'Buddy Up' with a Primary School

England Hockey want to show and give young people in diverse backgrounds the opportunity to experience and learn lifelong skills through hockey. As a gender equal sport, England Hockey are thrilled and excited about both the men’s and women’s GB Hockey teams competing at the Olympics, and we want to share our celebrations with state primary schools to help inspire more young people to give hockey a try. 

Building a partnership between your club and local school(s) creates a host of reciprocal benefits, enriching the educational curriculum, whilst nurturing the sport's future.

• Community Champions: Strengthen your club's presence and positive image within the local community.
• Fresh Talent Pipeline: Attract new players who can develop their awareness and enthusiasm for hockey, whilst learning new skills and boosting their health and wellbeing.  
• Volunteer Boost: Potential to develop your volunteer workforce by proactively engaging with schools, teachers and parents.
• Long-Term Sustainability: Build a steady stream of new players and ensure the future of your club.
   

There are two ways for you to get involved:

• Match to a 'Buddy' School in Your Area: We’ll use England Hockey’s Club Development Managers to identify local schools who have nominated themselves as a potential ‘buddies’ and help facilitate the appropriate introductions.

Or, be proactive and tell us that you want to take part and follow these simple steps to get signed up:

1. Sign Up: Complete the expression of interest form  
2. Reach Out: Speak to local schools, highlight your club's values and your interest in building a relationship with them. Discuss how you can add benefit to their school, identify their specific needs and interests and work together to plan engaging hockey activities for their pupils. 
3. Resources at Your Fingertips: To support your "Buddy Up" journey, we'll provide you with some resources to help you make the most of hockey, get everyone excited and develop a long-lasting partnership between your club and local schools: 
   • An activation pack 
   • Summer of Hockey Activity Booklet packed with fun and educational hockey resources to share with pupils. 
   • Digital creative assets to help promote and reward pupils for taking part in activities. 
   • Delivery support and guidance.  
4.  ‘Buddied Up’: Once you've agreed to ‘Buddy Up’ with your local school and planned in some activity, ask them to let us know so we can celebrate the new partnership! We will also enter your 'Buddy' school into a prize draw to win a hockey equipment bag for their school (T&C’s apply). 
    

Here are some ideas to get you started…

• Initiate contact! School assemblies introducing hockey, skills demonstrations and Olympic highlights will set the stage. Empower PE teachers with workshops to develop skills and confidence to bring hockey into the curriculum.
• Weave in hockey themes! Students can explore science, history, and even calculate player positions in maths. Introduce our Summer of Hockey Activity booklet to teachers to help them get some inspiration and encourage their students to take on Jess & Jasper's range of challenges.
• "Try Hockey" sessions Take the game directly to your partner school with exciting "Try Hockey" sessions, in P.E, at lunch time or after-school. Club representatives can transform the playground into a mini hockey haven, filled with fun skills, engaging mini-games, and a positive, high-energy atmosphere. It's a fantastic opportunity to spark their curiosity and ignite a passion for the sport!
• Turn up the Olympic spirit! Host viewing parties, spark creativity with Olympic themed design competitions, learn more about the Olympics and Olympics sports on Olympic Day (23 June) or plan a mini-Olympics festival during National Schools Sports Week (w/c 17 June).

Organise special events during the Olympics (or leading up to them) where pupils from your partner school(s) can experience hockey at your club first hand.

Think about including:

• A positive welcome, skill stations, mini-games, meet-and-greets with club players and coaches, equipment loans and ‘buddying up’ with current young members, to create a positive and engaging environment.
• Extra activities, refreshments, competitions, watching some of the Olympic games etc… off the pitch to supplement the playing experience and showcase the friendly, social nature of your club.
• A way to engage with participants after the events – share club sessions and opportunities, special offers and incentives – ‘bring a friend’ or ‘free sessions’, share photos and videos of the event on social media.

By creating a welcoming and exciting environment during Club Pick Up a Stick Open Days, your hockey club can build a strong foundation for a long-lasting partnership with the school and it’s pupils.