Knihgs Study Centre

Playing for Success
Knights Study Centre

What is Playing for Success?
Playing for Success (PfS) is a partnership between the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF), local authorities and a broad range of sports. Partners include clubs and the Premier League and Football Leagues, Rugby League and Union, cricket, basketball, hockey, ice hockey, gymnastics and tennis. In all, 18 different sports are represented in PfS. Through Playing for Success, the DCSF and partners are establishing study support centres within sports clubs' grounds and sporting venues. The Knights Study Centre is a vibrant, exciting and stimulating places for young people to learn. Students at the centre get up to speed in the key skills of literacy, numeracy and ICT - the foundation stones of their education. Since opening the Knights Study Centre 364 children have come through the centres' doors with improved skills, motivation and self-esteem, giving them a real boost and, in many cases, a new start on which they can build on back at school.

What happens in the Knights Study Centre and how does it operate?
The centre open out of school hours and mainly caters for 10 to 14 year olds who are at risk of underachieving, using the stimulus of sport to motivate them. Each centre is managed by a centre manager (an experienced teacher), supported by tutor/mentors and other support staff, and centre provides access to state of the art IT equipment. Each student receives 18 hours of tuition. The children have focused work on literacy and mathematics activities using the power of sport as stimulation. The children take part in stadium tours, orienteering activities and rugby games based around mathematics, during these activities the children use either a camcorder or camera to film or take photos of themselves. With this footage the children create their own movie or photobook or the state of the art IT available in the Knights Study Centre. Throughout the sessions the children improve their study and learning skills. Playing for Success use sport as a route to other knowledge, skills and understanding using statistics, geography, history and science.

Impact
Playing for Success makes a direct contribution to the Government's Children's Plan (December 2007) which reinforces the message that learning outside school hours can help close the attainment gap, can personalise and make learning fun, and ultimately help young people fulfill their potential.
"The work of Playing for Success centres, supporting children's' education in a tailored way, closely corresponds with our own vision of the future of learning - personalised around the needs of each and every child. In addition, centres are increasingly forming part of the Extended Schools services offered by local authorities, and Playing for Success continues to contribute to each of the five outcomes for young people identified in Every Child Matters."
Ed Balls ¨Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families