Merton School Sport Partnership (Merton SSP) is located in London Borough of Merton and was established in September 2003 as part of the Governments PE, School Sport and Club Links (PESSCL) strategy. The strategy is driven by a joint Department for Education & Skills (DfES) and Department for Culture Media & Sport (DCMS) Public Service Agreement that states “By 2008, 85% of school children (age 5-16) will spend at least two hours high quality PE and school sport each week within and beyond the curriculum”. As a result of this target, Merton SSP receives grant funding from the DfES/DCMS as well as additional partnership funding from Merton Council.
Merton SSP also run a large Out of School Hours Learning (OSHL) sports programme, funded through the Big Lottery Fund.
The DfES confirmed in November 2008 that 92% of Merton’s children aged 5-16 now participate in at least two hours of high quality Physical Education (PE) and school sport each week, within and beyond the curriculum. This is a significant improvement on Merton’s 2005 figure of 58%, and it also hit the Government’s 85% target for 2008 a year early.
Merton SSP Structure:
Merton SSP is lead and managed by a Partnership Development Manager (PDM) with support from an Assistant Partnership Development Manager (APDM). Each of the eight secondary schools in Merton has appointed a School Sport Co-ordinator (SSCo) who work specifically with a cluster of 5 or 6 primary schools as well as their host secondary school. Merton SSP is structured as follows:
>Click here to download SSP_Schools_Graph.PDF
Merton SSP has seven core aims, which are:
- Increase participation in high quality of Physical Education.
- Increase participation in Out of School Hour Learning (OSHL) activities.
- Increase in participation in high quality informal activity.
- Increase participation in high quality competition and performance.
- Improve attitude, behaviour and attendance in PE and whole school.
- Increase attainment and achievement in and through PE, OSHL and sport.
- Increase participation in community based sport and improved quality of community life.
In order to achieve these aims, School Sport Co-ordinators provide specific support and guidance to their cluster through team teaching, PE policy development, out of school hours sport activities, creating and developing PE schemes of work, facility & equipment sharing and linking with local sports clubs. Schools play a key role in identifying areas for development for Merton SSP to support.
There are many new and exciting initiatives that Merton SSP are rolling out across Merton and for further information please contact the Partnership Office via the contacts page.
Merton School Sport Assocations
Merton SSP works very closely with both the Merton Secondary School Sports Assocation (MSSSA) and Merton Primary School Sports Assocation(MPSSA).
>Click here for further information on the role of each Assocation.
