Claire Breton has been a big cheerleader for Panathlon since one of her now grown-up sons benefited from it. As a teaching assistant, she has worked to spread the word in her schools, now working at St John Southworth RC Primary School, and those nearby.
“My son joined in all these competitions, and his confidence just grew and grew,” she recalls. “The only time he came back to sulk was when they got a silver medal, because they got gold every other time!”
Claire realised that her son was making great progress due to his involvement in competitive sport, and thought that children in the school where she was working would get a similar boost. She and a colleague spoke to Panathlon and learnt about boccia, new age kurling, table cricket and more. It gave her the inspiration to make the most of the limited resources and budget within the school to differentiate the PE provision so that all children could join in – using one-litre drinks bottles filled with dried pasta as skittles for ten-pin bowling, for example.
“You just need to think outside the box sometimes,” she says.
Since moving on to a new role, Claire has continued to champion Panathlon, and has worked with other schools nearby to bring together a whole community, sharing ideas, best practice and support to ensure that all children across primary and secondary education get the chance to enjoy competitive sport.
“All the kids are really, really enjoying it, because they feel accepted,” she says. “And they’re growing their fine motor skills as well as their gross motor skills, so it’s an all-round win.
“They all feel like they’re on the same path. They’re all accepted, they’re all of the same ability. Sport has got to be competitive, someone’s got to win. However, it’s got to be fair and it’s got to be inclusive.
“I’m so passionate about it. People can hear it in my voice and they engage with that, and they think, ‘This is a good thing!'”
Fiona Callaghan, School Games Organiser for Pendle, says that people immediately bought into the Panathlon concept, enjoying the progress over the course of an academic year: “The schools liked the idea of a local winner, a county pathway and a regional pathway too.”
She adds: “The medals are the talk of the town! It gives a real extra level of professionalism, the children really love it.”
The parents of nine-year-old Marilyn have seen the impact for themselves.
“This has so brought her out in confidence and the willingness to participate in sport,” they say.
