What’s the name of the school / youth organisation project?
Buckton Vale Primary School
Who are the partners (Youth groups, schools, outdoor education providers etc)
Buckton Vale Primary School
Mossley Hollins High School
What’s the demographic of the area that you work in?
Majority white British, working and middle class mix.
Why did you choose to use JASS?
I believe Mossley Hollins High School put us on to it?
What were the hoped outcomes of your initiative?
To encourage children to be active and challenge themselves. We are near the countryside, so have ample opportunity to get into the outdoors.
What year groups participated? What level did you use?
Year 6, Bronze.
Can you provide some examples for the activities that the young people did for the award? It would be helpful if you could note any activities that you or any partner took the lead on.
Me and My World:
Remembrance Day celebrations in the town, volunteering with Brownies/Scouts, litter picking
My Interests:
Various sports + research, pets + research, Cryptozoology (I know…), musical instruments + research
Get Active, Stay Active:
Various sports + challenges (swimming, football, dancing, gymnastics, horse riding, martial arts), running (Tameside and our school promoted the 7-mile Tameside Run), yoga
Adventure:
Hillwalking/map reading, indoor climbing as a whole group (I led this), obstacle courses in their garden during lockdown, orienteering
Was there any additional costs over and above the purchase of the folders?
Parents paid for the climbing trip
Do you have any examples of how a young person grew in confidence as a result of doing the activities in JASS?
Climbing! They loved it, and all pushed themselves so hard. Climbing is such a boost for confidence and mental health. Everyone can get up a wall, as they can choose their difficulty. Reaching the top of something is a great boost. It was also the first time many of them had done anything like that, so it challenged their sense of normal and took them out of their comfort zones.
What were the benefits to your organisation taking the lead on this? What went well? Did you reach your outcomes?
It prompted and promoted physical and outdoor activity. We live near the countryside, so there are lots of opportunities, but this gave them structure and motivation.
Any positive quotes, from mentors, participants, parents / carers? Or observations?
Even during lockdown this spring, the children and parents have told me how it has given them ideas, purpose and motivation to still keep active outdoors as much as they can.
Was there anything that didn’t go well?
Sometimes they were so keen on writing so many things up, we had to tell them to slow down and really concentrate on three pieces of evidence for each section – of high quality, as opposed to 6 per section but a bit rushed!