SECONDARY SCHOOL PROGRAMME: GIRLS LEADERSHIP THROUGH CRICKET

The Chance to Shine Secondary School Girls Programme is a new initiative funding cricket coaching and leadership development for girls aged 11-16. The programme aims to help them build and sustain a positive relationship with sport and physical activity through cricket and to develop key employability and leadership skills.

TASTER SESSIONS
Exciting and enjoyable sessions run by Chance to Shine coaches
in PE lessons to give the target group the opportunity to experience what cricket can offer.

LEADERSHIP TRAINING
Sessions aimed at building the skills of the ‘young leaders’ to help them to run their own extra-curricular cricket club; this included cricket coaching skills, support to promote the club within
the school and behaviour management skills.

The young leaders were also trained to support primary school coaching alongside their coaches. As part of the England & Wales Cricket Board’s (ECB) support for our Primary School programme, cricket festivals were held at secondary schools and our young leaders were able to develop their skills with a younger age group.

EXTRA-CURRICULAR CLUBS
The young leaders were expected to lead extra-curricular cricket clubs for other girls, of all ages, supported by Chance to Shine coaches.

This was supported by existing Chance to Shine programmes and resources:
– Girls’ ‘Chance to Compete’ (8-a-side competition linked regionally to Kia Super League teams)
– Schools’ Portal (online resources supported by Sport England)
– Teacher Training (Continuous Professional Development courses)The research, conducted by the Centre for Sport, Physical Education & Activity Research (spear) at Canterbury Christ Church University, assessed the Chance to Shine Secondary School Girls Programme which worked with 1,700 specifically trained ‘Young Leaders’, with a further 2,200 girls taking part in after-school clubs in over 100 state schools across the country.Sport England data shows that of secondary school age pupils, girls are notably less likely to be ‘active’ (42%), compared to boys (49%). Building on years of experience delivering in Secondary Schools, Chance to Shine developed a bespoke programme to support teenage girls to play cricket and, specifically, to develop their leadership skills.At the end of the programme there was a ‘statistically significant’ increase in the number of girls who said they were active every day (from 34% to 39.6%).

This was also reflected in changing the girls’ attitudes towards the sport, with just over three quarters (78%) saying that they ‘wanted to play more cricket than before’.Young Leaders were first trained to take on coaching responsibilities in sessions and then supported to put those skills into practice in after-school clubs and organising and leading primary school cricket festivals.The research showed statistically significant growth in the following key leadership traits: Confidence – ‘I feel confident’ 39% -> 45%
Resilience – ‘If I find something difficult, I keep trying until I can do it’ 50% -> 57% Creativity – ‘I come up with new ideas’ 31% -> 39%Adaptability – ‘I try to change activities so that everyone can take part’ 44% -> 56% Traits which are as applicable on the cricket pitch as they are in the boardroom.

Full reports and Chance 2 Shine Documents can be found below.