Teachers of physical education (PE) and sports leads in education can now sign up to free online training taking place on 11 October. The programme has been designed to show participants how interactive technology and real-world stories can be used to elevate PE lessons and instil young people with valuable life skills.
Delivered as a joint project between immersive learning platform Lyfta, and UK children’s charity the Youth Sport Trust, the event will grant teachers access to new lesson plans and approaches designed to help them engage students with key values – such as resilience, inclusivity and teamwork – through sport. The ready-made lesson plans should also help to ease the strain on teachers’ burgeoning workloads.
According to research from the Youth Sport Trust, 73% of children who returned to school post-lockdown were deemed to have low levels of physical fitness, with the pandemic also wreaking havoc on their mental wellbeing. For this reason, a key focus of the webinar will be exploring the the links between physical activity, healthy living and emotional wellbeing.
The programme aligns with both the national curriculum and the UN Sustainable Development Goals. During the session, educators will learn how stories of young people all over the world can be used to examine various topics from PE to relationships and sex education (RSE). Teachers will view interactive video and documentary content to gain insight into:
- The ways PE can be tied to RSE lessons to help children understand how physical and emotional health complement and impact each other
- How real experiences of young people playing football in countries worldwide, from Brazil to China, can be used to demonstrate how sport can help youth cope with success and failure
- How lessons shaped around narratives relating to gender stereotypes in sport, from female weight lifters to male ballet dancers, can spark discussion around inclusivity and empathy
It’s hoped that such resources will show children the value of sports participation, while also addressing the barriers that prevent girls, students from disadvantaged backgrounds and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) from taking part in PE.
The programme’s launch follows another Youth Sport Trust study which found that 39% of girls claim to enjoy PE lessons, compared to 49% of boys, for which they cite reasons such as not being “good at exercise” or not being “competitive” enough.
Vicci Wells, national manager – targeted interventions at the Youth Sport Trust, commented: “We are really excited to be partnering with Lyfta to offer free training to PE teachers and sports curriculum leads and exploring the role that interactive technology can play in teaching young people key life lessons through sport.
“Our research shows that a growing proportion of young people agree that they would like to use more technology as part of PE lessons,” added Wells, “with 45% agreeing compared to 37% in 2014, and so we are looking forward to supporting more schools to embrace Lyfta’s immersive learning platform.”
Click here for more information and to sign up to the free online event.
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