Scottish FA – Extra Time
A new partnership between the Scottish FA and the Scottish Government is harnessing the Power of Football to help to provide invaluable after school and holiday activity clubs for primary school aged children.
The Scottish FA Extra Time programme sees investment of £1.8 million from the Scottish Government divided across the participating football clubs and trusts across the country.
Three Glasgow primary schools currently participate in the programme with the Foundation. Our neighbours in Ibrox Primary were first to sign up before being joined by Pirie Park Primary School and Riverside Primary School.
School pupils have access to food and drink as well as the option to participate in arts and crafts or physical activity. With the programme being delivered at the Ibrox Community Complex, pupils are able to make use of the newly laid 11-aside 3G surface to keep active.
The initiative has it’s own parent support group which is supported by our in-house trauma counsellor. Parents also have opportunities to further their employment prospects by completing qualifications and enhancing their CV’s through employability sessions.
Through wider engagement with local support services, schools and local authorities the programme aims to tackle poverty by designing a system of accessible and affordable school age childcare for children from low-income families, while also reducing barriers to a range of activities around the school day.
In addition to offering increased accessibility to organised children’s activity for targeted families, the programme provides wider impacts to families and communities by allowing parents and carers to sustain and/or increase their working hours, improve employment circumstances, take up training or studying, and facilitate respite opportunities.
Additionally, through comprehensive monitoring and evaluation, the programme has developed a better understanding into the role that organised children’s activities can play in tackling food insecurities, as well as indicators to measure improved mental health for families and wider outcomes.
Paul McNeill, Head of Football Development at the Scottish FA: “The Scottish FA Extra Time Programme is a prime example of the power that football wields to positively impact communities throughout the nation.
“Most families know only too well how difficult it is to balance childcare with the pressures of modern-day life and this partnership with the Scottish Government helps to provide families with invaluable flexibility that can benefit them in a variety of areas.
“Equally importantly, the programme engages primary school aged children in football, exposing them to the well-documented myriad physical and mental wellbeing benefits that football participation brings.”
For more information on the Scottish FA Extra Time programme, including a full list of clubs involved, contact clubservices@scottishfa.co.uk
