Breakthrough is an award winning sports based mentoring project that supports children (aged 5 - 18) with a range of self esteem and behavioural issues. 

 

In 2007/8 Downend Technology College had a very challenging group of year 9 boys causing considerable disruption at school. The school’s PE department wanted to devise a project to address this using the positive power of sport. The PE department in partnership with the Grange School Sports Partnership and the Breakthrough Mentoring Project held some consultation with the boys in question and it was decided that golf was the best activity to get the results to school wanted.

 

Key goals of the project.

1. To get the boys off site a morning a week to allow the other students to learn in a less disruptive environment
2. To link attendance to the golf session to improved behaviour the rest of the week (measured via SIMS system)
3. To develop leadership skills in the targeted students
4. To develop a new interest (in golf) in the targeted students that could be maintained after the project finished. 

Outcomes

1. The school staff reported considerably less disruptive behaviour once the group were removed.
2. Positive SIMS scores went up and negative SIMS (Schools Information Management System) scores went up at a reduced rate.
3. All 11 students received golf leadership training from the golf foundation and then 7 of them went on to deliver sessions in local primary schools.
4. Three students went on to independently access golf session after the project finished 

These outcomes were only possible because a number of partners came together;  the school that identified the young people, lead the consultation and monitored the changes in behaviour,  The Grange School Sports Partnership who funded part of the work along with the Golf Foundation (who also trained the students in golf leadership) and finally the Breakthrough Project organised the golf sessions at a range of venues provided the mentors and linked the boys into activities to continue away from school.

The effectiveness of this approach and the partnership that made it possible has been recognised by the Golf Foundation that have awarded it the Mackenzie Prize for best project using gold to develop young people. 

Steve Spiers - Sports Development Officer, Breakthrough Project tells us, "We’ve always worked with different agencies but I think this has put a bit more of a structure around it now. We have the regular meetings, we have regular information shares and I think we have actually built a bit more of a team. We know a bit more about each others’ services and we know who can be used for different interventions."

For further information contactSteve Spiers - Sports Development Officer at steve.spiers@southglos.gov.uk