 came together for a fun day of inclusive sports.){kind=link}
FMAT Inclusive Sports Day: Children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) from across four Birmingham schools came together for a challenging and fun day of inclusive sports.
Students from Fairfax Academy, Erdington Academy, Bournville School and Smith’s Wood Academy gathered at Fairfax in Sutton Coldfield to play boccia, curling and table cricket, at an Inclusive Sports Day.
Organised by Fairfax Assistant Principal for Inclusion and Participation Helen Williams and Tracey Taylor, who specialises in working with SEND children and sports.
It saw eight children invited to compete from each of the four schools, which are part of the ambitious Fairfax Multi Academy Trust (FMAT).
Mrs Taylor said: “Today has been a great chance to introduce students from across our four schools to sports they otherwise might not have had the chance to play.
“Not all of the schools already offer each sport, so it’s partly about giving the students a chance to learn new sports as a team. For example Disc Golf is new to us here all at the Trust. Today It’s about building confidence and developing communication and interaction skills, learning from each other and discovering new passions.
“It’s also an opportunity for them to meet other students from across the Trust and have a chat. It’s not too competitive – it’s just about having a go and enjoying yourself!”
The inspirational FMAT Inclusive Sports Day was set up after students with SEND voiced their interest in having an inclusive sporting competition.
Helen Williams said: “Our SEND children at Fairfax said they wanted to participate in the wider Trust sports championships, but they also wanted to have their own little competition.
“So, we’ve done both – we had inclusive sports at the FMAT Games earlier this year, and now we have the dedicated Inclusive Sports Day. We’ve started small this year, but we hope we can grow it into a bigger event.”
The day was structured so that children from all schools were mixed into teams, so they were able to meet new people and play alongside them.
Mrs Williams explained: “We listen to what the students want – their voice is so important to us. The children said they wanted to play more inclusive sports, and it’s important they’re playing with different people too.
“We mix up the teams for play, so students from all four schools get to meet and play on the same side. It’s not about winning – it’s more about building skills, meeting people and having a good time.”
FMAT staff are hoping that the Inclusive Sports Day will become an annual event and grow over the years.
Mrs Williams said: “Fairfax is the perfect place to host an event like this. We’re a Fully Accessible Mainstream School, with a hearing impaired resource base.
“It’s clear to see how much our students enjoyed our Inclusive Sports Day. We all hope this event will become a mainstay on the school calendar for years to come!”
For more on Fairfax Academy, click here.
For more on Erdington Academy, click here.