Big Lottery Fund Research Issue 36. New Opportunities for PE and Sport: Year Four evaluation summary Wales

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1 Big Lottery Fund Research Issue 36 New Opportunities for PE and Sport: Year Four evaluation summary Wales

2 NOPES Year Four evaluation summmary Stock code BIG-NOPES4english ISSN (Print) ISSN (Online) Print Photography Simon McComb Written by Marcus Hulme Further copies available from: Phone Textphone Our website Accessibility Also available upon request in other formats including large print. Our equality principles Promoting accessibility; valuing cultural diversity; promoting participation; promoting equality of opportunity; promoting inclusive communities; reducing disadvantage and exclusion. Please visit our website for more information. We care about the environment The Big Lottery Fund in Wales is working towards sustainable development and the use of sustainable resources. Our mission We are committed to bringing real improvements to communities and the lives of people most in need. Our values We have identified seven values that underpin our work: fairness; accessibility; strategic focus; involving people; innovation; enabling; additional to government. The Big Lottery Fund is committed to valuing diversity and promoting equality of opportunity, both as a grantmaker and employer. The Big Lottery Fund will aim to adopt an inclusive approach to ensure grant applicants and recipients, stakeholders, job applicants and employees are treated fairly. Big Lottery Fund, May 2007

3 Executive summary This is a summary of the key findings that have emerged to date from the evaluation of the UK-wide New Opportunities in PE and Sport (NOPES) initiative. It is our interpretation of the year four evaluation report about the progress of the programme up until February The full report is available on our website at: The evaluators state that the NOPES programme is progressing well towards achieving the six NOPES outcomes and is making a substantial contribution to the delivery of school and local authority priorities. Partnership effectiveness Ñ Effective partnership working has made a significant contribution to the development and delivery of NOPES outcomes. Ñ Integrating the NOPES programme with other programmes such as School Sports Partnerships has helped to combine resources to deliver activities. Ñ The design of the facilities meets local need effectively when the beneficiaries are involved at the project development stage. Impact on participation Ñ After the new NOPES facilities opened, the time allocated to curriculum PE increased across the UK by approximately ten minutes for Key Stages one, two and three 1. Ñ There is evidence of increased participation during the allocated PE time. Ñ All case study projects demonstrated improvements in the quality of pupils PE experiences in a variety of ways, including the provision of a greater choice of activities, enhanced pupil and staff motivation and an improvement in the profile and status of PE within school. Ñ Attendance at lunchtime extra-curricular activities has increased by 67 per cent for boys and 38 per cent for girls. Ñ There has been no significant change in the percentage of pupils receiving two hours of PE and school sport in England, Scotland and Wales. This may be due to timetabling and resource constraints. Ñ Community use has doubled at NOPES projects from 101 beneficiaries in a typical week pre-opening compared to 200 beneficiaries post-opening. 1 For Scotland, pupils in Primary 1-3 were classed as Key Stage 1, Primary 4-7 were classed as Key Stage 2, Secondary 1 & 2 were classed as Key Stage 3 and Secondary 3 & 4 were classed as Key Stage 4. Impact on wider social outcomes Ñ Case study interviewees stated that the NOPES facilities are making an important contribution to improving the whole school. Ñ Some interviewees stated that using the new facilities is creating a culture of success and improving the PE experiences for pupils. Survey evidence in England and Wales shows that the average number of pupils achieving A* to C in GCSE PE has increased by 100 per cent since the new facilities have opened. Ñ A selection of projects found that using the new facilities has helped to improve behaviour in class and re-engage young people into sport and school. Ñ A sample of case study projects stated that the use of the new facilities is contributing to improvements in health that may positively influence better educational achievement.

4 Introduction The NOPES programme The NOPES programme was launched in November 2002 following policy directions received from the government in A total of million was available for the programme across the UK. To date, 2,256 grant awards have been made to projects across the UK, ranging from outdoor activity centres to new or refurbished facilities at schools. All funding for the programme has now been committed. The NOPES programme has six key outcomes: Improved physical education and sport in schools Higher standards across the whole school through PE, sport and other forms of structured activity Better opportunities to increase the levels of physical activity among the school age population and, more generally, local communities Improved collaboration, co-operation and partnership between schools and between schools and their communities Promotion of social inclusion through access to, and use of, sports and outdoor adventure facilities by all groups in society Innovation and best practice in the design and management of facilities. The evaluation In 2002, we commissioned the Loughborough Partnership, led by the Institute of Youth Sport at Loughborough University, to evaluate the NOPES programme. The evaluation covers the whole of the UK and will run until Four annual 4 reports have been published to date and are available on the BIG website at:

5 UK findings This section details evaluation findings from across the UK and is structured around the three key dimensions of the evaluation that examine the impact of NOPES on partnership, participation and wider social outcomes and links to the six NOPES key outcomes. Partnership effectiveness All local authorities across the UK were required to develop partnership groups to select projects for their NOPES portfolio. In England and Wales, this selection was made by using both formal assessment criteria and partnership members knowledge of the strategic context to assess expressions of interest from potential projects. In Northern Ireland, greater emphasis was placed on the use of objective criteria to assess bids. This may have contributed to the wider variety of projects included in NOPES portfolios that were awarded. In Scotland, partnership members made top-down decisions on which projects should be funded at the majority of local authorities. Across the UK, the portfolio managers were the key people in developing the NOPES portfolios through the application and construction phases. The portfolio partnership groups provided support to the portfolio managers and scrutinised decisions and the progress of portfolios. The impact of NOPES on the quality and suitability of facilities was demonstrated by survey results which showed that prior to opening only 24 per cent of respondents rated the quality of their facilities as 4 or 5 (on a scale 1-poor to 5-excellent) compared to 72 per cent after NOPES facilities had opened. 83 per cent of respondents to the annual survey consider their facilities to be effective in some aspect of their design. Effective communication at the project development stage between the individuals involved in the design and use of the facilities was important in helping to ensure that facilities were fit for purpose. There were significant differences across the UK in the role of portfolio partnership groups and portfolio managers after NOPES facilities opened. Portfolio partnership groups can provide a useful role in developing community use and supporting projects after they have opened. Key individuals were responsible for developing the NOPES facility at some of the larger projects in the case studies. These people have been instrumental to the success of projects through addressing issues such as developing new links with community organisations and opening facilities beyond the school day. The evaluators identified a strong link between NOPES and other school sport programmes. In England 97 per cent of respondents to the annual survey rated the School Sports Partnerships programme as important to the success of their NOPES project. Links in Scotland between NOPES and the Active Schools programme were similarly strong, although some activity projects encountered initial difficulties in negotiating the respective roles of staff employed through both programmes. Case study interviewees stated that the NOPES programme complements other 5

6 UK findings initiatives that aim to extend the use of school facilities beyond the school day. This has also helped projects to share human and capital resources to support the achievement of outcomes that are common to the various initiatives. There have been difficulties in linking NOPES with other capital programmes at some case study schools. In England, linking NOPES with the Building Schools for the Future programme has been challenging for some projects due to the different timescales involved. Links between NOPES projects and other schools have developed since the new facilities opened. The average number of other primary schools using the NOPES facilities more than doubled from 4.4 pre-opening to 9.0 post-opening. Developing links with other schools was typically the role of staff involved in programmes such as School Sports Partnerships in England and Dragon Sport in Wales. Larger NOPES projects have improved links with community organisations, which has helped to develop community use at projects. Survey data shows that the average number of sports clubs to use school sport facilities has doubled from 5.5 prior to opening to 11.2 after opening. Impact on participation The evaluators have found that the NOPES programme is making a significant impact on participation in PE and sport across the UK. Post-opening, the time allocated to curriculum PE increased across the UK by ten minutes for key stages one, two and three 2. The proportion of pupils not taking part in 6 curriculum PE due to sick notes and other excuses has also dropped from 6 per cent to 4.4 per cent for boys and 7.4 per cent to 6.1 per cent for girls since the new facilities opened. There has been no significant change in the percentage of pupils receiving two hours 3 of PE and school sport since the new facilities opened. Some schools have reported that this is partly due to staffing and timetabling constraints. This finding will be explored in more detail by the evaluators at case study projects over the next year. There is more variety now, rather than just one thing. Some girls don t like netball or football, but we can do dance now up in the dance studio and other things. It suits everybody s tastes. (Year 9 girl, dance studio project) It has brightened up everybody s PE lessons so that the lessons have been a bit more enjoyable. (Pupil, MUGA project) The quality of PE has improved drastically. Obviously lessons can be planned out you know it doesn t matter about the weather. (Head of PE, artificial turf pitch project) 2 For Scotland, pupils in Primary 1-3 were classed as Key Stage 1, Primary 4-7 were classed as Key Stage 2, Secondary 1 & 2 were classed as Key Stage 3 and Secondary 3 & 4 were classed as Key Stage minutes in Northern Ireland.

7 UK findings Staff and pupils at case study projects across the UK stated that the quality of pupil experiences during curriculum PE had significantly improved. The survey findings also indicated that the number of different activities during curriculum time available at schools with larger NOPES facilities has increased from 15.9 pre-opening to 17.4 post-opening. Case study interviewees commented that other factors that have improved the quality of PE include enhanced staff and pupil motivation, improved planning of PE lessons and having better equipment on offer. The facilities have also helped to raise the profile and status of PE within the school. The number of pupils participating in lunchtime activities has increased by 67 per cent for boys and 38 per cent for girls since the new facilities opened. Similarly the number of pupils attending after-school activities has increased by 32 per cent for boys and 33 per cent for girls. Case study data, from Northern Ireland and Scotland, suggested that smaller projects such as outdoor playground facilities, playground markings and Multi Use Games Areas (MUGA) have made an important contribution to enhanced informal and formal activities particularly at lunchtimes. There has been a significant increase in community use at NOPES project sites: the average number of community users in a typical week per project site has almost doubled from 101 users pre-to 200 users post-opening. In addition, the number of different activities available to the community increased from 6.0 pre-opening to 11.1 post-opening. The activities with the greatest increase in availability for the community were dance, basketball, fitness, netball and table tennis. This enhanced choice in activities available to the community was particularly important for getting disaffected young people to participate in PE and sport. At NOPES project sites, the number of hours of activities available in school holidays increased. For example, during summer holidays the average amount of hours available per project has doubled from 33 pre-opening to 61 post-opening. Examples of holiday activities include pupils from feeder primary schools in Wales being 7

8 UK findings coached in a variety of sports by year 10 Dragon Sport coaches and Football in the Community holiday schemes taking place at Football Foundation projects in England. Case study data from across the UK suggested that the potential to increase community use was to some extent dependent on the project type and location. Artificial pitches appeared to address a substantial community demand for the provision of all-weather outdoor pitches and made it relatively easy to develop community use. Community use was more challenging for MUGAs and sports halls and there appeared to be a stronger need to market these facilities to enhance use. Projects that were geographically distant from other sporting facilities had fewer problems in generating community use. Impact on wider social outcomes NOPES facilities play a unique and valuable role in delivering wider social outcomes. The new facilities have increased staff and pupil motivation and some interviewees believe that this has contributed to better PE examination results. The survey data for England and Wales indicates that the average number of pupils per project site achieving 8

9 UK findings A* to C in GCSE PE increased from 26 pre- NOPES to 52 after NOPES facilities were built. Case study interviewees state that NOPES facilities are providing increased opportunities for pupils to succeed through the broad range of activities that are being delivered and are creating a culture of success. PE and school sport is also being used as a medium for engaging and re-engaging pupils into school life in the hope that this would transfer into higher standards across the school. We are building a sense of achievement through sport and we are beginning to see this transfer to academic success. Headteacher, Scotland You always look forward to going out now. (Pupil, artificial turf pitch project) Staff at projects across the UK benefiting from playground improvements reported a very positive impact on pupils activity levels. Involvement in activities during breaks and lunchtimes has reduced the amount of incidents at lunchtime and contributed to improved behaviour in the classroom. Assessing the impact of NOPES in promoting social inclusion is a challenge for the evaluators as case study interviewees have varied visions of what social inclusion means for their project. Social inclusion is defined by projects as ensuring that the facility and its activities are not exclusive in any way on the grounds of gender, age, disability or ethnicity. For example, a project at a special school in Northern Ireland is allowing pupils access to a range of opportunities they were previously denied, including the opportunity for pupils of both mainstream and special schools to participate simultaneously. At some case studies the new NOPES facilities have helped the schools to become hubs of the community. Various strategies were being used in order to address the challenges of developing community use amongst deprived communities including pricing strategies, tackling low self-esteem and offering a wider range of activities. The link between NOPES and other initiatives was considered by interviewees to be beneficial to promoting social inclusion. One way in which projects proactively aim to promote social inclusion was through the targeting of certain groups. 87 per cent of projects completing the annual survey indicated that they targeted particular groups on the basis of low participation. The most frequently targeted group was girls and women (93 per cent) followed by people living in an area of high deprivation (47 per cent). The data on targeting from case study visits suggests that there is a large variety in the extent to which project staff target particular groups of users such as girls and women, disaffected youth and disabled people. Effective targeting is particularly resource intensive. Many projects have focused resources on operational issues and developing more mainstream community use rather than on targeting at the early stages of opening. 9

10 Wales 10 Introduction This section summarises the main findings from the evaluation in Wales. It includes findings from case studies and surveys to projects. The full report for Wales is included in the full UK report under section seven. The report can be downloaded from our website at: Partnership effectiveness There is a strong ethos of partnership working across the portfolios in Wales. The partnerships oversaw the selection and development of projects. Post-opening, management responsibility for projects is gradually being devolved to local management groups with support provided by portfolio managers who remain actively involved in some projects within the core case studies. The importance of encouraging schools to buy-in to the projects in order to ensure their success continues to be an important issue. The early efforts exerted by portfolio managers have ensured that the responsibility for projects can be effectively transferred to schools, where the local management groups are working well. Some management groups will inevitably require much longer involvement from the local authority. Portfolio managers in the telephone case studies expressed concerns that when their posts ceased some projects would not be as effective without further additional support. The two core case study portfolios will continue to be supported by the local authority through the existing structures, but this is unlikely to happen across the whole of Wales. Providing support has been instrumental to the success of projects to date and local authorities in Wales are encouraged to continue to provide support to projects after they open. There is some variation in the way that the NOPES facilities are managed on an operational level. In both core case studies, school use of facilities is usually managed by a senior member of staff from the PE department or by the head or deputy head teacher. The school is also often responsible for overseeing community use. However at some schools community use is managed by the local authority and the relationships between some of the schools and their local authority are formalised in dual-use agreements. Such agreements contribute to enhanced and targeted community use. Local authority development plans and SPORTLOT community chest are the two most commonly cited (both 88 per cent) plans or initiatives linked to NOPES in Wales. More schools are now involved in PE and school sport development centres (from 50 per cent prior to NOPES to 75 per cent currently) whilst there are fewer schools involved in girls first initiatives (75 per cent prior to NOPES to 63 per cent currently). NOPES is also closely aligned to Communities First and community focused schools. The benefit of linking NOPES with other initiatives has been important in providing additional resources, such as staff, to support the development of projects and in engaging the local community.

11 Wales One portfolio manager stated: We ve broken down the barriers. We ve realised projects that previously couldn t be realised. We thank BIG for their money but also we ve had the gumption to use that money and use it effectively. Successes have included: new and improved links between schools and local sports clubs increased use of new and improved school sports facilities by primary pupils often through Dragon Sport improved collaboration between secondary schools links between NOPES projects and other local facilities as a result of the dual-use arrangements in place. In one case study, where communities are geographically remote, the schools often serve as community centres and the NOPES projects have improved pre-existing community links. On all measures in design and management, projects identify themselves as more likely to demonstrate effective practice (86 per cent) than innovation (36 per cent). This is reflected in the design of projects within bothone of the core case studies, which were based on providing value for money rather than on a desire to be innovative. Annual survey results indicate very positive improvements in the perceptions of the quality and suitability of facilities for PE and school sport. Prior to NOPES projects opening, only 30 per cent of respondents rated the quality of their facilities as good compared to 100 per cent after opening. Only 10 per cent of projects stated that their facilities were suitable for the community prior to opening, compared to 76 per cent after opening. Impact on participation The commitment by the two core case study local authorities to increase levels of participation amongst young people and their communities existed prior to NOPES. The new NOPES projects are providing much needed, high-quality facilities in order to deliver these aspirations. NOPES is improving both the quantity and quality of PE and extra-curricular provision. The challenges in achieving this are being met through effective local management groups and by aligning NOPES with other initiatives with continuing support from the local authority to some projects and through active promotion and communication with communities. The amount of curriculum PE on offer has improved, but this has been limited mainly due to other timetable pressures. There is a generally upward trend in the amount of curriculum PE, with increases of 10 minutes or more a week in Years 1,2,3,7 and 8. NOPES facilities are improving the quantity of PE undertaken by young people for a variety of reasons, including: reduced transit time to lessons more activity during lessons (for example larger facilities, appropriate markings, less waiting in turn for activities) consistency of delivery (for example continuation of PE during the examination 11

12 Wales months, no lessons cancelled due to poor weather) more activities being offered increased pupil and staff motivation new team teaching opportunities better equipment on offer. A Year 9 girl at a secondary school in one case study commented: If we were working outside we would have to go a long distance from here, but now it s here (the new sports hall) and all the facilities are here, so it only takes a couple of minutes to get changed and all the equipment is so much easier to get out, because of the space we have more time. NOPES facilities have been instrumental in facilitating new extra-curricular activities, such as a very successful wake-up club and additional inter-school tournaments. The challenges in providing increased extracurricular activities are resource constraints (mainly staff), short lunch-times and pupils being bussed to and from school. The positive impact of NOPES on the community came out very strongly in the telephone case studies. One portfolio manager commented: Whereas before it might have been on paper, now it s genuine, and people are on the school site after the school day doing what we always intended them to do. 12

13 Wales The average number of community users increased from 62 prior to NOPES to 94 post NOPES for small projects and from 167 to 300 for large projects. For some rural communities, one factor in achieving this has been reduced journey times for travel to facilities. The portfolio manager for one core case study believes the new facilities provide the opportunity to effect a change in culture amongst the young people and their communities and that this is the key to ensuring sustained participation. Interviewees within the other core case study feel that NOPES is accelerating the progress made by the local authority towards increasing activity levels amongst young people. Sustaining this is considered to be reliant on continuous marketing campaigns. Impact on wider social outcomes The case study findings indicate a widely held belief that the NOPES facilities are contributing to improving standards in schools. In addition to improving the quantity and quality of PE in schools, the facilities are said to be contributing to: creating a culture of success, offering new activities for pupils to succeed in and increased leadership opportunities improving pupils attitudes to school, learning and their community providing opportunities to develop pupils personal and social skills and self-esteem sport being used as a socialisation process or diversionary activity re-engaging young people who are truanting, or who are not fully engaged in either school or sport, through targeted programmes. There is also evidence that pupils view NOPES as an investment in them and their community. One Year 9 pupil said: It makes us feel much better. It makes us feel like a better school. The promotion of social inclusion remains particularly challenging for schools that do not have dedicated resources to address this issue. NOPES facilities in Wales are generally located in, or close to, communities experiencing social exclusion. Strategies to promote social inclusion through sports and outdoor adventure facilities include tackling low self-esteem and providing a wider range of activities to appeal to a wider range of individuals. For example, at one school dance workshops included street dance and hip-hop to attract young people who do not normally participate. In another, project community beat officers organised specific sessions for disaffected young people. In another, young people are being targeted through a fit for life programme, which is perceived as new and exciting by participants. A NOPES project has also been instrumental in breaking down barriers between a Welsh medium school, serving pupils from a disparate catchment area who are bussed in, and the mainly non-welsh speaking local community. After the new facilities were opened, members of the local community visited a school they would not have visited before and individuals on the management group found their negative expectations of others challenged through working together. 13

14 Future work The evaluators will continue to visit case study projects and distribute baseline and annual surveys throughout The evaluation website has been updated to provide more examples of effective practice for projects. For further information please visit the evaluation website: 14

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