Bradford after-school clubs to help shy pupils (From Bradford Telegraph and Argus)

Bradford after-school clubs to help shy pupils

9:00am Saturday 12th January 2013 in News By Kathie Griffiths, T&A Reporter

Shy children are to get a confidence boost from new school clubs being set up in Bradford primary schools.

A partnership has been set up to run the pilot Pyramid Clubs for 20 year three pupils who have been assessed as being shy, quiet and withdrawn from Farnham and Horton Grange primary schools.

If the ten-week clubs prove to be successful then they could be rolled out in other schools across the district.

Bradford Council is leading the pilot in partnership with ContinYou – a national charity which leads the development and delivery of the after-school clubs across the UK.

The scheme is being supported with a £10,000 start-up grant from Santander which has offices in Bradford and the money has been used to train Council and school staff involved in the programme.

Horton Grange and Farnham schools share the same site and use the Farnham Road Children’s Centre where the Pyramid Clubs will be held every Thursday starting next week until March 28 with a break for the February half-term holiday.

Bradford Council’s early childhood services manager Caleb Sutton, is leading the project and will be providing translators and family outreach workers to support parents whose first language is not English while their child is attending a club session.

Councillor Ralph Berry, the executive member for children’s services, said: “This is a great opportunity for pupils who often miss out on a lot of opportunities in school and in life more generally. The sessions will also help children find it easier to make friends. I look forward to seeing how the pilot goes and, if successful, how it can be rolled out across the district.”

Bronach Hughes, ContinYou’s pyramid after-school club co-ordinator, said: “I’ve seen for myself the impact that Pyramid Clubs have on quieter children who rarely get any additional support or attention, so I’m delighted that we’re now going to be able to offer that experience to children in Bradford.

“We know that Pyramid Clubs have the potential to change a child’s life, setting them off on a path they might never have found otherwise.

“Particularly in these difficult times, it is a privilege to be able to bring some light and some fun to Bradford schoolchildren.”