The ‘Playing for Success’ scheme is part of a government run project to help students with ‘out of school hours’ learning.  It has been set up to help raise achievement and improve confidence and self esteem levels in young people between the ages of 10 and 14.  In order to do this, students take part in a range of activities at The Cherries Learning Centre, situated in the east stand of the AFC Bournemouth stadium.

There are two full-time and one part time staff members at The Cherries Learning Centre.  Jenny Brassington - Centre Manager, Christine Tindall – Assistant Centre Manager and Paula Maxwell – Centre ICT Co-ordinator.  There is also a bank of volunteer mentors from local secondary schools and Universities who work alongside the tutors and students.  They all have a keen interest in helping young people to learn.

The schools who are involved in Playing for Success are timetabled in for the year.  We already have a great relationship with many of the schools, however we are constantly building relationships with schools who have not yet been involved with Playing for Success.  Each school has a school contact whom we work with and they are in charge of selecting 14 students who they think will most benefit from the scheme.  We make sure that we provide the schools with all the paperwork so that there is less of a pressure for them to get this done. 

Once the students are selected and all the relevant consent forms have been collected, we begin our six week programme of Playing for Success.  Students attend one session per week for a six week period.  Each session lasts 3 hours starting at approximately 3.00pm and finishing at approximately 6.00pm. 

The students are picked up on The Cherries Learning Centre minibus from school at the close of the school day.  They are then escorted to The Cherries Learning Centre where they will have some refreshments.  They will then carry out the 3 hour session with a few breaks in between for sandwiches and games.  At the end of the session the students are escorted back on the minibus to school and collected by their parents/guardians.

Throughout the sessions the students will be guided and supported through the scheme by one of our Tutors along with 3 or 4 mentors.  During the 6 weeks, the students take part in many interesting and fun activities.  The majority of the activities will be carried out to encourage better learning and understanding in numeracy, literacy and ICT.  The remaining activities will consist of games and activities to help build on key skills and study skills.  All of the activities carried out will also focus on increasing confidence and self-esteem levels.

Throughout the 6 sessions, the students have the opportunity to go on a tour of AFC Bournemouth's stadium, learn new and interesting information about the football club, be filmed carrying out News Reports, use their team and communication skills in a variety of UFA games, create their own animation using plasticine characters and Apple Macs to film and edit their animation and much more.

Folders containing the student’s work are sent home at the end of the 6 week programme.  The folders contain all the students’ work and a Record of Achievement which is filled in each session by the student and their allocated mentor.  It will also contain a 6 week summary written by their mentor.

At the end of the programme, parents/guardians and teachers have the chance to attend the celebration evening, which will inform them about what their children have achieved and learnt over the 6 week period.  The students each receive a certificate for all their hard work and a free match ticket.  There is also a prize for each school which goes to the child who has improved the most, had the best attendance, tried the hardest and has really shown a difference in their attitude to learning.

.

.

.