Addressing the State of Play

The Alec Reed Academy in west London, UK, is a diverse, mixed school and sixth form supporting 1,702 students aged 3-19. It serves a neighbourhood that ranks amongst the 30% most deprived in the UK, with over a third of students on free school meals and a long-standing gang and drug problem putting children at risk of grooming. 

Ross is a science teacher teaching secondary and sixth form students and has found that some of his students struggle to progress compared to the local and national averages. There are many reasons for this including not speaking English, struggling with exams, not having the support at home and even a lack of basic needs such as good nutrition and clothing. In addition, school closures have affected these children more acutely, with many not having access to computers or the internet at home. Yet,
despite these obstacles, with a passion for football and a fantastic school football pitch facility, Ross and the staff at the Academy are committed to aiding social mobility, promoting excellent safeguarding and combating cumulative dysfluency.

Playing on fertile ground

The Huracan Northala Football Club project is a bespoke football participation and leadership programme that focuses on “at risk” pupils moving from Year 10 to Year 11, helping to increase their school engagement, overall attainment and support their personal development beyond academic subjects. Through football participation and a series of “missions”, the students work towards a Student Leadership Accreditation, giving them a formal qualification at the end of the year.

Due to a national lockdown all the initial activities, started in December 2020, took place online and thanks to laptop donations flooding in from Huracan, the local community and the government, Ross was able to get all of the students involved. They were able to work together online to plan training sessions supporting the development of their mediation and organisational skills. When schools were allowed to reopen in March 2021, and after a couple of weeks of planning and parental engagement, the physical sessions could be finally kicked off and their plans put into action!

Being fast on your feet

In just a few months Ross and his team now have 65 regular attendees over three sessions including a full girls’ team. They are seeing measurable improvements in the children’s behavior in class and there is a growing demand from students in other year groups for similar leadership programmes. Currently, the limiting factors in addressing this has been the number of staff and volunteers who can support and the need for additional funding, but with the right support Ross is confident that he could host up to 200 pupils a week and also provide more specialist and targeted interventions. To date, with the support of the Huracan Foundation, Ross has been able to access further funding and build partnerships in the local community, allowing him to buy new equipment and kits.

Ultimately, Ross wants to create student-led football teams that give children a sense of pride, brings year groups back together and provides a nurturing community to help them achieve their biggest goals.