Special Needs Schools Programme News: Beech Academy Wins National Final at Lord’s

Working with special needs schools delivering specialist coaching in table and kwik cricket for young people with learning and physical disabilities to develop their skills and confidence.

Delivered in partnership with Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club and the Lord’s Taverners, the project also gives schools the opportunity to attend a Cricket & Countryside Education Day on the Belvoir Estate for their pupils to take part in cricket and countryside activities delivered by our volunteers including the huntsman, fishing experts and the birds of prey keepers.

2022 Outcomes

• 401 children took part in the project
• 197 children in 11 schools received 5 weeks of kwik cricket coaching
• 54 children from 4 schools visited the Belvoir Estate on a Cricket & Countryside Day
• 65 hours of curriculum coaching delivered and CPD opportunities provided to school staff
• 14 teams and over 100 children attended our Table Cricket tournament at Nottingham Trent University
• The programme was supported by the Lord’s Taverners to deliver the table cricket

“Allowing our children, most of whom have varying degrees of  profound learning or psychological difficulties, to access external expert coaching of the game has as you would expect been a great success on multiple levels. It has allowed our children to learn new sports related skills, work as part of a team, participate in competitions and learn to win and lose and most importantly develop their social skills and reduce social anxiety when travelling to competitions and meeting other competitors and adults.”
– Will Appleton: Redgate Primary School