Adapted sports

News

Thursday 22 December 2011

Teaching trainees learn the value of inclusive activities

Nottingham Trent University students from Primary teacher training courses worked with youngsters from a number of local special schools or in mainstream education, in a friendly competitive multi-activity sports session.

Each year, just before Christmas, the Primary Education department holds Values Week. Regular lectures are replaced by a range of sessions including practicals, seminars, workshops and visiting speakers. The sessions are aimed at developing students awareness of a wider range of challenges in education, the community and society.

TRENT - Adapted Activities, Games and Sports was used in an informal session to demonstrate what can be created to include the youngsters with more severe ‘special needs’ in activities. This innovative scheme was developed via Project Adapted in the Primary Education and Sports Science courses.

The session is organised in just over one hour and involves the participants being escorted by teaching students around the different activity stations. They are allowed to have as many attempts as they like in the overall time to improve the different scores at the stations. Certificates and medals are then awarded according to points scored on a graded scale appropriate to their ability.

One of the aims of the Adapted Project Unit is to develop activities to accommodate those more severely impaired participants, in enjoyable and rewarding experiences with dignity. This year there is the added excitement that some will also be included in the forthcoming National Schools Games at a number of levels.

Recently a number of these games have been adopted and developed by the Youth Sport Trust and included in their Sportsability initiatives. As a consequence they are produced commercially and can also be purchased from Davies/Findell the Sports People (UK).