Learning Through Football launches

Learning Through Football, a classroom-based teachers’ resource to celebrate UEFA EURO 2020, launched today at Miller Primary School in Castlemilk, and got top marks from Scotland National Team Coach Steve Clarke and goalkeeper David Marshall. 

The free-to-access online resource for teachers across Scotland has been developed by the Scottish FA in partnership with Glasgow’s Physical Education, Physical Activity and School Sport (PEPASS) team and Glasgow City Council Education Services and is fully linked to the Curriculum for Excellence (CfE). 

The newly launched resource, based on the established ‘inter-disciplinary learning’ model, includes more than 40 activities for teachers to download and deliver after the Christmas holidays and aims to capture the excitement of UEFA EURO 2020 being hosted in Glasgow as well as of course, the Scotland Men’s National Team historic qualification for the tournament.

Backing from the top

The pupils of Miller Primary were delighted to get a special recorded message from goalkeeping hero David Marshall, encouraging them to use and enjoy Learning Through Football and thanking the local school to Hampden Park, for all their support for the team as they build up to the EUROs. 

David Marshall said: “It’s great to see that qualifying for a major tournament is already having a positive influence on young people through the school curriculum. Learning Through Football is a terrific initiative and one I wished was available in the classroom when I was that age.

“In a way it makes you realise the importance of what we have achieved and hopefully it inspires kids across the country to interact with football in a way that will help their education but also  their careers with the possibilities that now exist in and around the game.”

David Marshall sent Mrs Church and Miller Primary a special message to thank them for their support for the team and to enjoy using Learning Through Football. 

Kids taking part will get an exclusive insight into the world of the Scotland National Team by showcasing the breadth of skills across the Scottish football landscape from the skills needed to be the next Andy Robertson or goalkeeping hero David Marshall, to emulating the distinctive faces and voices of presenters such Eilidh Barbour and Leeann Crichton, and commentators Liam MacLeod and Ian Crocker.

Kai and Nate, p6 at Miller Primary, practising their interview skills. 

Steve Clarke, Scotland Head Coach: “It is important that football, as our national sport, is back on the national curriculum and it’s encouraging that the whole country can share in what the Scotland national team has achieved, none more so than the next generation of young people we want to inspire to get involved in the national sport. Whether it’s playing the game or being involved in the many jobs around football, Learning Through Football is a great initiative that will allow young people to learn all about the EUROs in anticipation of Scotland taking part and especially with Hampden Park being one of the host venues.

“The women’s national team captured the imagination by qualifying for the Women’s World Cup for the first time in 2019 and hopefully this can have the same impact.”

Paul McNeill, Head of Community Development at the Scottish FA said, “Working with our partners at Glasgow City Council and across the regions to deliver this fantastic tool for teachers will enable us to work ever more closely with our schools, staff and pupils across the country. We want to see more children engaged, not just in playing football, but also in their school learning environments where they can use skills and talents to explore everything that football can offer.”

“The Scottish FA is committed to providing opportunities for everyone to participate in football regardless of ability or background, and this tool will take the sport off the pitch and into the classroom.

Capturing imaginations 

Miller Primary School in Glasgow is one of the schools already using the tool in class, with pupils trying a range of new activities from designing football strips to making their own national anthem for the tournament.

Mrs Church's p6 class at Miller Primary were looking at minority groups in football. 

Two pupils have also re-enacted the Head Coach’s post-match interview after Scotland qualified in a dramatic penalty shootout against Serbia in Belgrade.

First class post match interview skills on display from pupils at Miller Primary. 

Jacqueline Church, Principal Teacher at Miller Primary School: “We’ve thoroughly enjoyed bringing the Learning Through Football tool into the classroom. Everyone loves their football at Miller Primary and the activities are really flexible and allow the children to explore their own interests in the sports industry.

"Not only are the assignments fun and interesting, but the children are able apply a range of skills to meaningful life contexts, boosting their confidence and leadership skills.

“By exploring jobs within the industry, they are also recognising the teamwork, communication and perseverance skills we need to work in any job, which sets them in good stead for the future.”

David Weir, PE Lead Officer at PEPASS who has spearheaded the development of the tool with the Scottish FA said: “It’s been a pleasure working with the UEFA EURO 2020 Glasgow team and the Scottish FA over the past couple of years to develop this extremely valuable teaching and learning tool. The commitment to detail and desire to create an educational resource which not only acknowledges and references many aspects of Curriculum for Excellence but specifically delivers a relevant, coherent, challenging, enjoyable and lasting tool for all, was particularly appealing.

We will all be celebrating when Scotland run onto the pitch for their first game at Hampden, none more so than our young people, and this tool will really help them feel part of it."

More about the tool 

The tool is accessed through a newly launched area of the UEFA EURO 2020 website, which will give primary and secondary teachers easy access to the resources needed to deliver in schools. The link is euro2020.scottishfa.co.uk/learning-through-football. 

This new digital format of the inter-disciplinary learning tool allows teachers to see the cross-curricular links between project ideas, showing the wealth of learning areas that football can be part of. Alongside learning topics, there are a number of projects and assignments aligned to CofE learning outcomes in literacy, expressive arts, health and wellbeing, maths and numeracy, science, social studies and technologies. Each curriculum area can be downloaded as a handy summary, as well as the whole snapshot of the curriculum and related project ideas. There is a guidance note for further information.

Legacy

The Scottish FA is committed to providing opportunities for everyone to participate in football regardless of ability or background. We want to see more children engaged in football ‘off the pitch’, using football as a means to learn in the classroom. To capture the excitement we all feel at Scotland qualifying for UEFA EURO 2020, and because Hampden Park is a proud host of 4 matches in this special tournament, we have created this ‘Learning Through Football’ platform.

The project also aims to increase awareness of the opportunities for various career paths that can be provided by football, especially for those young people who may not take part in football on the pitch as much as some of their counterparts in the class, or at all.

Share your work! 

Teachers are asked to use, share and feedback on experiences with these resources, as the Scottish FA and partners continue to develop the project.

Teachers and schools are also encouraged to share their work on social media using #LearningThroughFootball, #EURO2020 and tagging @GlasgowEURO2020.

Click here to visit Learning Through Football

Image above features Nate Nicholson, Kerris McCann and Kai Clark from Miller Primary School.