Longton Primary Sports Centre

At Longton we have utilised sports funding to ensure a lasting legacy from the funds allocated to schools via the 2012 Olympics commitment.  Over time we have used the funding to develop a number of skills and passions in sport.  In 2017 we realised that this was potentially not sustainable if the funding ceased.  We therefore went back to the drawing board and opened Longton Primary Schools Sports Centre.  All Longton pupils are enrolled at the ‘centre’.

Our centre focuses on 4 main sports.  Children will access qualified coaching in these sports at least twice throughout their time at Longton.  Our main sport is running because it is accessible by all and can be low cost.  All teachers are training as running coaches. We believe that focusing on these areas will enable pupils to develop a passion for a sport and even if they do not take it up immediately they will have the skills, knowledge and ability to successfully and confidently take it up later in life.  

Our sports curriculum provides pupils with the opportunity to develop and apply their skills in a range of physical activities, including expressive movement, gymnastics and games. Pupils collaborate together in team activities, which helps them to develop self-confidence and an awareness of each other. Pupils benefit from at least two hours of physical activities each week.

Pupils can further enhance their skills by taking on extra-curricular sessions which include various sports. 

Everyone knows that playing sport is good for you physically and mentally. It gets you out of the house and away from the screen-based activities –TVs, computers and video games.  But the immediate health benefits, while significant, might almost be outweighed by the long-term benefits of playing a team sport.  At Longton Primary School our main sport is running and we commit to every child taking part in at least one running session each week.  We encourage pleasure running and competitive running.  Alongside running, over each academic year, two year groups (1+6) focus on Cricket, two year groups (3+5) on Tennis and two others on bowling.  By committing to these sports we feel children have the opportunity to hone skills in particular sports that have clubs in our local community. By being a member of a club/team teaches skills that the people take with them into their wider world of work. Beyond the obvious team work, people also learn to deal with adversity through loses or injuries, how to problem-solve more effectively, as well as how to push themselves to improve their skills. These skills are eagerly sought in the workplace, with many employers keen to hire people who have participated in team sports.

We enjoy close sporting links with local schools and regularly participate in tournaments organised by the South Ribble Sports partnership. We are proud to hold the Gold Sports award.  The Gold School Sport Award is recognition of our school's achievements in putting sport at the heart of the school's planning, practice and ethos.  The Gold Award also highlights that our school has shown excellent practice across the core areas of the Award and demonstrated an on-going commitment to increase young people's opportunities and engagement in physical education, school sport and leadership and provide clear pathways to life-long participation in sport.

We embrace the importance of outdoor educational learning by using our extensive grounds resourcefully all year round.   Pupils have the opportunity to participate in two “adventurous activity” breaks in Year 5 and in Year 6, where they learn essential life skills such as confidence building, decision making, collaboration and team spirit.  With child obesity on the rise, we believe it is more important than ever for us to offer children legitimate opportunities to engage with the outdoors and try sports that not only get them active for the duration of the school residential trip, but also inspire a love of adventure that will stay with them and help them develop into fit, active and healthy adults.

The variety of clubs and sports on offer reflect the breadth and talents of our pupils and ensure that all pupils have an opportunity to participate in sports they enjoy and excel in.  We encourage all our pupils to take up sports in order to increase motivation, self-confidence, stamina, fitness, spatial awareness and creative thinking.  Through our school’s sports programmes, our pupils learn teamwork, leadership, self-discipline, focus and competitiveness – all of which will stand them in good stead for the future. They also learn important lessons in humility, such as how to lose graciously and the importance of striving for continuous improvement.

Sports Leaders

All of our sports teams have a Sports Leader, a member of the team who is elected to a leadership role by their peers because of their ability to motivate others. The Sports Leader is chosen on the strength of their performance, their ability to strategize and assess the strengths and weaknesses of their opponents, and the level of their enthusiasm and commitment. Sports Leaders help to lead their teammates to success because they can be relied upon to perform consistently and remain calm under pressure. As with all good leaders, they keep their team’s spirits high, even when things are not going well.

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