Over the winter, the WCB will be showcasing its award winning Chance to Shine programme in primary schools across Birmingham, Coventry and Warwickshire. In the first of our case studies, Gary Gascoyne from Earlswood Primary School in Coventry talks about the impact Chance to Shine cricket has had in his school, and in particular the positive influence of the WCB coaching staff who deliver the sessions.
How long have you been involved with Chance to Shine and in which age groups?
I have been at this school since 1995 and it feels as if we have had Chance to Shine here all the way through. We must have been in at the very start. Chance to Shine runs in Years 4 & 5, culminating in the opportunity for the children to attend the festivals. We love Chance to Shine at our school – otherwise we wouldn’t have done it for all these years!
What are the benefits to the school of running Chance to Shine?
There are actually quite a few benefits to running Chance to Shine, both for our pupils and the school.
- Excellent coaches
- The coaches are a major factor in the success of the programme. Some of the children you least expect to be sporty actually do really well because they engage with the coaches. It helps greatly that there is constancy of coaches from week to week, so the children see the same people each session. This builds relationships and trust with adults other than a teacher and has a knock on effect on pupils’ confidence. Generally, the Chance to Shine coaches are all well versed, skilful, nice people. They are also very flexible as we don’t have much space at our school but, somehow, they manage to adapt to the space available.
- Festivals
- The festivals are great – they give the children something to work towards. As well as the participation and improvement aspects of the sessions, the festival enables the children to work towards goals, which is important. The festivals are very inclusive, so all children get the chance to develop. With some sports competitions, you see the name of some of the other schools participating and you think, “Oh dear, this is going to be too competitive for our children.” With the Chance to Shine festivals, however, they are run in a thoughtful and caring manner and are hugely successful.
- Participation by girls
- All our children participate and enjoy Chance to Shine sessions. I have noticed particularly over the years the high level of engagement from the girls. I am getting far more questions from parents about where their girls can go and play cricket at a club.
- Developing a lifelong love of cricket
- Chance to Shine is an introduction to cricket for most pupils, and it is great to see so many of them carrying on playing cricket after the sessions. When we have our picnic or ramble days, for example, the children will often want to set up a cricket game in Memorial Park. It’s all part of the aim of sport being a life-long habit; making it fun, interesting and achievable.
- What is very satisfying is to see a former pupil who did Chance to Shine at our school 15 years later umpiring at and organising the CTS festival we were attending. Michael Cook took part in Chance to Shine as a pupil at our school and is now part of Coventry & North Warwickshire CC. He was there recently when we took our Year 5 children to a festival. It is great to see a former pupil still playing cricket at whatever level.
- All round development
- Every year differs in what the children take from the Chance to Shine sessions. Sometimes it’s mainly the physical skills, sometimes the social elements, sometimes both.
