Working with Children and Schools

Working in Schools
Our work in schools is varied depending on the needs of the school and the gaps in provision we identify with them.

1. Breakfast Clubs and Lunchtime Supervision
Providing children with fun supervised and structured activities at the start of the school day or during lunchtimes can be very helpful in maintaining a positive teaching and learning environment. Regular sporting activities provides the context where children learn how to play nicely together, how to give and take, why following basic rules of behaviour benefits everybody. This year we have delivered these activities in St Augustine’s CofE Primary School in Monsall, St. Paul’s CofE Primary School in Withington and Cheetham CofE Primary School in Cheetham Hill.

2. PE Lessons
Some primary schools have found that deploying our coaches to teach a range of sports is a good use of their resources. Regular timetabled lessons led by our coach has then led to our coaches taking children to take part in competitive sports events, something that schools can struggle to find the staff to cover. This year we have delivered PE lessons in St. Patrick’s RC Primary School, Collyhurst, Cheetham Primary School and Ladywood Special School in Bolton.

Sally Macfarlane, Headteacher at Ladywood School (rated as outstanding by OFSTED), said,
The work that the FC United coaches have done at Ladywood has been highly successful. The coaches very quickly adapted to the needs of our pupils and have tailored the activities very well.

The pupils really enjoy the sessions. The benefits we have seen have been wide ranging not only in supporting the development of football and fitness skills but also in building confidence and self esteem.

The school now employs a former FC United player, Sam Ashton, and another player, Carlos Roca, currently delivers our sessions at the school.

3. After School Clubs
After school clubs are a great way to encourage children to take part in sport on a regular basis and can form a stepping stone to taking part in sport on a regular basis with a club outside of school. Sometimes an after school club can target a group that are currently under-represented in sport and many of our after school clubs are girls only or use sports such as dodgeball or benchball. These sports are great foir introducing children to the basic concepts of team sports without any preconceptions about who is good at it and who is ‘rubbish’. This year our coaches have delivered after school sessions at;

• Bowker Vale Primary School


• Abraham Moss High School


• Manchester Creative & Media Academy (Boys Campus)


• Our Lady’s RC High School

4. Healthy Eating Sessions
We continue to deliver our healthy eating sessions aimed at Years 3 and 4. For more details please see http://www.fc-utd.co.uk/news-story/football-and-healthy-eating-day-for-primary-schools. This year we have worked in the following schools;

• Rolls Crescent, Hulme


• St. Philips CofE, Hulme


• Gorse Hill, Stalybridge


• Wildbank, Stalybridge


• Staly Hill, Stalybridge


• Millbrook, Stalybridge


• Pinfold, Hattersley


• Linden Road, Denton


• Arlies, Stalybridge


• St. John Fisher RC, Denton

5. Raising Aspirations
We were very pleased to receive funding from Children in Need to run a pilot project aiming at raising aspirations among young people from North Manchester using a wide range of media-based projects involving our club. This pilot, involving Year 10 students from Abraham Moss High School, is currently being evaluated and will form the basis of future work with this age group.
We are just coming the end of our 2012 Summer Youth Project in which we worked with over 60 young people, mainly school leavers in Moston, Newton Heath and Hulme. All the young people have received training and part-time paid work as assistant coaches as well as guidance and mentoring to help them use this experience to develop as people and improve their employability and attractiveness as candidates to institutions of higher education. A number of these young people are moving on to volunteering opportunities with FC United and work experience internships with some of our sponsoring organisations.

School Holiday Playschemes
FC United has continued to deliver school holiday playschemes across Manchester focussing on those communities with which we are developing a long-term relationship. By going back to the same areas again and again, our team of coaches can get to know children and young people and build up the numbers attending the coaching sessions. All our playschemes remain free of charge to the children. Our playschemes this year have been based at:

1. Moston Miners Community Arts Cafe
This is our best attended play scheme based at the premises of our long-term partners, Moston Miners Community Arts Cafe. When the weather is good activities are held on nearby parks. When the weather is less good we play indoor games in the various rooms of the cafe.

2. New Moston Primary School, New Moston
This play scheme was initially established in partnership with NEPHRA, a residents association in New Moston. We have been able to use the excellent facilities at the primary school for indoor and outdoor sports and arts and crafts activities.

3. Whitemoss Youth Club, Charlestown
This youth club is a treasured community resource and we are pleased to have worked alongside their volunteers to run play schemes from here using the youth club’s range of equipment and their new multi use games area.

4. All Saints Community Centre, Newton Heath
This is an excellent community-owned facility in the heart iof Newton Heath and our play schemes there help to sustain the viability of this resource for other community groups.

5. Clayton Youth Centre, Clayton
We have a regular group of local children and young people who attend a wide range of activities which we coordinate at Clayton Youth Club with cycling, cooking, martial arts and water sports delivered by other community groups working alongside our coaches.

6. Cheetham CofE Primary School, Cheetham Hill
Building on the work we do at the school during term time, we have delivered some vert popular play sessions during school holidays for pupils who attend this school.

7. Trinity High School, Hulme
This summer we delivered a fantastic football-based summer camp for children living in Hulme and Moss Side assisted by our young assistant coaches largely recruited from among Trinity High School’s 2012 school leavers. We look forward to working in this area again soon.