Email us: info@dcfcricket.com or Call us: 01332 386 602
Email us: info@dcfcricket.com or Call us: 01332 386 602
As well as the physical benefits of regular activity, the Chance to Shine programme also teaches important life skills that will support children beyond the playground. Through the values of cricket, children learn about respect and fair play and the programme helps them to develop communication and leadership skills that will benefit them throughout their life.
Our coaches support school staff to deliver cricket sessions once a week for a six-week period and aim to develop the all-round skills of the children they work with, whilst improving the confidence of school staff to deliver sessions independently.
The sessions are specifically designed for the different ages and abilities of the children and make sure that, whether it’s the very first time a child has picked up a bat and a ball or if they play regularly at their local club, everyone learns and improves during the lesson.
The sessions ensure that children are achieving the skills they need, as set out in the national curriculum, like throwing, catching and ball-striking; and are enjoying themselves at the same time.
As well as developing the technical skills of the children and getting them physically active, we use the sport to support the national curriculum through cricket-themed lessons.
The Schools’ Portal has literacy and numeracy lessons that use cricket in the classroom. Whether it’s looking at fielding position coordinates or journalistic reporting, cricket can enthuse the children and we provide the lesson plans and resources to do it.
Throughout the sessions, coaches use cricket to teach children valuable life skills like teamwork, respect and communication. By focussing on developing the whole child and the achievement of ‘personal best’, our coaches develop the children’s social and mental wellbeing, building their confidence and improving their attitude towards sport.
It’s not just the children who get the opportunity to learn more about cricket, we also encourage their teachers to get involved. Many teachers tell us they see cricket as an intimidating sport and have avoided teaching it as a result.
Our coaches deliver informal training to the teachers so that, once the six-week period has ended, they too feel more confident with the sport and are able to build a sustainable culture of cricket within their school.
The Chance to Shine School’s Portal is a bank of free digital resources for teachers that gives them the lesson plans, instructional videos and top tips from England cricketers to coach their own sessions.
Healthy competition is a great goal to work towards, and winning and losing with grace is an important skill for children to learn. We encourage schools to take part in local and regional competitions to give their pupils the experiences that come with testing themselves in that environment.
Our coaches are very knowledgeable and will help any children who want to progress to playing cricket out of school by directing them to their local club National Programmes centre or Chance to Shine Street project.
We are looking to engage with new schools this year and are working closely with the local school sport partnerships to develop relationships with schools. The free Chance to Shine resources now have lesson plans for Secondary Schools as well as updates to the Primary School plans. If you are a teacher or would like more information about Chance to Shine, visit https://www.chancetoshine.org/teaching-resources or contact james.colton@dcfcricket.com
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