Our Journey to the Active Flag

Burrow N.S, Sutton, Dublin 13

Mixed primary school located in Sutton, Dublin 13.

220 pupils in classes from Junior Infants to 6th.

Our aim for the Active Flag was to build on all the physical education and activities we had already in

place. We wanted to try and make the Burrow N.S. as active as it could possibly be!

Burrow N.S.

The school has an up to date and comprehensive P.E. plan which was ratified by the Board of Management in

September 2012.

All classes have at least an hour of P.E. a week.

P.E. in the Burrow N.S.

All classes experience at least 5 of the strands of the curriculum each year with the aquatics strand being

covered in 2nd and 5th classes.

Through the active school flag process we had the school mapped for use in Orienteering lessons & 5th

and 6th class now take part in local orienteering competitions.

School P.E. Programme

Our new school map!

Burrow N.S. encourages teachers to use discretionary time to enhance the PE programme and to provide increased physical activity opportunities for the pupils.

Teachers use discretionary time to facilitate some of the activities of active week.

All classes are encouraged to use the local beach and they take trips to the beach to participate in activities.

Discretionary time

In our school we pair up our younger pupils with our older pupils so each child has a buddy. At times these

buddies do some activities together. This can be activities such as art or reading but often

they are activities which involve being active outside like walks or activity circuits!

Discretionary time

The school offers activity based school tours where possible.

The Infant tour to Little Gym!

Whole school dances (modern & céilí) have been taught by 6th class and the teachers. All pupils in the school have performed these dances.

Gaelic Football Tag Rugby Squash Tennis Cricket

Soccer Hockey Basketball Athletics Sailing

Extra curricular programme

Teachers are aware of and have a bank of ideas from the Smart moves, motor skills development programme.

Teachers can now differentiate according to the ability of the child, allowing the child to develop key skills at their own pace.

Teachers promote local clubs outside of school and encourage children who are interested to join them.

As part of our Green Flag we participated in the Walk Round Ireland challenge which meant counting up all our distances walked and marking out our way around the country on the map of Ireland.

Inclusive physical activity

All pupils in our school belong to a team – red, white, blue or green. They stay with their team throughout their time in the Burrow N.S.

We have a couple of house colours days during the year where pupils wear their house colours and they get to know the other children on their team.

Each team has a house captain from 6th class – one boy and one girl.

Sports day starts with a parade of the four teams together around the pitch.

Inclusive physical activity

New playground markings have been painted on the ground and children are taught games and how to use them.

Children are allowed to use equipment in the yard one day per week (different class per day)

6th class have become ‘playground leaders’ on a rotation basis and they teach younger classes how to play with equipment or play various games.

Activity during break times

Our playground markings

We have linked in with the green flag and located parking areas for ‘park and stride’ in the surrounding area. This is for those children for whom it was not possible to travel the whole way to school by foot, bicycle or scooter.

New bike racks were installed in the school COW/WOW days continue to held.

Active travel

We have maintained links with local rugby and GAA clubs and have had coaches from the FAI in to work with the children and teachers.

The children have taken part in sessions with coaches from Athletics Ireland, Olympic Handball association of Ireland, Ultimate youth frisbee, Table tennis, Little athletics, Dance teachers (NPAS).

Teachers have taken part in Buntús training programme.

External Agencies (NGBs/HSE/LSP/Irish Heart

Foundation etc.)

Parents organised for the Sam Maguire cup to visit the school along with some of the Dublin players.

We invited many local sports people in to speak including Killian Byrne who carried the Olympic torch into Howth last year.

We made links with the Olympic Committee, took part in a local run and attended a ceremony in Howth when the Olympic torch came.

Through the Parent’s Association and newsletters parents were kept informed of the ASF and the progress we were making. The Parent’s Association were invited to and had an input into the planning and organisation of the Active school week programme.

Parents and the Community

We held a very successful Active week in April 2012. We have just had another great active week this year and we hope that it will become a part of each school year. Pupils, teachers and parents took part in the planning and activities.

Teachers take a cross curricular approach to Active week and produce great work with their classes.

Some classes even undertook “active homework” as part of their active week challenge and even kept it up once a week for the summer term!

Active School Week

Active week 2012

Some classes in the school decided to do some Active homework as part of Active week. See examples of Senior Infants homework above! They still complete their Active homework once a week

Active Homework

The Active Committee - comprises of two pupils from each class from 1st – 6th class.

They help to plan and organise many different parts of Active Week and they take suggestions from pupils of activities that they would like to have in school and in the yard.

We now have an active suggestion box on the sports noticeboard.

Pupil Voice

Our Noticeboards & suggestion box

We have a noticeboard which holds information about upcoming matches, events, photos of our teams and an achievements section.

Trophies and plaques won by the school are displayed at the front entrance to the school.

Achievements of school teams and individuals are acknowledged in school newsletters.

In the lead up to sports day we hold various trial events to create an excitement about sports day.

Celebrate Skills and Achievements

Sports Co-ordinator disseminates all information re: courses etc. to all staff.

Staff memebers with particular interests are encouraged to swap and take different classes e.g. Dance, orienteering, athletics.

Some staff members attend TPC’s and summer courses and are members of the IPPEA.

Professional Development

Our PE cupboard has been shelved and all equipment is now stored properly and labelled along with a list of all available equipment.

Teachers have been informed of PSSI lessons and a hard copy of these is available in the office.

Resources

Sonia O’ Sullivan comes to raise the

flag!