Newcastle Falcons Launch On The Front Foot
Following a national launch by Education Secretary Nicky Morgan, the Falcons Community Foundation is now delivering On The Front Foot, an initiative using the skills of rugby coaches to instil character in school children.
Throughout the recent Rugby World Cup, rugby’s core values of respect, teamwork, enjoyment, discipline and sportsmanship united the players from 20 nations, offering a fantastic platform to take rugby’s core values into schools as a way to build character.
Premiership Rugby’s On the Front Foot programme uses these core values to develop positive character traits such as resilience, grit, tolerance and honesty in young people across the country.
The project, which will receive more than £500,000 through the Department for Education’s character grants scheme. This is one of 14 grants designed to expand initiatives that successfully improve the character of young people. The government’s plan for education includes a £5 million pledge to ensure that more pupils leave school prepared for the challenges of life in modern Britain.
Newcastle Falcons is one of 14 professional clubs running the programme, including all 12 Aviva Premiership Rugby clubs plus London Welsh and Bristol, meaning that the programme will reach more than 17,000 pupils in schools across the country, as well as providing an intensive 33-week training course for almost 500 young people who are not in education, employment or training (NEET).
Speaking of On The Front Foot, Edication Secretary Nicky Morgan said: “All young people can learn from rugby – it teaches you how to bounce back from defeat, how to respect others and how to work together. That is why, in the year we hosted the Rugby World Cup, we are funding some of our best rugby clubs to go into schools and transform the lives of disaffected and disadvantaged children.
“This is about delivering on our goal of achieving real social justice by helping children from all backgrounds to fulfil their potential. Today’s event shows the ethos of rugby can inspire young people to be more confident and resilient and I encourage as many schools as possible to take part.”
Wayne Morris, CSR and Community Director at Premiership Rugby said: “At Premiership Rugby, our community programmes are one of our key priorities as we passionately believe in the power of rugby to deliver social change. On the Front Foot is also the perfect way to create an even stronger legacy for rugby in England.
“What we see now is young people coming out of schools with good academic qualifications, but what we’re starting to understand is that for them to really succeed in life, that they need more than that. They need the character traits to prepare them for further education, work and society as a whole and On The Front Foot will help deliver that.”
On The Front Foot, delivered by Premiership Rugby clubs, is an innovative education programme for 11-18 year olds aimed at using rugby’s core values to develop positive character traits through the use of rugby themed classroom and practical activities. It is funded by the Department for Education. For more information, please visit [premiershiprugby.com/OnTheFrontFoot][1].
This is one of a number of programmes delivered throughout the North East and Cumbria by Falcons Community. For more information on the Foundation and the work that they do, click [here][2].
[1]: http://premiershiprugby.com/OnTheFrontFoot
[2]: http://www.newcastlefalcons.co.uk/Pages/Community/Overview
