Talent@School: develop your sporting talent at school

The assumption of improving healthy lifestyle habits and preventing school dropout in children from disadvantaged educational contexts using the identification and development of their sports talent as a motivating factor is in line with the World Health Organization recommendations included in the Global “Action Plan for Physical Activity Promotion 2018-2030 (2018), to provide free access to enjoyable and affordable, socially- and culturally-appropriate experiences of physical activity and sport, focusing on grassroots community engagement. There is a growing trend among children towards sedentariness and obesity, as well as increasing constraints on interpersonal relationships among children (bullying, etc.) are regularly identified, especially in socially disadvantaged contexts. These children usually have more difficulties in accessing sports practice and collaborative social support networks, due to lack of financial or family support. This project intended to boost the health, sporting talent and improve the social integration of these children, taking sports and training dynamics to their schools, using their sporting talent as a fundamental vector for their motivation at school, in the club and the general life.

Talent@School's main objective was to create healthy lifestyle habits and prevent school dropout in disadvantaged children aged 10-15 using their sports talent as a motivating factor, through school empowerment and collaboration. More specifically, all the objectives and results pretended are summarized: 1) To improve participant’s Quality of Life, raising their awareness for the adoption of a healthy lifestyle, through participation in regular sporting activities, geared to their expectations and interests; 2) To stimulate the sporting and psychosocial skills of the participants, through the holding Masterclass, Workshops and Training Camps; 3) Prevention of school dropouts and integration of children from disadvantaged backgrounds, by carrying out this program in schools located in socio-economically disadvantaged contexts, allowing them access to qualified sports practice; 4) Training Physical Education teachers to identify and develop sporting talent in children and young people, through the development of an initial Training Plan and a mentoring process; 5) Establishment of collaborative networks between public institutions, schools, sports and social organizations, through the activities developed.

Sport activities were done for different target groups, for example: Workshops (WS), Masterclass (MC), and Training Camps (TC) for disadvantaged children & Mentoring Process (MP) and WS for their coaches and sports teachers: 1. WS intended to approach and develop in a motivating way, specific social themes and skills for the development of the participants; 2. MC enabled the promotion of differentiated sports activities, allowing children to choose more consciously a possible sports modality that they wanted to practice on a more regular basis, according to their talent; 3. TC were programs implemented in disadvantaged schools contexts, arranged to share sports activities with these communities. The involvement of young people in these dynamics increased, as expected, their motivation in school activities, favoring their commitment to school; 4. MP and WS for physical education teachers aimed to increase their knowledge and ability to detect talent during their regular activities. Thus, it was possible to share the referral of children and young people to vocational guidance services, thus favoring a more appropriate and motivating path in school and sports organizations, thus increasing their chances of sports success.

The participation of more than 300 students, 40 teachers and coaches realized T@S project. Other outcomes identified in children and young people living in vulnerable contexts, influenced by misinformation and lack of knowledge/opportunities, were the development of sports skills and literacy increment. Also, providing with a set of experiences (MC, WS, and TC), which they would not have access to, was pretended to enhance their motivation in regular school activities and lifestyle impacts. For teachers and coaches, giving them skills to identify and develop talent with an initial training plan, the project intended to encourage them for regular sports practice and through that look through children’s particular sports talent. There were established partnerships, for example, with Municipality of VN Gaia, Municipality of Becej, Canidelo Council, association sports for all Vojvodina and other stakeholders which helped the project’s dissemination, but also the greater involvement and articulation of all organizations in the educational process, contributing to a greater school path and sporting success of children and young people. Finally, this project has an available Cloud platform for all community (cf. T@S Google Cloud).