The Titans Community Foundation - 2022-23 season
TCF UPDATE 2022-23 SEASON
Impact 2021-2022
TCF Update 2021-22 Season
What have the Rotherham Titans Players been doing for local schools and community?
During the lifting of Covid restrictions at Easter 2021, the TCF players returned to their Pathway to Rugby; in primary schools, secondary schools, Thomas Rotherham College and its Academy programme, through to Sheffield Hallam University. By developing links to all our local Rugby Clubs, Phoenix, Wath and Dinnington, the TCF can identify talent and signpost young players towards the local opportunities to play rugby at all levels. The TCF also aims to encourage as many young people as possible to watch National League Rugby, at Rotherham Titans, and enjoy the game as a spectator, alongside, or instead of, being a player.
The TCF runs programmes with the local Leisure Centres, to focus on physical and mental health in Rotherham. We provide Careers Events for the Ahead Partnership organisation, the Work-Wise Foundation and Rotherham Employability and Skills Service, with the focus on mental health, resilience, and careers.
Our Healthy Lifestyle programmes for schools linked to diet and exercise has been supported by local companies to design and produce an app for schools, based on work done by Jamie Cooke.
We run holiday camps to offer healthy outdoor activities to local children, as well as programmes for those with special needs, and physical and mental handicaps.
Even before Covid-19 children in Rotherham were experiencing significant issues with obesity, poor health, poverty, poor diets, lack of access to outside space and regular exercise. The pandemic has increased these problems, and added to them, due to lack of space and opportunity for exercise in schools due to restrictions. Demand from the schools has increased for our services and we still have waiting lists for these activities.
Our main primary programmes are as follows:
A basic programme of fitness games and activities based around rugby skills and values, in curriculum time, lunchtime and after school
Fitness tracking based on heart rate recovery times, linked to individual fitness programmes, including healthy eating and understanding dietary choices
Individual mentors, especially focusing on lifestyle choices with children at risk
Reading buddies
A Kickstart to Rugby programme at local bases is offered every holiday, to link children into the local rugby teams, and options to progress their sport and explore new social options and groups
Our Healthy Eating programme involves small group training at the Rugby Club, exploring new foods and ways of keeping fit.
We have tracked impact across 5 schools where we have worked for several years and staff report that the children are fitter, have a better understanding of how to keep fit, eat healthily and why they should avoid certain foods e.g. excess sugar. They understand more about maintaining their own health and fitness and they have greater access to sport, either as participants or spectators
During the pandemic, the TCF made no charge for any activity for children in our local state schools for sessions during the school day, or after school. For the holiday activities a nominal charge was made but it was free for any family on UC, and several holiday events were free to all.
From September 2021 our programme expanded to include almost every secondary school in the town.
Separate Festival programmes were developed for boys and girls at all ages to give opportunities to play against other schools and help recruit new players for local clubs; Phoenix, Wath and Dinnington. Targeted work with girls was added in the Spring Term 2022, to grow the game for girls across the region, again linking to local opportunities to play.
Over 3000 ‘Titans Cards’ were distributed, giving free access to all Under 18’s to every Titans home game. This was kindly sponsored by AESSEAL, Ex-Animo Foods and Liberty Steel. Over 100 young people came to our opening game and many return on a regular basis.
The TCF, and Paul Kelly from the RFU, led a CPD programme for PE staff across all Rotherham schools, to focus on the technical aspects of rucks, mauls, and scrums. This was funded by RFU money for school development via Rotherham Phoenix
For the Summer of 2022 and next season:
Work the TCF has already done on mental health and resilience in schools and colleges uses the experiences of the players to engage with young people on these challenging issues. The TCF is developing their original programme, in partnership with the Phoenix School, attached to the Cygnet Hospital in Sheffield. This is a specialist hospital for young people struggling with their mental health.
The Flying Futures Organisation asked the TCF to partner with them to deliver an outreach HAF project across Rotherham at Easter, Summer, and Christmas, 2022. This was successfully launched over the Easter holidays and will be developed further for the Summer.
A bid to the Peoples Postcode Lottery – Postcode Neighbourhood Trust – has resulted in sets of rugby-themed inflatables being funded for the TCF to use. They will arrive for the start of the summer. A set will be available for loan to local Rugby Clubs to ensure that the whole community can benefit from this grant. The TCF players will be responsible for taking them into schools, to local charity events etc, to promote the sport. The TCF will also be holding rugby-themed birthday parties and sports club celebrations at the Club. This equipment will add to the income stream for our local rugby clubs in the future.
For August, alongside the HAF project, the TCF will run a series of summer rugby camps, as well as offering some skills-based sessions, to prepare young local players and coaches for the start of the 2022-23 season.
Discussions are already underway with the schools in Rotherham to develop the TCF programme at both primary and secondary level, as well as the staff CPD options, across as many schools as possible, focusing on health, fun and fitness for all. This will include special schools and colleges where the TCF has been building contacts through work this season: Orchid HALO at Maltby, the ROC in Rotherham and The Willows at Thurcroft.
TCF 2020- 21
Review and Impact of the programmes
2020/21 Season
With the on-going lockdowns and restrictions due to Covid, the TCF activities were restricted and some schools were unable to participate.
Schools were reporting that many children had put on weight during lockdown, that their ability to concentrate had been reduced, that they were not as ‘social’ as they were, with regular flare ups when things didn’t go well, or disagreements escalated, and their mental health had been affected in many cases. Schools were under huge stress due to COVID-19 restrictions, with phased breaks and lunchtimes, ‘bubbles’ that couldn’t mix and lots of children not attending regularly, as well as on-going staff absences. We have been able to help reduce some of these stress points, by providing activities, mainly outside, that focus on fitness games, skills work on passing and catching balls, as well as promoting the rugby values of fair play and sportsmanship.
These are some of the activities we have been able to run in the 2020/21 season:
Careers Events with the Ahead Partnership organisation were focused on mental health and careers and continued via on-line sessions
Our Healthy Lifestyle programmes for schools linked to diet and exercise were picked up by CityFibre, AND Digital and the WorkWise charity for a competition to design and produce an app for schools. The competition to design this as part of GUTS was all online, with full involvement of the TCF player/coach, Jamie Cooke
Steve Salvin, Head Coach, came into the TCF to develop secondary provision, links to colleges and universities and ensure a through-plan for rugby in Rotherham - The Rotherham Rugby Pathway after cuts in provision by the RFU
The TCF took on coaching for Ladies and Girls sections of the Rotherham amateur teams
A Sport England Award for a project for older (secondary) children for after school clubs, mentoring and fitness was postponed from July through to the summer holidays and Autumn Term
We ran a Holiday Camp in October for over 50 children
From October to January the TCF worked with 300+ children per week in a Covid-safe programme in primary schools
10 more schools were booked in after Christmas, up to Easter as there was a huge demand to get children more active, to offset the effects of lockdown and focus on a more healthy lifestyle. However, due to lockdown, all these were cancelled.
Easter to Summer 2021
The TCF was fully booked as schools re-opened, and ran as many days as possible across Rotherham. We also contributed to HAF programmes in the Summer holidays, supported school activity days and ran our own Holiday Camps.
Players used during 2020/21
Callum Bustin, Sam Boxhall, Jamie Cooke, Gus Defelitto, Alastair Donkor and Head Coach, Steve Salvin
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2019/20 Season
September 2019 to lockdown in March 2020.
We have now worked with almost half the primary schools in Rotherham on rugby skills, as reading buddies, as mentors and as part of Healthy Lifestyle programmes. We also developed a rugby academy approach at Thomas Rotherham College, supporting the boys in their Sport Studies, coaching them for matches midweek and encouraging them to make the step up into adult rugby. We have also developed programmes with the local Leisure Centres and linked to the Schools Improvement Service and School Nurses to focus on physical and mental health in Rotherham.
September
2 primary schools, Swallownest Primary, Ranby Primary - 130 hours of coaching/mentoring to 100+ children
The Walking Rugby programme at Rotherham Leisure Centre started and takes place every Friday. It has been showcased on BBC Radio Sheffield, explaining how it is helping people recovering from heart problems and with other health issues.
October
4 primary schools, Swallownest Primary, Ranby Primary, Laughton Juniors, Anston Park - 170 hours of coaching/mentoring to 400+ children . Also 2 Tag Competitions.
Restart a Heart Day on October 16th. Pictures from this were in the Advertiser as we covered over 20 schools in one day, teaching children over 600 CPR techniques.
November
3 more primary schools, Brinsworth Howarth, St Mary’s Herringthorpe, Wath Our Lady & St Joseph - 140+ hours, 450+ children
3 of the players worked at a Careers Event at Wath on Dearne College for the Ahead Partnership organisation. https://www.aheadpartnership.org.uk/education/
They delivered workshops to over 100 students, looking at their own career paths in sport, time management and organisation of their day around training, careers and their own futures, plus a session on resilience, especially linked to mental health issues that can arise from long term injury, lack of success on the pitch and aspirations for their own futures. The company has asked us back to work with them at future events as the feedback from the participants rated the sessions from the players as the best parts of the day.
The players attended the launch of the McDonald’s defibrillator programme at their branches. The Mayor and Consort were in attendance and this was reported in the local press.
The players were also in attendance at the Comedy Night in November and spoke about the work being done by the Foundation.
December
Players worked with over 300 children and delivered around 40 hours in schools already part of the programme. This was reduced due to the school holidays and sessions cancelled due to Christmas activities.
2020 and the Impact of covid
January
The TCF was awarded a grant from the National Lottery Community Fund for a project in Maltby. However this was delayed until after February half term at the request of the Leisure Centre and the schools. This allowed us to offer extra time to Our Lady & St Joseph’s school at Wath and extend sessions at the schools booked for January. These were as follows:
Whiston Worrygoose – rugby based activities. This has also led to the school booking the players to run CPD sessions for the staff to enable them to teach rugby
Thorpe Hesley – reading sessions with the Infants, followed by rugby activities
Kilnhurst – Reading with boys, followed by rugby activities with all students
Dinnington – reading buddies
Brinsworth Academy – after school club for 11-16 – part of the training needed for Alfie North for his Apprenticeship programme. This club was started by the teacher at Brinsworth with approx. 8-10 children. The introduction of Alfie, and later Maka, led to over 40 youngsters turning up each week.
February
Half Term Rugby Camp
This was offered to children aged 7-11, although we did have some younger and older children attending. Over 40 children took part over the 3 days and parents and children were full of praise for the players and their approach. We have been asked to repeat the sessions, and to include up to 16 year olds, at Easter. We also made arrangements with Anston Park to run a day for them in the Easter holiday, and Thorpe Hesley as well.
After half term we started our programme of health and fitness in Maltby Leisure Centre, linked to another session for the Walking Rugby, and most of our participants were women. They already run a Walking Netball programme and most of the ladies have joined from this session.
The players also worked in Maltby Crags school on rugby activities, with the addition of some personal training sessions for children with weight problems.
In Maltby St Mary’s the players worked on a mixture of reading and rugby.
We also trialled our Healthy Lifestyle programme over 2 days at Wath Central Primary school, teaching over 300 children in 2 days, and received excellent feedback.
This was modified and trialled at Herringthorpe Infants over 4 days in March, working with children aged 3-6, again reaching over 180 children.
Wales Primary was the final school to work with the TCF on rugby based activities up until lockdown.
March 2020
With the impact of Covid-19 and lockdown being introduced, we were unable to complete our final schools and holiday projects.
We should have worked at Canklow Primary and ended the sessions of Walking Rugby at Rotherham LC with a ‘Walking Rugby Challenge Day’ to include local businesses and our sponsors, as well as teams from Maltby and Rotherham on Friday 24th April.
We also cancelled 2 x 4 days of Holiday Camps during the Easter holidays, and 2 days of CPD training for teaching staff at Whiston Worrygoose school.
Training the Players
Players continued with their training to ensure they can access work outside rugby. Alfie North is completing his Apprenticeship at home during lockdown, Jamie Cooke and Kieran Frost will both complete the RFU Level 2 coaching course as soon as lockdown ends and the courses resume. This ensures they have the qualifications and references needed for future employment outside rugby.
Our planning for the 2020/21 season is underway and we hope to retain some of the team of 11 players we have used this season as they have all shown excellent skills, a fantastic attitude and been wonderful role models for the children. We will also showcase the work we do, the qualifications available, and the benefits for players for their life outside rugby when recruiting new players for the 2020/21 squad.
Players used during 2019/2020
Patrick Bamforth, Sam Boxhall, Jamie Cooke, Gus Defelitto, Connor Dever, Connor Field, Kieran Frost, Anthony Maka, Alfie North, Ben Robbins, Lewis Wilson
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2018/19 season
The new TCF programme of work in schools began at Christmas 2018. A small team of players worked in 6 different junior schools, a special school and 4 secondary schools as well as taking part in Tag tournaments as referees, and assisted at the English Institute of Sport on a Sport for Primary Schools Day. From December to Easter the players worked with over 1000 children on skills and fitness activities. The progress made and the generous donations from companies allowed us to plan to expand the project for the next season in 2019/20.
4 players were contracted for the 2019/20 season to provide some hours for the TCF through their contracts and other players volunteered to work for an hourly rate as needed. Offers were made during the summer term to every primary school in Rotherham (over 80 schools)
Players used during 2018/2019
Alex Dolly, Seb Nagle-Taylor, Jamie Cooke, Ellis Abrahams, Luis Ball, Jamie Ure, Conor Keys
2022-23 Free Offers from The TCF - Fitness and Walking Rugby