Abbotsfield Primary School

Aussie Sport Leader Program

 School Profile

 Abbotsfield Primary School is a medium sized school with approximately 265 FTE Students. The School was opened on the 31^st of October 1964 and is a school catering for students K-6. The community at the time was experiencing rapid growth in the northern suburbs as the City of Glenorchy spread. Today, Claremont is a very mixed, broadly based community with small to large business accounting for the majority of employment. The broader school community has a great appreciation of sport, is highly supportive of the arts program and values good discipline in a kindly and emphatic environment. Parents are very proud of the school and quite a few parents have a long history with the school, in some cases having attended as students themselves.

Refer: Abbotsfield Primary School Plan, page 3.

 Getting Started

 In 1993, the Physical Education teacher Deborah Adams, established a leadership program as part of the Supportive School Environment (SSE). The program followed the Tasmanian initiative of Aussie Sport Leadership which was widely advocated by Geoff Frier at the time.  The initial concept was introduced to the staff at Abbotsfield Primary and received overwhelming support. Subsequently the development of the program was accompanied by wide community consultation and publicity which resulted in the program attracting priority status, funding and kudos in those initial years.

  

WHOLE GROUP - Abbotsfield Aussie Sport Leaders relaxing after a hard session of leading

 Goals

 The module was developed to meet the specific needs identified by the school community. 

1. The intention was for leadership opportunities and skills to be provided for selected students in grades 3 to 6 who would, in turn, provide positive role models within the school and wider community.

2.      School life would be enhanced when leaders created special opportunities for the community to participate in games and activities in a safe, inclusive and equitable environment.

3.      Through this program we are working toward achieving outcomes based on the Main Ideas expressed in the Tasmanian Health and Physical Education Core Curriculum K-8. Specifically looking at Respecting and caring for self and others and Interacting and communicating with others.

 Strategies

 The following steps were undertaken to gain support and ownership for the development of the program and ultimately it’s introduction to the school culture. 

1. Identify specific needs for Abbotsfield Primary School, the school members and it’s future leaders.
2. Physical Education teacher identified as program co-ordinator.
3. Physical Education teacher given professional development opportunity to attend Aussie Sport Leadership training session.
4. Discussion with senior staff and presentation of plan for program.
5. Support and permission for project sought from staff and wider community.
6. Necessary changes to timetables, funding etc. were made.
7. Selection of students from grade 3 to 6 suitable for the program. Selection was a consultative process between a panel of three teachers and the child’s own classroom teacher. The result being a short list of students.
8. Individuals from the short list were given a private interview to assess their willingness to participate in the program.
9. The start of the program was announced. Implementation of program in the time frame decided upon.
10. Initial training began in the one and a half hours of devoted Aussie Sport Leader time.
11. Continual review of program implemented.

 Evaluation

 The program

 The total success of the program is perhaps best indicated by the fact that it has been adopted as part of the school culture and has run continuously at Abbotsfield Primary since it’s inception in 1993.

 Success can also be measured by the continuous evolution of the program and diverse roles the leaders have adopted over the years within the school community. 

On reflection the leadership program was relatively easy to set in place after initial support was gained and requires administration for it’s ongoing nature.

 

 The leaders 

For the students it can only be described as an overwhelming success. The Aussie Sport Leaders can readily show aspects of the following Key Intentions as stated in the Core Curriculum:

1. positive interaction with others.
2. value and enjoy the benefits gained from regular, lifelong participation in a wide range of activities.
3. appreciate and accept oneself in personal, social and cultural contexts.
4. respect the rights of others and accept responsibility for one’s own actions.
5. optimise health and functional capabilities of self and others.

 

SOCCER BALLS - the Aussie Sport Leaders celebrating P.E week with a soccer session at Claremont Primary

 The staff

For me personally, it has been a positive and rewarding experience with outstanding results. It is fantastic to see the ease of the interaction between the students. I am also fascinated by the fun and exciting games and activities the Aussie Sport Leaders initiate.

The fact that the program has endured many leadership and staff changes at the school indicates that it is seen to be a positive and worthwhile cultural aspect of the school.

 

 FITBALLS - the Aussie Sport Leaders were filmed using fitballs for the television program Goodsports