Teaching staff at St Augustine's RC Primary in Stoke learn how to make the most of a Smooga- the new smart multi use games area.
Providing stimulating and well prepared coaching sessions for children using appropriate facilities is essential to enthuse them in variety of sports and for their general development – however teachers also need inspiration and training – and that's just what staff at one school in Stoke recently received when Smooga set up their new smart multi use games area and then ran an intensive coaching session.
Ed Byrne the Headteacher at St Augustine's rallied his staff and allowed Keith Place of Smooga to put them through their paces for a couple of hours during an inset day at the start of term. The point of the coaching session was for Keith to demonstrate how other schools use the arenas in both sports lessons and during free play so that they would get the most out of their new Smooga which he'd just delivered and set up.
The teachers were first put through a series of warm ups, skills exercises, and competitive games, starting with some gentle hockey dribbling skills and then moving into a mini hockey game. Keith then developed the session, following the same pattern to include handball and finally Kwik Cricket. After each sport the team discussed ways in which the games could be used during lessons and break times and how skills could be developed for all abilities and ages of children.
"All the staff seemed to enjoy the session, which was my main aim for the day," said Keith afterwards. "I know that this Smooga will be enjoyed and will be in constant use by the children and it's also great to see such enthusiasm for PE and sport among St Augustine's teachers."
In addition to the coaching session, Keith also led a discussion with the teachers on how to avoid the spatial conflicts that often occur when ball games are introduced into the playground. The arena from Smooga was used to demonstrate how it helps to corral activities, create safe zones outside the arena and how it is an extremely social piece of equipment, allowing children to watch from the safety of the walls when other children are playing ball games.
What
is a Smooga: Designed and manufactured in the UK
using weatherproof, environmentally friendly recycled plastic, the interlocking
standard Smooga system comes in a selection of colours and is highly durable.
Taking less than an hour to erect or move, a Smooga provides a playing area of
up to 18m by 12m plus goals. This offers huge possibilities where the lack of
containment of one sporting activity can impact other games being organised in
close proximity by creating a controlled space on grass or hard standing
surfaces that promotes interaction, fun, play and learning plus help reduce
conflicts.
The Smooga
multi use games arena is infinitely more appealing than conventional and often
significantly more expensive cage like structures, with the added advantage that
it is both moveable and can be stacked away for easy storage when the space is
required for other activities. In addition to the conventional rectangle shape
other configurations are also possible to help promote active play or sports
coaching in a controlled environment. Additional elements available include
extended netting, seating and additional access points and extra Smooga modules
can also be purchased to increase the areas and flexibility of the system.
