Rochdale AFC Community Trust is celebrating five years of the Premier League Primary Stars schools' programme!
Launched in 2017 and available to every primary school in England and Wales, Premier League Primary Stars uses the appeal of professional football clubs to support pupils in the classroom, the playground and on the sports field.
Currently 105 professional football clubs from across the leagues, including Rochdale Football Club, run in-classroom Premier League Primary Stars sessions in local schools.
Over the past five years the Rochdale AFC Community Trust have delivered sessions to 55 schools across the borough, thanks to Primary Stars funding.
They engage with around 900 participants every year through the sessions and deliver various activities including:
- Maths/PHSE/English interventions themed around football;
- Mixed and girls only extra-curricular activities;
- Workshops around key themes such as anti-bullying;
- Class lessons around Maths/PHSE/English themed around football;
- Social action projects such as littering/recycling/environmental;
- Teacher development workshops;
- Sports days;
- Competitions and Festivals.
Graham Hicks, the Community Trust's Premier League Primary Stars co-ordinator, said: “We would like to thank the Premier League Charitable Fund for their continued support. I'd like to extend that to all of the schools, both past and present, who have been involved in the programme over the years. Without them, the programme wouldn’t be as successful as it is.
“We aim to use football themed sessions to inspire children in the classroom, with the aim of making our town a better place to live work and play.”
Premier League Chief Executive Richard Masters added: “We launched Premier League Primary Stars five years ago to support teachers and use the power and popularity of football to inspire children in the classroom and on the sports field.
“Clubs do fantastic work to support children’s learning and we are very proud that this national education programme now engages more than 18,500 primary schools in England and Wales.
“Congratulations to all those who have been recognized as a Premier League Primary Stars Superstar, as part of the five-year anniversary celebrations, and thank you to all those involved in the programme over the years.”
The Premier League funds Premier League Primary Stars and other community programmes through its £100m investment per season in community facilities and community and education programmes. This is the biggest voluntary contribution to communities and other good causes of any football league in the world.
Please visit www.premierleague.com for more information.
In addition to Premier League Primary Stars activities, the Community Trust also offer programmes such as mental health workshops, healthy eating workshops, dinner time coaching sessions and after school coaching sessions.
If your school would like to get involved in any of the programmes, please reach out to Graham Hicks, Sports Co-ordinator by emailing graham.hicks@rochdaleafc.co.uk