been well attended with 20 different schools having accessed at least one of these sessions.

We know there is demand for Swimming CPD in the borough, something we’d hoped to deliver this term, but this has proven challenging to arrange. We hope to provide a positive update in term 2.

Also coming up in Term 2 are:

PE & School Sport Improvement Workshops

ECT PE Development: Tuesday 23^rd January 2024
Physical Literacy & Other Inclusive Interventions: Tuesday 12^th March 2024

Practical PE Delivery Workshops

Dance: Wednesday 7^th February 2024
Swimming: Date TBC

Our mid-year PE Subject Leader Meeting is also taking place during term two on Wednesday 14^th February. This will provide you with updates regarding competitions, summer term ideas/opportunities and looking in more detail at the recently released Sport England physical literacy consensus statement and what impact that could have within your school.

In News

CPD with AVSSP

17/11/2021

After every half term, AVSSP staff come together on the first Friday back to learn new ways of teaching and new skills. The start of half-term 5 saw us take part in LTA’s brand new LTA Youth Primary School Teacher Training Course. The course took place at Alfreton Leisure Centre, home of our Holiday Camps, and ran during the morning before our coaches returned to their schools for the afternoon.

Our coaches worked in teams to plan and deliver a session from LTA’s new session planning booklets to eachother. We took part in skill games and added adaptations for specific needs such has hard of hearing or impaired vision. During the course, we learnt new teaching points that can help improve our lesson delivery and the excitement of our sessions.

We finished the session with team games and battled against each other to score points and be crowned the king or queen of Wimbledon! We would like to say a big thank you to LTA for coming and delivering the course for us, Andy was fantastic and very informative!

LTA also worked along side our Further Education Officer, Adam White, to deliver a CPD session to the teachers in our schools. Andy ran a similar session to what we received and Mr White some lovely feedback from all who attended.

Thank you to LTA for coming to up-skill our coaches and give us new ways to teach our lovely students! And thank you to Mrs Naylor for the donuts she provided on the day

In News

Gambia sports coaching programme extended!

07/02/2020

We are pleased to announce that after a successful 2019 AVSSP’s Gambia coaching programme has been extended for 2020 after an agreement with partner organisation Cosy!

The project started in 2018 with the aim of inspiring and upskilling Gambian children in sport, PE and physical activity. Our aim was to encourage local boys and girls to take part in fun, inclusive activity to ensure a lifelong habit of physical activity in a country where poor diet can regularly lead to health complications. By instilling a habit of physical activity we hope to have a positive impact on the lives of local Gambian children.

Not only that the programme also provides vital paid employment to 4 Gambian coaches who are tasked with increasing participation in clubs, schools and recreational areas in their locality – much like our staff in Amber Valley!

After a training visit from AVSSP staff in 2018, Allie has a led the team of Yaya, Sam and JG throughout 2019 and has seen excellent participation figures across all areas with a huge upturn in engagement in girls, one of the key initial aims of our project!

Close to 9000 young people have participated in activity as a result of the programme with almost 2000 of those girls – a real achievement in a predominantly Muslin country.

We would like to thank Cosy Direct for their continued funding support and most of all our talented, dedicated team of coaches who are constantly improving the lives of young people across The Gambia!

In Primary

Over 300 players descend on Belper RFC for Amber Valley TAG events!

28/10/2019

Two evenings of competition saw well over 300 students and 35 teams take part in this year’s TAG Rugby events at Belper Rugby Club.

In three fast paced, high quality competitions teams were tasked with showing their skills in a series of TAG games and skill station activities all aimed at developing rugby skills and inspiring students to participate.

The Development event saw 16 teams take part with incredible progress shown by all teams, Thursday’s Elite event saw seasoned rugby players battle it out to claim the overall trophy.

While our 5 a side Girls only event saw a mix of those new to the sport and many who were passionate about playing rugby compete and learn in a friendly, sporting atmosphere

Congratulations to all teams and students who took part!

If you loved playing Rugby at the recent TAG events and would like to know more about joining Belper Rugby club simply click the link below, open training is on Sunday’s at 10am

http://www.belperrugbyclub.co.uk

In Primary

Three weeks of Sportshall Athletics events see’s us hit the 1,000 student mark!

18/10/2019

Three weeks of competition, 10 events, 99 teams across three venues has seen over 1,000 Amber Valley pupils compete in this year’s Sportshall Athletics series!

Students from KS1 & 2 put their hard work into practice by tackling field and track events all battling to score points for their respective teams – we’ve seen some of the closest races and highest field event score ever!

Each and every team showcased outstanding teamwork and determination with a terrific atmosphere created by the hundreds of spectators present!

There were wins for St Johns Belper, Codnor Primary, Curzon Primary, William Gilbert, Riddings Infant and Loscoe Primary with each team run close in some amazing competitions

Huge congratulations to every school who took part and a big thank you to staff who supported their attendance!

In Gymnastics

AVSSP & Amber Valley Gymnastics Academy team up for Primary Gymnastics Festival!

14/10/2019

AVSSP’s first ever Self Belief festival saw over 100 students experience what it’s like to be a club gymnast with Amber Valley Gymnastics Academy.

Seven specialist Gymnastics coaches put the students through their paces making use of top class facilities and equipment! Aspiring gymnasts were able to use the beams, bars, tumble track, rebound and more taking part in fun, energetic activities alongside the coaches!

The festival was all themed around Self Belief with awards on offer throughout with each coach tasked with selecting Self Belief Champions from their group

Our work with the club also stretched to talent identification with those students showing promise in Gymnastics invited to take part in specialised competition practices with the club

All students showed a fantastic attitude to try new things and embodied Self Belief throughout the session before leaving with a certificate each and an invite to take part in a FREE taster session with Amber Valley Gymnastics Academy

Congratulations to each and every student who took part and thank you to AVGA and their coaches for their hard work!

To find out more on how to become a member of Amber Valley Gymnastics Academy and work with their excellent team of coaches click here