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REPORT TO THE TRUSTEES OF THE
WILLIAM WATES MEMORIAL TRUST FROM THE YOUTH SPORT TRUST
INTRODUCTION
In December 2004, the William Wates Memorial Trust kindly agreed a grant of £5,000 to deliver the Youth Sport Trust’s pre-school physical activity programmes in Kingston-upon-Thames, Surrey.
This report provides details of what has been achieved over the past 12 months.
PROJECT
As well as providing the obvious health benefits, evidence shows that for young children there is a strong link between physical activity and the development of movement, language, social and cognitive skills. The Youth Sport Trust has developed 2 programmes - TOP Tots and TOP Start - which are designed to provide pre-school children with a fun introduction to physical activity and support their development in all these areas, as well as making a positive contribution to parenting.
In 2004 we identified it as a priority to make these programmes available in the borough of
Kingston-upon-Thames, an area where we had made little headway hitherto. We established a target of impacting on some 500 children during the first year of the project and creating a legacy of equipment, resources and training which would continue to deliver this level of benefit annually over the long term.
PROGRESS TO DATE
The following has been achieved:
- 2 representatives from Kingston-upon-Thames attended national TOP Tots/TOP Start tutor training in December 2004. They are now qualified to deliver TOP Tots/TOP Start training throughout the borough.
- a total of 36 teachers/nursery nurses and others working with pre-school children in Kingston-upon-Thames have been trained to deliver our pre-school physical activity programmes
- the equipment and resources funded by the William Wates Memorial Trust have been delivered to Kingston-upon-Thames for distribution to local settings as appropriate following training
- post delivery monitoring has confirmed that TOP pre-school physical activity programmes are receiving a positive reception within the borough, with staff making good use of equipment and resources in early years lessons and passing on their new skills to other workers
- around 600 children are now benefiting from the project
- from the outset the project has had a specific focus on the most deprived areas of the borough such as Tolworth and Surbiton.
CONCLUSION
It is clear that a significant number of pre-school children in Kingston-upon-Thames are now enjoying improved access to the benefits of physical activity thanks to funding from the William Wates Memorial Trust. In addition the project has succeeded in building new capacity within the borough which will continue to benefit hundreds of children over the years to come. We are extremely grateful to Trustees for their help in achieving this.
The Youth Sport Trust
The Youth Sport Trust is a national charity focused on introducing young people to sport and physical activity. Sport is a fantastic way to get involved and stay fit. It was a great passion of William’s.
The trust is supporting two initiatives at £5000 each aimed at primary age children. The first £5000 is a programme in Kingston upon Thames that teaches co ordination and play, very much involving parents. Colourful equipment is provided with training on how to use it in the home – there is a focus on helping young fathers on how to play with their children. The second £5000 is a programme in Southwark which provides coaching for young children in gymnastics.
The thought behind supporting primary schools is hopefully to catch children young and infect them with a passion for sport before other distractions loom too large!
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