Community Trust South provided total funding of $589,357, to all 95 primary, intermediate and secondary schools in the Trust’s area through the Principals Discretionary Fund (PDF). Its aim is to ensure every student has the opportunity to achieve their potential through:
- enabling students experiencing financial hardship to participate in school activities
- supporting schools to raise student achievement, address inequalities and/or reduce barriers to participation across specific education, sport, art and culture priorities of the Trust
- enabling schools and students in isolated areas to have equity of opportunity to take part in educational, sporting and cultural opportunities
An example of how some schools use this funding:
11 primary schools collaborated and are using part of their PDF allocation to employ a Central Sports Coordinator with the aim to increase physical activity and sports participation rates among all Central Southland primary schools.
“In all schools there is someone who is ‘in charge’ of sport. The Central Sports Coordinator supports these roles by coordinating inter-school sport, e.g. cross country, athletics and creates opportunities for children across the central region to be involved in sport. The role has helped to achieve effective relationships and strong communication lines regarding the sporting opportunities available for all schools.” – Steve Wadsworth, Winton School
The Coordinator is able to access opportunities that otherwise may not have been available to schools, in particular, the smaller country schools in the area. An example of this is combining students from two smaller schools to create a full sports team. More opportunities have meant more children trying out a new sport and being a part of a team.
Some events and initiatives the Coordinator has organised include zone athletics, cross country, central cup, year 7/8 basketball, year 5/6 mini ball, Monday night hockey and basketball referee development which has resulted in higher levels of engagement and participation.
“We have continued with this project because of some excellent results over the past couple of years. These were a result of children being exposed to opportunities that they may not have had access to prior. Feedback from children, staff and whānau has been overwhelming.” – Steve Wadsworth, Winton School
