Convincing Parents of the Benefits of Games
English-style schools are the only rugby environment in the world where the participation in outdoor team games is compulsory. Since Tom Brown's Schooldays various forms of football have been an obligatory part of education. Compulsory Hockey and Netball are not far behind. Many children have developed a long, life-enriching love affair with games as a result - and bequeathed this enthusiasm to their children. Others have had an excruciating experience and established an equally passionate loathing of what they perceive as a pointless, painful and protracted activity. Both constituencies are sufficiently large in number that they must have some foundation in fact.
Throughout this time, however, what has been unchallenged -possibly curiously - is the unalienable right of schools to compel pupils to take part in specific games, regardless of the inclination of the child, or parent, to do so. There has been an unspoken assumption that the value of these experiences is sufficiently powerful to justify an investment of time that is seldom less (in any school) than the amount of time spent weekly on Maths. In many schools, the time spent on compulsory football is greater than the amount of time devoted to Maths and English combined. *
Recent concerns about the safety of Rugby, and its validity as a compulsory experience, make this unsurprising. Perhaps more surprising is the fact that it has been relatively unchallenged for so long. Equally curious is the fact that so little of schools' promotional material features the benefits of games. Most prospectuses and websites focus on the features and structures. Which games are played, when, against which schools, how to find the way to rival schools' pitches, and what the last week's scores were. Given that the focus is entirely on inter school matches, and who they are against, it is amazing that the parents of children who don't play in those matches have not questioned why their offspring have to take part.
The changing environment of safety-led concern will pressure schools to communicate the benefits of participation in games, and justify the investment of time that they demand. Such questions, if they are raised at all, are currently done so on an informal basis. It would be an interesting exercise for a school to ask any staff who might be exposed to the question, "Why is Rugby (or Netball, or Hockey, or Cricket) compulsory?" How they would answer it? The same question posed to the Rugby Master, the Headmaster, Housemaster, Head of Year: would it produce the same answers? Is there an institutional conviction of the value?
An interesting challenge faces schools who believe in compulsory games. Why do they believe in them, and how can they express that belief in a way that is sufficiently compelling to convince parents who haven't grown up inheriting and unthinking acceptance of the place of games in education? An opportunity exists to sit the school's decision makers round the table and debate the value of games, the extent to which these potential values can be delivered to all pupils, and how this message can be convincingly delivered. If team games can't demand participation, they will need to attract it. If compliance cannot be taken for granted, it will have to be inspired.
Rather than bemoan a generation of parents who won't comply with the school's structures, maybe it offers a chance to work out exactly why compulsory games are such a good thing that they merit such a time commitment. And find ways of measuring the impact on pupils of all abilities.
Maybe the websites of the future will be spectacular justifications of the benefits of participation in games, and in exercise. Maybe they will passionately extol a school's commitment to developing and valuing a culture of participation and commitment: of health and fitness. And show how the benefits to individual pupils can be assured. (not a sentence)
Possibly the starting point is the discussion that leads to a party convincing line in answering the frequently asked, if awkward, question:
"What is the advantage to my child of taking part in the games programme? How can you ensure that these benefits will be delivered?"
* typically, private schools spend 175-200 minutes/week on Maths in Key Stage 3. Many schools operating a boarding type timetable require pupils to play 300-350 minutes of football, in practices and matches every week!