Firstly, I would like to say a huge thank you to the staff who have offered to run sports clubs and take children to events this term. We are such a great team and the support I have received has been simply amazing. I couldn’t do this without them. The School Games Gold Award we received last year is testament to their commitment and support of sport here at Kings Worthy. Every event takes a lot of preparation, from writing risk assessments and letters, to emailing, meeting with children and this is before the actual event takes place.

How we choose children:

The children will have the opportunity to take part in a range of sporting activities from whole school events, sporting competitions and also events to introduce and raise the profile of new sports. Most offsite events are aimed at Key Stage 2 children. For events outside of school, children are chosen for a variety of reasons. This might be decided by our school or by our sports co-ordinators at Kings’ Secondary School. Sometimes we are asked to choose children who do not play regular sport out of school (we ask the children) or perhaps we are asked to find those who have already played a particular sport such as table tennis. Sometimes we are asked to select children who would gain in confidence from the opportunity. It may also be about those with particular strengths or weaknesses in certain areas and so could benefit. Our aim is to offer as many children as possible the chance to play sport. I keep a register of children, which guides myself and the staff when making decisions about whom to take. In regard to big sporting competitions such as the Football Hampshire Cup, we run trials at the start of each term. We choose children based on their skill level, but also consider the fit of the team, behaviour in class and attendance at club sessions. Last year, the boys won the Hampshire Cup. While not all children will make the team, we will try to include all in friendlies. As I’m sure you can appreciate, we do not have the capacity to run A and B teams, something which I would love to do and will continue to strive towards.

How we communicate to all:

At Kings Worthy, we always strive to provide the best opportunities for our children and are always willing to look at how we communicate to all. We want to ensure our systems are clear, fair and manageable for all. After some recent feedback from children, parents and staff, I wanted to outline how we communicate about team selection. At the start of this year, I outlined how we choose our teams. Below, outlines how we will communicate this.

1. Children will be asked to attend a meeting at break/lunch and will be told that they have been selected. We will not talk about team selection outside this and will not promise anyone permanent places or future matches.

2. If a player who normally plays for a team is not selected, we will talk to them before this.

3. We will provide a reason, which could include allowing others an opportunity to play. If they need to work on a particular aspect, we will suggest improvements and support this during training sessions.

4. If a player is not chosen due to behaviour in a previous match, during practice or in class, we will inform parents directly and then speak to the player individually.

 5. Team selection will be sent via Parent mail and will require the completion of an online permission form. A final email will be sent out with any reminders. Reminders for completing the form won't be sent out.

6. We will try to give at least a week's notice, but on occasion this may not be possible.

7. If a sporting event is offered, and we do not teach this or have a club, then we will send out a general questionnaire. Children will then be picked at random, or we will prioritise those who have not had an opportunity to represent the school.

8. We keep a register of those who represent our school, and we use this to offer as many as possible the opportunity.

 9. Where clubs are large, we will look at creating A and B teams.

10. We will review this practice at the end of the year and ask for your feedback.