Club delivers free outdoor activities for primary schools in Enfield

This academic year, the Tottenham Hotspur Foundation, in partnership with Enfield Council, is delivering free 'Outdoor and Adventurous Activities' for primary schools across the Borough.

Following a successful pilot which took place earlier this year, a Tottenham Hotspur Foundation coach will work alongside the schools’ PE teachers to run a six-week course for pupils aged between seven and 11.

This week, U23 players Kazaiah Sterling and Shilow Tracey visited Capel Manor Primary School, nearby the Club’s Training Centre, to join in with one of the lessons and encourage the children to get involved.

The course consists of 30 lesson plans which are based on simple physical challenges and orienteering-type activities and are designed to improve important skills such as team building, map-reading, problem-solving and creative thinking.

As part of the programme, each school will receive a box provided by Enfield Council which will be filled with learning resources such as laminated maps, control cards, blindfolds, rope, crayons, arrow markers and cones.

Jan Hickman from Enfield Council’s PE team said: "At Key Stage Two, the National Curriculum states that pupils should be taught to take part in outdoor and adventurous activity challenges. To fulfil this, many schools organise annual activities such as rock climbing or canoeing for their pupils. Although beneficial, they are often one-off experiences and can be expensive to run. This new programme centres on the school environment itself, meaning it can be delivered all year round with very few additional costs."

Lucy Peirce, School Sport Development Manager at Tottenham Hotspur Foundation said: "Since we finished the pilot we have seen a huge improvement in the children, especially those who were usually reluctant to join in PE lessons. We are delighted to be expanding the programme delivering sessions in primary schools across the Borough and hope to inspire many more children to get outside and be adventurous."

This programme forms part of the Section 106 Partnership, launched in June 2010 by Enfield Council, Lee Valley Regional Park Authority and Tottenham Hotspur. The partnership has highlighted the Club’s £2.3m commitment to community sport and physical activity over 10 years to the Borough in which the Training Centre resides.