Durham Cricket Foundation has partnered with the Great North Children’s Hospital to deliver a year-long sports and educational programme at the Newcastle Bridges School.
The Foundation will deliver sport as a teaching and communication tool in conjunction with the teaching staff at the Hospital as the project aims to help children become more active, where possible, while delivering personal outcomes to students.
Durham Cricket Foundation’s Community Development Officer Jack Warren is already leading weekly sessions at the Hospital with individual students under the current COVID-19 restrictions.
The Great North Children’s Hospital has been a long-term partner for the Foundation but this is the first shared project the charities will work on collaboratively for the whole academic year.
Liam Simpson, Foundation Manager, said: “This is an exciting project for the Foundation, particularly as we’ve had a long-standing relationship with the Great North Children’s Hospital and to now be able to work together on a 12-month project is fantastic.
“This project is an incredible opportunity to work with the students at the Bridges School and support them and their families through regular weekly sessions.
“We have a fantastic chance to use sport, and cricket in particular, as a means to promote positive mental and physical wellbeing and we hope the project will make a positive difference to the lives of the students and their families.”
Becky Neillis, Department Education Coordinator from the Newcastle Bridges School at GNCH said: “The partnership with Durham Cricket Foundation supports the Hospital by enhancing and adding breadth to the curriculum offered to students of Newcastle Bridges School.
“The project helps to remove the barriers to being active experienced by many of our students whilst they are in hospital, as it will be particularly beneficial to our long-term students who will be able to engage in sessions on a weekly basis and to build upon developing new skills learnt.
“The project will help our students to develop confidence in learning new skills, to overcome challenges and to improve their communication skills. It will also undoubtedly help to improve the wellbeing of our students – this has been evident in the students who have participated in the project so far. Jack is full of energy and enthusiasm and is fantastic at motivating any students that he works with – those students who have already engaged in sessions with Jack have very obviously enjoyed them!”