Leading the Way in Promoting Equality in Sport

Hosted by Clare Balding in front of 300 people at St George’s Park, Mrs Coates joined Yasmin Hussain (FA Coach), Ethan Freeston (FA Youth Council) and Ellen White (former footballer and record goal-scorer for the England Lionesses) and they discussed the crucial role sport can play in a young person’s education and how to promote equality for girls in sport and the need to ensure PE is valued in the curriculum.

 

Our work

The opportunity for us to take part in this wonderful event came about thanks to the pioneering work we have undertaken as a school to promote equality throughout our PE curriculum.

We frequently participate in the Football Association’s (FA) ‘Let Girls Play’ campaign, which aims to give all girls equal access to play football in school. This year, we were even recognised as one of the ‘Let Girls Play’ winners and were invited to the Women’s FA Cup Final to collect their award.

In February, prior to this year’s ‘Biggest Ever Football Session’ event, the FA visited our school and filmed a case study video to publicise the event. They spoke to staff and learners – girls and boys – about the campaign and they highlighted the work we do to promote equality in sport and to ensure that everybody can enjoy equal opportunities.

At the end of the evening, organisers played the video which you can watch the video here. 

“It was a really proud moment to see our students on the screen in front of over 300 people,” said Mrs Coates.

“They received a lot of praise from FA officials and Youth Sport Trust executives as well.

“Even Ellen White said: ‘Your school looks wonderful!’”

 

The future

It does not stop here, though, and we have lots of exciting plans throughout 2024/25 to continue our important work.

“We are going to train more Game Changers to continue to coach and drive forward the message about girls’ equality in sport,” Mrs Coates continued.

“We are already still running our practices after school twice a week and have fixtures upcoming in the new year.”

Both our girls and boys football teams train on Mondays and Fridays, with all year groups able to participate in either football or futsal matches.

See more information at the bottom of this webpage.

 

Further success

Throughout the evening, several awards were also handed out, including the Collaboration to Drive Change Award, which was presented to Aaron Asawala and Kirsty Naismith, School Sport Development Managers who work with eight Lionheart schools (including Martin High) across South Charnwood and North-West Leicester respectively.

They regularly organise competitions in primary and secondary schools, providing a welcoming platform for girls to participate.

They also co-ordinate teacher training opportunities as well as annual conferences and training days. Here they work with Girls Football Activators in secondary schools to create Barclay’s Game Changers, individuals aged 12 -16 who are passionate about football and who work alongside the Sport Development Managers to inspire, engage and empower other girls to make a positive change for girls’ football.

 

Martin High Football Activities

Boys:

• YR7 Boys football matches
• YR8 Boys football matches
• YR9 Boys football matches
• YR10 Boys football matches
• YR11 boys football matches

 

Girls:

• YR7 Girls football matches 
• YR8/9 Girls football matches
• YR10/11 Girls football matches
• YR7 Girls futsal matches
• YR8/9 Girls futsal matches
• YR10/11 Girls futsal matches