Primary schools in Yorkshire have revealed how their pupils with disabilities and special needs prosper in the competitive environment of Panathlon.
So often, sport provision for children with additional needs focuses principally on participation, with winning and losing de-emphasised or removed entirely for fear of intimidating or demoralising young participants.
But Panathlon has proved for many years that the element of competition is intrinsic to the sense of fulfilment, self-esteem, pride, resilience and teamwork that pupils take away from its competitions — even in the primary age groups.
Every pupil leaves Panathlon with a medal, but the gold, silver and bronze medals for the top three positions are fully understood and treasured by primary competitors — as demonstrated at our Yorkshire Regional Primary Ten-Pin Bowling Final in Leeds on Tuesday 19 March.
The event was one of 13 Regional Finals taking place simultaneously all over the country, with the scores of all 123 participating teams logged and compared digitally to find our first ever National champions.
The excitement that competition at such scale genarated was obvious from staff and pupils in Leeds, including Lorraine Bamforth, headteacher of Yorkshire regional champions Ripponden Primary from Calderdale.
“As a school, we’re quite competitive because life is competitive and we must prepare them for that,” said Mrs Bamforth. “These children aren’t always included in sporting events and trips as they tend to favour mainstream children, so this gives them the element of competition that a lot of them miss.
“For this cohort of children, who don’t always get the opportunity at county and especially national-level sport, today is incredible. Even though they have special needs and medical diagnoses which might prevent them from being selected in school football or cricket, they’re seen as part of the school team because they compete in Panathlon, no differently to any other children.”
Ripponden’s pupils were congratulated and celebrated by the whole school on their return from winning both the County and Regional Ten-Pin Bowling finals. “It massively boosts their status within the school,” said Mrs Bamforth.
“Our school ethos is about resilience. It’s about saying, ‘Things can get tough sometimes, but through hard work we can overcome challenges.’ This platform shows them they can win. It’s massive for them.
“Our local pyramid of schools provides lots of participation events but there aren’t a lot of competitions for this group of children. That sense of representing the school is priceless for these pupils who are often under-represented, so are we going to celebrate their victories? Absolutely!”
Those sentiments were certainly shared by Ripponden pupil Leo, who said: “I was really happy when we won the last one — so I’m even happier to win this one! I’m going to put my medal in a secret place where no-one can steal it!”
Regan O’Connell, an HLTA and PE Lead at Anston Park Primary in Rotherham, stated that the element of competition elevated Panathlon above other school sport providers.
“I only joined the school in January, and one of the first things staff and pupils told me about was Panathlon,” he said. “On the way here, everyone was talking about what they’re going to do tactically and how much they would love to win. It gives them that added boost, rather than just participating. It raises it to another level when they know there’s something on the line such as a medal or a trophy.
“When they get older, it helps to teach them to deal with certain levels of expectation, about winning and losing, instead of there being a prize for just participating, which isn’t really reality. It’s good to give them a feel for that ahead of secondary school and later life.”
In addition to the value of competition, school staff revealed that the experience of simply getting on a bus, leaving the school environment and meeting other SEN pupils was extremely valuable.
“They were giddy getting on the minibus and so excited to do something different,” said Michaela Crossley, PE Lead at Tankersley St Peter’s Primary in Barnsley. “This is massive for them. They are in awe! It’s so inspiring. These particular kids with extra needs don’t get that many opportunities to be competitive so it really is brilliant for them.”
Mrs Bamforth from Ripponden Primary added: “We’ve been to other Panathlon events such as boccia, but coming as far as Leeds today is so exciting for them. It’s just about getting them out and representing the school. They absolutely love it.”
