A multi award-winning child development organisation is reporting a 60 percent increase in the number of schools it will work with in the new academic year.
Cardiff-based SuperStars has secured contracts with an additional 170 primary schools across the South West of England and Wales.
The company, which was founded by James Taylor in 2005, now works with over 400 primary schools and 60,000 children a week.
Capitalising on the legal requirement on schools to give teachers 10 percent of their time away from class for planning, preparation and assessment (PPA), Superstars provides schools with subject specialists in P.E, drama, music, art and modern foreign languages.
Recognised by Ofsted for raising the standards of learning in its specialist subject fields, the business has grown year on year since its inception.
James Taylor, managing director of SuperStars, said: “Our team has had a busy few months signing up new schools. We are finding that more and more head teachers are recognising the benefits of our in-school services, which provide a cost-effective way of aiding pupil development and improving behaviour standards.”
To cope with the additional workload, SuperStars has recruited over 100 new graduates through strategic relationships with Wales’ top universities.
James continued: “In order to sustain our business plan and additional workloads we have recruited 100 new graduates during the summer months to deliver our specialist services. These are the brightest graduates skilled in sport, languages, art, music and drama. We have really benefited from partnering with some of Wales’ leading universities, which has given us access to a talent pool allowing us to recruit the best in the market.”
The business has seen considerable growth across the South West of England. This is on the back of the Government’s ‘Sport Premium’ funding initiative introduced earlier this year which ring fences £150m a year for the next two years for state primary schools in England to pay for extra coaching sessions to improve the quality of sports and PE provision.
James added: “It is fantastic that the UK Government acknowledges that PE and sport should play a central role in every pupil’s education, as the skills gained from participating in sport are crucial in a child’s development.
“We are encouraging primary schools across the South West to make the most of this funding. As well as helping schools enrich their PE experience through in-curriculum sports programmes, we are working with schools to upskill their staff to ensure that high quality PE provision is truly sustainable, and providing added value lunch-time and afterschool clubs for further development.
“It is a shame that no such funding is available in Wales as it would help get the future generation active and excited about fitness and assist the country in tackling its growing childhood obesity epidemic.”
In addition to providing PPA cover, SuperStars’ in-school services include after-school clubs and lunch clubs. Out of school, the company provides holiday clubs, Saturday courses and birthday parties throughout the year.