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Sports Training Enriching Public Services
Start date: Jun 1, 2015, End date: May 31, 2016 PROJECT  FINISHED 

This Sports Training Enriching Public Services (STEPS) project aimed to provide for 28 NVQ Level 1 to 3 BTEC students the opportunity to travel to Malta and experience the relation between sport and public services within a European context. The objectives were to bring together students from both sports and public services to provide work placement opportunities whereby students fully engaged in the practical nature of their respective study areas. The opportunity provided experience in using their previous skills and knowledge to work with their host organization's internal programmes, for example, coaching clinics, schools programmes and excellence academies in addition to working on out-reach schemes that involved Malta's Government schemes including the public service 20/20 programme for employees and the Armed Forces Malta physical training programme for their new recruits, although the Armed Force provision was limited due to EEC Summit and Head of Commonwealth visit to Malta, the move toward working with the Maltese's Gov. Health Department on the Public Health agenda provided alternative physical testing opportunities. The students from New College Pontefract underwent a robust recruitment and selection progress that aimed to provider wider opportunities for those students considered less advantaged and had a greater distance to travel in terms of personal and social development creating a project with increased and added value in relation to benefit-outcomes. These enabled 50% of the cohort of participants (13) with fewer opportunities to access the project, using positive action selection processes. Activities included attending schools and colleges, working with all ages and abilities and delivering sports-related programmes to special needs, in addition to using sport to engage elements of public services resulting in both sectors coming together in a unique way to deliver physical training programmes through lifestyles 'fitness' testing to measure obesity levels in what is considered a growing concern for Maltese people. The European Credit transfer (ECVET) was applied enabling participants to receive additional accreditation as they worked through their placement and also the acquisition of the Europass will support early career developments. Also, further accreditation was afforded to those participants volunteering opportunities over weekends on sports and community camps, held at Luxol Sports Club. The structure of the project meant that students followed an intense yet achievable short-term placement period that included 6 accompanying adults (2 more than the application - due to College demands, although rotated half-way through the mobility period) to ensure the health and safety of students was integral to their placement period with guidance and facilitation forming part of the placement experience. The sought after outcomes included both personal and social development of the participants in terms of their increased confidence, self realisation and sense of achievement in addition to an increase in knowledge and application of their study area. The impact is in its infancy, although the impact and distances travelled in personal growth for individual participants with fewer opportunities is evidenced within the report, and participants will use their experience differently, for example, career, personal and social development - some have been recognised by external awarding bodies and at least 12 participants have achieved the highest grades possible, at the end of their study year. In the longer term the College and is to continue to participate in European mobility, encourage and embed enrichment into the curriculum and has actively sought two other International partners that raises the profile of the College and increases opportunities in other college vocational areas, however, the project provided lifetime opportunities to those young people with fewer opportunities.
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