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CITY | EDUCATION
Bath Rugby Foundation
Not all children thrive in school, and part of the work of the Bath Rugby Foundation is designed to create a learning environment for young people at risk of not being in education, employment or training. The Foundation tells us more When was the Bath Rugby Foundation set up? Bath Rugby Foundation was first founded in 2003 (the year that England won the World Cup!) Our main aim and objective at Bath Rugby Foundation is to change the lives of young people for the better. We understand that not everyone has an equal start in life and not everyone gets to follow the same path. We want to change this, we aim to equip young people with the skills needed to change the social norms by working with them to build confidence, develop life skills and build a path to independence. The foundation has multiple sources of funding, including partnerships with organisations such as Premiership Rugby as well as grants and donations which are generated and handled by our fundraising team. The Foundation helps around 3000 youngsters each year. How do you choose which children to help? We recruit students to join our HITZ learning academy via several sources, including our own in-house outreach effort, which includes school visits with our programmes such as ‘Raising the Game’, ‘Project Rugby’ or ‘HITZ on Track’, as well as through multi-agency referrals from local colleges, supported housing units or youth offending teams. With the work we do in and out of schools, we can promote multiple programmes for young people with varying needs and ages. Some of our programmes are aimed at certain age groups due to the nature of the provision, however we are also able to offer access to grassroot sports opportunities including Walcot Warriors and Bath Ladies Mixed ability rugby team where participants of all abilities can join in! How does the HITZ programme work? HITZ is a programme that collaborates both Premiership Rugby and SCL education to create a learning environment for 16–24-year-olds who are at risk of becoming NEET (Not in Education, Employment or Training). We work with young adults who have struggled at school due to exclusion from schools or have been unsuccessful at obtaining GCSE qualifications, HITZ runs throughout the country in connection with a handful of premiership teams. We have observed that negative experiences at school can have an impact on their ability to find employment, meaning they are often left out of education or work. HITZ works collaboratively with SCL education to support 16–24-year-olds to gain a qualification in either Employability or BTEC sports, and the chance to re-sit their GCSE’s. The programme prides itself on creating a supportive and empowering
environment for young people to develop the skills they need to re-enter into today’s society with confidence in themselves and their abilities. Why is rugby such a powerful tool in attracting and giving new chances to these vulnerable youngsters? Rugby is inclusive of all ages and abilities; the foundation works with vast numbers of young people from primary school age to adults. With the ability to offer this provision for such a wide group of ages, we see great success in participation. Rugby allows the young people to challenge their energy into sports in a safe and engaging way. In 2017, the Foundation founded the first mixed ability rugby team, (Walcot Warriors) in the south west which welcomes participants with varying needs and abilities the opportunity to be part of a team. The team was created following great interest in the Project Rugby programme, which seeks to introduce players from hard-to-reach areas of our society to the sport and local clubs. Off the back of Walcot Warriors, England’s first female mixed ability rugby team Bath Ladies Team was created. BRF work with different kinds of groups – is this an effective way of maximising the impact of your work? Collaboration is key in producing unthinkable results. We can achieve more by bringing together different ways of thinking. Drawing on more expertise than one organisation can hold on its own. We value the chance for collaborations with schools, charities, and youth community groups because it allows us to extend our reach to those who need us, avoiding any of them slipping through the net and missing out on the provision they deserve. Do you offer access to sports other than rugby? Although rugby is at the heart of what we do, it’s not all we do! Many of our programmes focus on rugby and the core rugby values, however, we see great values in getting involved in other sports too. This year during the HITZ programme we have participated in other sports such as golf, yoga, dancing and boccia, to mention a few! Many of the youngsters you support don’t have a good relationship with schools and learning environments. How do you help them? Sadly, this is very common for or learners on the HITZ programme, we find that most of our referrals come following college dropout or not being successful in obtaining GSCE’s, which can lead to little or no aspirations for the future to continue into employment or training.
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