Bath Rugby Foundation wins South West regional Department for Education ?Character Award?

The 27 schools and organisations winning £15,000 for their work in character education were announced by Education Secretary Nicky Morgan.

Bath Rugby Foundation are thrilled to announce that they've been chosen as a regional winner in the Department for Education (DfE) Character Awards for their ‘Stickability’ literacy programme.

The DfE received a high volume of quality applications demonstrating how organisations across the country are working to prepare young people for life in the UK. The Foundation has been able to demonstrate excellent practice in character education and was praised by the DfE judging panel for developing the character traits, attributes and behaviours that underpin success.

‘Stickability’, Bath Rugby Foundation’s flagship character development programme, is delivered for free by Foundation teachers and coaches in primary schools all over the Bath & North East Somerset and Wiltshire areas, to pupils aged 7-11. The programme incorporates six two-hour sessions with one being held each each week  for a whole class of pupils. The first hour of each session uses a sporting theme to help pupils build their literacy skills, while the second hour supports their physical development through Tag Rugby and multiskills activities.

The programme is supported by local education supplies company The Consortium, who also provide their staff as volunteers to support the delivery of the programme in schools.

During each 2-hour session, five key character attributes are developed using an individual sticker system and specific positive praise. The praise focusses on the process the child uses rather than the outcome, with the aim of helping each child to develop a ‘Growth Mindset’.

Each ‘skill’ has a different sticker, which the pupils are given along with praise when they are identified to be using a particular skills. One of the most successful aspects of the programme is that pupils are encouraged to reward each other with stickers at appropriate moments, which enables them to further develop their social skills and empathy.

Bath Rugby Foundation works with children and young people who are among the most vulnerable in the vicinity: They may be socially isolated or living in a deprived area; they may have physical or learning disabilities, be long-term unemployed, NEET, or at risk of social or school exclusion. All of these programmes have a core factor: using the power of sport to build young people’s confidence and help them to live successful, healthy and happy lives.

All of the young people that the foundation work with are encouraged to respond positively to whatever challenges that may be facing them, and the foundation seek to give them the means to overcome challenges in the future.

The foundation use this same approach to develop their own staff, many of which have come through the foundation's programmes as participants, apprentices, and volunteers to build their character and their resilience alongside practical skills.

Announcing the winners of the Character Awards, the Education Secretary said that funding initiatives ensure that pupils develop grit and resilliance, assisting them on staying on the right track once they leave school - enhancing their chances of employment and increasing their participation in society.

The awards are designed to highlight the most effective ways of ensuring pupils leave school ready for life in modern Britain. Today’s winners were chosen by a panel of experts. They all had to display evidence that their work has improved pupils’ future outcomes from exam results to behaviour, attendance or job prospects.

Vicky Heslop, Bath Rugby Foundation's Education Manager will attend the awards ceremony in London on March 16^th where she'll receive the award from Nicky Morgan, the Education Secretary.

You can read the full Department of Education's announcement here: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/winners-of-the-character-awards-announced