Largs Academy’s Duke of Edinburgh Award group was established at the start of 2022/23 at the request of pupils, through the Parent Council, to provide an extra-curricular opportunity for our senior pupils to learn new life skills, become more physically and mentally active while having a positive impact on their local community. The uptake is extremely positive with 50 young people nearing completion of their bronze award, this is expected to grow this year. The inclusivity of the programme has meant that pupils from all backgrounds have been able to participate and has given those who are disengaging from school a positive focus and a huge sense of achievement, enhancing wellbeing. The programme requires pupils to complete four sections; volunteering, physical, skill, and expedition (an overnight adventure by foot, bike or kayak). Sessions develop teamwork, communication and valuable skills including map reading, using a stove and outdoor first aid. The programme has allowed pupils to be themselves and form new friendships, build their confidence, get outdoors and have experiences they may not have otherwise had.

We are seeking funding on behalf of our young people who, when reflecting on their expedition section asked if we could purchase our own outdoor equipment such as tents, sleeping bags, walking boots, waterproof clothing and backpacks. We currently have a small supply of equipment but not enough to support our demand with over a quarter of our young people having to borrow resources from the council store to complete this section. We have attached a graph showing the equipment that was requested for this year’s expedition. We consulted the young people regarding what they got out of the Duke of Edinburgh group, and what they would like to purchase with unlimited funds, and their responses are attached.

We believe having our own equipment will allow us to better support our participants, giving them a sense of belonging and ensure that lack of equipment is not a barrier for participation, particularly considering the expense of the equipment and the cost of living crisis, and bearing in mind the cost of the school day. The funding will also allow us to support our most disadvantaged pupils to experience the outdoors and help to improve the mental health and wellbeing of our young people.

With the expansion of the Duke of Edinburgh Award we hope to set-up a silver group to provide a pathway for successful bronze candidates to continue to build on their sense of achievement.

Estimated costs

We would like to build up our Largs Academy store of equipment, particularly rucksacks, waterproofs, walking boots, roll mats. We would like to work with a local supplier, with a mind to the local economy, and costs at Vango in Port Glasgow are as follows (as of September 2023):

• Rucksack £120
• Waterproof trousers £32.50
• Waterproof jackets £34.99
• Walking boots £45
• Sleeping bags £52.50
• Tents £175

Our children at Morrpark are currently learning the skills to fix broken bikes. These new skills will be offered to anyone in the community who has a bike that needs fixing. Our children are responsible citizens and understand the improtance of a wellbalanced lifestyle.  Following on from the successful cooking classes that promoted healthy eating for our families, this year getting people to exercise in a way that supports the envrionment is the main focus.

The children at Moorpark are keen to help others in the school get on the road and travel to school by bike.  They also want to be able to offer this service to everyone in the community to get Kilbirnie moving! To do this they need storage for the bikes while they are being fixed and the tools to fix as many bikes as possible in a safe way.

The children will operate from a workshop set up in the school grounds and invite anyone in the community to come along with their broken bikes and have them fixed for free.  By offering this facility the children are promoting better mental and physical health as well as contributing to a cleaner local environment when people switch from driving a car to riding a bike. This free service now makes exercise accessible for those faced with costly repairs they couldn't previously afford.

The children want to see less cars at the school gates and more children riding their bikes to school, this will also make the school safer for our children.

They need a work space to fix and store the bikes and a variety of tools to complete the work, the following materials need to be purchased...

£400 for a metal shed and security padlock so that the bikes and tools can be stored.

£100 for storage boxes and tool boxes to store tools and equipment

 £450 for tools to fix the bikes

£50 for safety equipment such as safety glasses, overalls, gloves so the children are safe when fixing the bikes.

Removal of the old wendy house and replacement with a new one, including a new foundation.

Playhouse from www.gardenbuildingsdirect.co.uk

BillyOh Lollipop Max Playhouse 6 x 7 Max Platform £551

Picket Fencing Option D £59

Ecobase Fastfit Full Base £135

Decorative Wooden Window Shapes x 2 £9

Assembly Kit £25

Delivery £75

Over 50 young people from across all 7 primaries on the island come together to participate on a Wednesday afternoon at a P5-P7 multi-sports club, where pupils participate in a variety of sports. It’s important for youngsters in smaller schools to engage with peers of a similar age, which is something that doesn’t always happen. This is a chance for youngsters to build relationships from different villages, which also prepares the young people for transition into secondary school.

There are a number of costs to make this possible –

Transport costs (taxi for pupils from further afield) - £500

Equipment (balls, bibs, cones, fun games) - £250

With the 2 forums in the North Coast coming together. We are looking to attend a residential for much needed team building activities. This will benefit both Forums, through outdoor learning they will learn how to work together effectively. This will benefit the committe working together on future projects and also benefit their peers in the North Coast.

In the evening at the residential, the forums will participate and complete the second phase of mental health resilience training. This will allow the forum to become BU Mental Health Ambassadors and peer mentors. 

With the qualification gained, we will be able to run informative workshops and awareness sessions centred around mental health to young people in, West Kilbride, Fairlie, Largs, Skelmorlie, the Isle of Cumbrae.

Costs-

Residential accomodation- 10 x £118 + 3 x £58 = £1354

Ferry - 13 x £8.40 = £109.20

Total = £1463.20

Dedicated Young Sports Leaders attend a number of programme and island wide events throughout the year, undertaking a number of roles such as refereeing/umpiring, leading workshops, setting equipment up for events etc. It’s important for the group of Young Sport Leaders to be recognisable to staff and participants, as well providing a sense of community for the groups of Leaders.

We would require financial support to purchase t-shirts/hoodies and embroidery.

Kit –

£30 per hoodie

£10 per t shirt

Embroidery - £4 per item

(total of 20 young people)