In line with many aspects of athletics, the delivery of Teaching and Education courses is in a process of transition with responsibility being handed to the Regional Offices of England Athletics.
For the last two years UK Athletics has delivered the Norwich Union Elevating Athletics awareness courses to support the roll out of the Norwich Union Elevating Athletics teaching resource. Teachers have attended these during the winter term as part of their Continuing Professional Development and as preparation for athletics delivery in the summer. However, these awareness sessions are no longer available and the current suite of teaching courses has been revised, largely as a result of feedback that highlighted the need for a simplified range of options.
A Certificate in Teaching Primary Athletics and a Certificate in Teaching Secondary Athletics will replace the current courses.
These one-day courses will be available from 1 February 2008 and will consist of one part theory and two parts practical. They aim to give teachers and others working in schools the knowledge, skills and confidence to deliver enjoyable and engaging lessons that focus on increasing understanding, skill acquisition, maximum participation and enjoyment. The content will be based upon the Norwich Union Elevating Athletics teaching resource, which demonstrates how to achieve progression across all age groups in generic running, jumping and throwing activities.
One of the underlying aims of the courses is to bring alive the teaching of athletics, particularly in the run up to 2012. We are confident that we can help teachers succeed in enthusing pupils of all ages and abilities to find, and participate in, events that they find fun and which allow them to achieve success, at whatever level.
Full details of how to book these courses will be available from the England Athletics Regional Offices by the end of October 2007, see www.englandathletics.org
Another one of our current innovations is the Virtual Athletics project. This allows schools to take part in on-line competitions, and is currently open and free to new users. It is of particular interest to those schools with transport difficulties or in rural locations. The site can be viewed at www.virtualathleticsleague.co.uk. If you are interested in this approach to increasing participation, please let us know by using the contact form at the bottom of this page.
