Giving Back

I recently connection with Samuel Olusile from Holy Trinity primary school, who told me about the fantastic charity work Africa for Christ Missions do in Malawi.

I had the incredible experience of visiting Malawi, as a fresh faced 19 year old, too many years ago for me to admit to! It is described as the warm heart of Africa and my friends and I experienced it. Staying at a back packers lodge, one of the barman decided to spend his week’s wages on a round of drinks for me and my friends, a touching representation of just how warm and welcoming people were to us during that trip.

Samuel told me that the charity seek donations of kit and sports equipment to send over to Malawi to support the football programme they have developed over there. We were happy to help by sending the kit you can see below in the picture. I know the feeling I get when I receive new kit and can only imagine the joy this will bring to the young people there, who have so very little.

Hopefully this is the start of a partnership with the charity and if you’d like further information or can contribute yourselves, please reach out to them.

I look forward to seeing images of children playing football in Malawi wearing SLD Soccer School kit!

Rob Wilkinson

Director

You can learn more about Samuel’s charity here:

If you’d like to donate, contact us through the email below.

Coaching Etiquette

During this week, our Operations Manager Ashley wrote a blog post around etiquette surrounding Coaches and Parents, and the importance of how we portray ourselves in front of children. Here is an excerpt of the piece:

Sports should be a safe place where children can be active and develop a love for the game and all the things that come with it. Once love for the game is ignited, the rest takes care of itself as they will develop a desire to improve, as they enjoy it and naturally they will learn from mistakes, and pick up skills like communication and leadership.

A great coach can accelerate this process and this is exactly what we pride ourselves on at Moving Matters. For now, our advice to every coach and parent is, make sure your children/players enjoy it otherwise they will not have a positive relationship with sport and physical activity. 

You can read the rest by clicking the button below:

Recent School Visits

Over the past couple of weeks I’ve done a number of school visits to quality assure our staff and it’s been great to see the positive work they’re doing.

At this stage of the year, all our observations are informal but we always provide staff with written feedback, which is tracked as part of their performance management.

New Staff Profile

Ellis Burridge 

Big shout out to one of our new Apprentices Ellis on his fantastic start at Moving Matters. He is improving week on week as a coach, developing positive working relationships with colleagues and school staff and being flexible and adapatable.

Well done Ellis.

What is your role at Moving Matters?

Apprentice Primary PE Specialist

How long have you been at Moving Matters?

Since July 2023

What schools are you working in this year?

Telferscot, Julians, St Mary’s and Archbishop Sumner

What was your favourite subject at school?

PE

Who are your favourite sports team(s)?

Chelsea

What is your favourite food?

Steak & Noodles

What is a quote that has stuck with you?

“Don’t live the same year 75 times and call it a life”

Year 5 & 6 Tag Rugby Recap

Autumn Term: October 5th 2023

@ Tooting Bec Athletics Track

Last Thursday we hosted our second inter-school competition of the 23/24 academic year. This time we headed to Tooting Bec’s Athletics Track for a Tag Rugby competition. We had 12 schools competing, the weather was great and based on the success of our first two competitions, we are really excited for the rest of the academic year.

Competitions Lead Levi wrote a report on last week’s competition which can be viewed using the button below:

Upcoming Competitions

Last year our Competitions programme saw an attendance of over 130 entries to comps throughout the year.

Based on the bookings we’ve had so far, we we’re going to smash that number this year.

We’ve slightly altered our competitions delivery by releasing bookings on a termly basis for quality control purposes.

Our remaining Autumn competitions are as follows:

Year 4 – 6 Girls Football

November 9th 2023

@ Black Prince Trust, SE11 6AA

22/24 Places Booked

Year 6 Swimming Gala

November 23rd 2023

@ Streatham Leisure Centre, SW16 6HX

15/18 Places Booked

School Sports Clubs

After-School Clubs present an exciting opportunity for students to stay active, learn new skills, and have fun. Moving Matters is dedicated to promoting a healthy and active lifestyle that extends beyond just their PE lessons. Last year we had hundreds of children taking part in our After-School clubs.

With our extensive experience in running clubs at various schools, we understand the positive impact they can have on students’ physical and personal development. We are confident that our diverse programme can be a fantastic addition to {School Name}’s current delivery.

Here’s what you can expect from our After-School Sports Clubs:

Diverse Sports Selection: 

Our clubs offer a wide range of sports activities, including but not limited to multi-skills, dance, running clubs, multi-sports, football and much more. This variety ensures that students can discover and develop their interests and talents.

Experienced Coaches: 

Our highly qualified and passionate coaches are dedicated to providing quality instruction, ensuring that students not only improve their athletic abilities but also develop important life skills such as teamwork, discipline, and perseverance.

Inclusive and Safe Environment:

We prioritise creating a safe and inclusive environment where every student feels welcome, regardless of their skill level or prior experience.

Convenient Location:

Our clubs can be held on your school premises, making it easy for students to participate without the hassle of transportation.

Club Sizes:

We adhere to the government guideline of 1 member of staff for every 16 children. This ensures each session is manageable and each child can get adequate attention throughout the club.

To explore the possibilities further and discuss how we can meet your school’s needs, please don’t hesitate to click the button below to schedule a brief chat for more information. We would be delighted to answer any questions:

Volunteering Opportunities At Moving Matters

If you like the sound of some of the great work we’re doing across South London and want to get involved, we’d love to hear from you and potentially get you volunteering for us.

For questions, call our office or drop us a note, 02083254544.

Parents

Upcoming Autumn Holiday Camps

Last year our total attendance count for all of our Holiday Camps was over 2800, perfectly on track for us to meet our target of working with 20,000 children by 2026.

We begin our Holiday Camp programme of the 2023/24 academic year with our Autumn camps. With us going back to The Elmgreen and returning to Immanuel & St Andrew next month:

Sibling Discount – Save 10% on multiple family bookings using code: FAM10

Unsure about whether our Autumn Holiday Camps are perfect for your child? Read this blog post by our Holiday Camps Lead Ashley below:

Our Holiday Camp Locations

Elmcourt Rd, Norwood, London SE27 9BZ

Immanuel & St Andrew School, Northanger Road, Streatham SW16 5SL

Upcoming Talent ID Session

FREE // Wednesday 18th October // Elmgreen School // 17:30 – 19:00

Discover the future stars of the beautiful game at our exciting Football Talent ID session!

We hosted a Talent ID session towards the end of last year which gave players the chance to trial for our Developmental Programme. This was a huge success with 8 players being invited to our Wednesday sessions. 

Because of the turnout last year, we decided to do a trial session once every term so there is always the opportunity to progress as a player. 

Our Developmental Programme session has over 30 children taking part in high-quality sessions every Wednesday after school and we are accepting a new intake of players.

Don’t miss this incredible opportunity to take your child’s football journey to the next level.

This is a trial session for players to be invited to our Developmental Programme so if you feel they would be interested, feel free to sign up using the link below:

Moving Matters Soccer School

Our attendance numbers at our Soccer School have been great this first month and we are aiming to build on this for October.

Bookings are live using the buttons below:

Developmental Programme (Years 5 – 8)

Wednesday 17:30 – 19:00

If you are interested in a trial for our Developmental programme, contact: stanmovingmatters@gmail.com

Super Saturdays (Reception and up)

Saturday 10:30 – 12:00

A perfect way to start your child’s weekend with a fun football session

Quote of the Week

Muhammad Ali

56 Wins – 5 Losses, Olympic Gold Medalist (1960),

Widely Regarded As The Greatest (Heavyweight) Boxer Of All Time

“Don’t count the days. Make the days count.”