LEADS (Leading Education Activities in Disability Sport), 2018 – 2021
In collaboration with Biesalski Schule in Berlin, this two-year project aimed to provide opportunities for students to develop sports leadership skills by coaching groups of learners from each partner in specific disability sports.
Visits took place from November 2018 that included visits to Berlin and to Cheltenham from National Star students and Biesalski Schule respectively.
The sports being delivered by the groups of learners included Boccia, Seated Volleyball, Burning Ball, Fire-Water-Storm and Wheelchair Football. Learners on each visit planned and prepared the sports to deliver to students at College and School, the week long mobility also incorporated a cultural visit that shared each countries culture and beautiful landscape. The cultural visits included: Reichstag building in Berlin, Olympiastadion Berlin, Gloucester Cathedral (for the Harry Potter fans) and Sudeley Castle.
National Star learners visited Berlin in November 2018 and in May 2019 to deliver Boccia and Seated Volleyball. 6 learners and 6 staff made the two visits for one week each, in November 2018 the group led on Boccia and coached the pupils at Biesalski to learn the rules and skills to play Boccia including using an assisted ramp. NSC learners used German phrases to refer to Boccia terms and the week culminated in an inclusive game of Football, the visit to the Reichstag was interesting seeing where the German parliament sit and learning about the history of the building and Berlin.
In May 2019 with warmer weather and a different focus, the NSC group coached Seated Volleyball to the pupils. The adapted rules of Volleyball were taught and then the umpire signals, pupils and students shared their leadership skills, umpiring matches across the week. The cultural visit was to the Olympic Stadium in Berlin which hosted the Olympics in 1936 and is current home to football team Hertha Berlin, it also hosted the FIFA World Cup Final in 2006. Students and staff from National Star thoroughly enjoyed both weeks, strengthening relationships with Biesalski school and experiencing life in Berlin!
Due to the Covid pandemic the mobilities and project were halted from March 2020 and an extension was agreed. With the disruption of air travel and movement across various countries and continents, the project leads decided that the project would need to culminate in a sharing of videos that focused on NSC and Biesalski Schule combating Covid in our education establishments. The project overall gave learners and staff the perfect opportunities to travel, meet peers in a similar education setting and share their leadership skills and sports. Those sports will be taken on by each partner and played with learners and staff in the coming months and years.
