2003 Special Olympics World Summer Games

School Enrichment Programme After Action Report

August 2003

Contents: Page

Section 1: Summary 3

Section 2: Objectives 6

Section 3: Materials in the Programme

3.1 Primary Sector Booklets 8 3.2 Primary Sector Video 15 3.3 Post Primary Booklets 18 3.4 Post Primary Video 23 3.5 Website 25 3.6 Evaluation 26 3.7 Third Level Sector 27

Section 4: Communications and Promotion of the 29 Programme

Section 5: Links with other programmes 35 in the Games

Section 6 Staffing and Organisational Structure 39

Section 7: Budgeting 40

Section 8: Timelines 41

Appendices 1- 10

Section 1: Summary

For some people wit h a lear ning disabilit y being called a r et ar d can be a common occur r ence in t heir daily lives. For ot her s it is j ust being ignor ed. These t ypes of obj ect ionable at t it udes wer e challenged by t he school enr ichment pr ogr amme t hat was launched on Fr iday, 4th Oct ober 2002 by t he or ganiser s of t he 2003 Special Olympics Wor ld Games. This was an unique educat ion init iat ive t hat went int o all pr imar y and post -primary schools both in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.

The School Enr ichment Pr ogr amme was one of t he impor t ant init iatives under t aken by t he Games Or ganising Commit t ee and it was designed t o pr omot e awar eness wit hin schools and colleges ar ound t he 32 count ies of I r eland about people wit h lear ning disabilit ies, Special Olympics and t he 2003 Special Olympics World Summer Games.

The Pr ogr amme was developed wit h t he f ull suppor t and co-oper at ion of t he Depar t ment s of Educat ion in Nor t her n I r eland and t he Republic of I r eland. This Pr ogr amme was unique in sof ar as it was t he f ir st t ime t he r espect ive Depar t ment s had come t oget her t o init iat e a common t eaching and lear ning programme for schools in both jurisdictions.

Paul Br own, School Enr ichment Pr ogr amme Manager f or t he 2003 Wor ld Games Or ganising Commit t ee consult ed widely in t he cr eat ion and development of t his Pr ogr amme. Teacher s, par ent s, st udent s wit h and wit hout a lear ning disabilit y, t eacher unions and cur r iculum bodies all cont r ibut ed. As par t of it s development , t he Pr ogr amme was successf ully pilot ed in bot h pr imar y and post -pr imar y schools, Nor t h and Sout h, in November 2001 and again during February- April 2002.

Speaking at t he launch of t he pr ogr amme, Mar t in McGuinness, Minist er f or Education for Northern Ireland said Get t ing t he best f or young people wit h Special Educat ional Needs has always been a t op pr ior it y f or me and I am delight ed t o suppor t t he Special Olympics Wor ld Games and it s accompanying school enr ichment pr ogr amme. This is an excellent chance f or our young people to appreciate and value difference and the achievements of t hese special at hlet es.

At pr imar y level in bot h educat ional syst ems, t he educat ion pack cont ained f our booklet s cover ing t hr ee modules: Lear ning Disabilit y, Special Olympics, and t he 2003 Special Olympics Wor ld Summer Games, and included lesson plans and r esour ce mat er ials f or all classes. A 30-minut e video was also produced specif ically f or pr imar y schools and cover ed t he same t hr ee modules.

At post -pr imar y level, t he educat ion pack cover ed t he same t hr ee modules as pr imar y level, cont aining lesson plans and r esour ce mat er ials f or all class levels and a 30 minut e video. I n t he Republic of I r eland, at post -primary level, t he mat er ials wer e ver y applicable t o t he: Tr ansit ion Year Pr ogr amme, Civic, Social and Political Educational Programme, Leaving Certificate Applied Programme and Religious Pr ogr amme. At post -pr imar y level in Nor t her n Ireland, the materials were linked to their curriculum accordingly.

Universities and colleges r eceived a resource pack that included a case study and video mat er ial cover ing t he 2003 Special Olympics Wor ld Summer Games. These were incor por at ed int o classes in cer t ain f acult ies, especially at post gr aduat e level. For example, in business schools a case st udy was used to teach students about project management.

As one of t he six maj or sponsor s of t he 2003 Wor ld Games, An Post was specif ically r esponsible f or t he School Enr ichment Pr ogr amme and it s development was significantly supported by them.

Their Chief Execut ive J ohn Hynes said The values of diver sit y, and a deeper under st anding of people wit h a lear ning disabilit y, must be lear ned at an ear ly age. This educat ion pr ogr amme, which An Post is delight ed t o sponsor, will give our children the opportunity to grow up with enlightenment. I n t his way it has t he pot ent ial t o ef f ect a necessar y long t er m change in attidude in our society.

I n associat ion wit h 2003 Special Olympics Wor ld Summer Games (SOWSG), An Post issued t his compr ehensive Educat ion Pack and Wor ld Games video t o 4,200 primary and 1,100 post primary schools around the island of Ireland in September 2002.

It was not compulsory for schools to undertake this School Enrichment Programme but given that Ireland was hosting the World Games in the next year and that practically every community thoughout the island of Ireland had some involvement either as a Host Town or an athlete competing from their area it was hoped that teachers would teach this unique programme in the classroom.

The lesson plans touched the students in a variety of ways. They inspired by illustrating the issues that impact on people with a learning disability. They showcased the determination of Special Olympics athletes in sport and in life and they educated the students by informing them about the 2003 SOWSG.

Many t eacher s and st udent s got involved in t he School Enr ichment Pr ogr amme and Shar e t he Feeling t hat t he 2003 SOWSG inspir ed and hopef ully in t he f ut ur e mont hs and year s t he school enr ichment pr ogr amme will play a maj or par t in t he legacy of t he Wor ld Games f or people wit h a learning disability.

Section 2:Objectives of the Programme

To receive approval for the programme by the curriculum bodies in Northern Iralnd and the Republic of Ireland by May 2002

To develop qualit y mat er ials, including booklet s and a video t hat would be sent to 4, 200 primary and 1,100 post primary schools in September 2002

To link the school enrichment pr ogr amme wit h ot her pr ogr ammes in the GOC including t he Law Enf or cement Tor ch Run, Volunteer, Fundr aising , Families, and the Host Town programmes

To pr omot e and communicat e t he pr ogr amme t o t he t eacher s

unions and other relevant groups in order to gain their acceptance

To encour age int egr at ion t hr ough a Special Olympics Day in Schools in May 2003

To evaluat e t he usage and value of t he pr ogr amme of t he School Enr ichment Programme

To develop a case study for third level universities and colleges

To increase current knowledge about people with learning disabilities thereby promoting a more positive approach towards those individuals

To increase understanding of students of the potential of people with learning disabilities in the area of sport

To wor k wit h t he sponsor in pr omot ing t heir link wit h t he Wor ld Games and the School Enrichment Programme

To pr omot e t he School Enr ichment Pr ogr amme t hr ough r adio and t he ot her forms of media

To promote awareness within schools and colleges around the 32 counties of Ireland about Special Olympics and people with learning disabilities

To promote awareness within schools and colleges around the 32 counties of Ireland about the 2003 Special Olympics World Summer Games

To integrate students with and without learning disabilities in the area of sport and to offer opportunities for students in schools to get involved in

the 2003 Special Olympics World Summer Games.

I t can be seen in t he r epor t t hat all t he obj ect ives wer e achieved t hough is some cases t he obj ect ives should have been mor e measur able as it was dif f icult t o know exact ly how t hey wer e at t ained unless a huge evaluat ion study took place.

Section 3: Materials in the Programme

3.1 Primary Sector Booklets

Materials

At primary level there were 4 booklets for ages from 4- 12 that fitted into the curricula both north and south of the country.

The programme was cross-curricular (see Curricular Links-Appendix 1) and used an active learning approach. A wide variety of methods were employed throughout the programme; stories, games, video, circle work, images, discussion, artwork, drama, worksheets, visualisation, word-searches and map-work .

There were four similar but distinct programmes for use in the Primary School sector.

Republic of Ireland

Northern Ireland

Current Curriculum

Northern Ireland Proposed Curriculum

Terminology

Junior / Senior Infants

Primary 1 / 2 Foundation Stage / Year 2

First / Second Class

Primary 3 /4 Year 3 / 4

Key Stage 1

Third / Fourth Class

Primary 5 / 6 Year 5 / 6

Fifth Class Primary 7 Year 7

Key Stage 2

Each programme had three modules with between two and four lessons in each module- (Appendix 2 ). The duration of a lesson varied from twenty minutes to one hour. With a longer lesson the teacher could decide to carry over part of that lesson to the following day or select from among the activities, bearing in mind the objectives for the lesson.

Great sensitivity was called for in using the programme in situations where children with learning disabilities were integrated into the mainstream class, particularly in regard to language and attitude. The factsheet on learning disability was be used in some instances to help in that situation.

Teachers were asked to adopt a flexible approach both to the programme as a whole and to the individual lessons adapting them where necessary to the abilities, needs and interests of the children in their class/school. They were also encouragedto continue to use the programme long after the 2003 Special Olympics World Summer Games have passed into memory.

Development

The initial stages involved discussions with different groups including teachers and pupils in main stream and special schools, parents of children with learning disabilities, athletes, t eacher s unions, curriculum bodies and expert groups at primary sector level. These talks occurred between January and May 2001.

Materials that were developed for previous Games including North Carolina and Alaska and the materials that constitute the Get into Programme from Special Olympics International were also examined.

In July 2001 a teachers wor kshop course was run for 12 primary school teachers who had been carefully selected after talking to the primary school teachers union- t he I r ish Nat ional Teacher s Or ganisat ion ( I NTO).

The teaching workshop was held for one week- from 9-3 each day . On the first day the teachers were given sessions on learning disability, Special Olympics and the Special Olympics World Games. They then broke up into 4 different groups and started writing lesson plans. At the end of each day a general session took place where different generic issues were debated.

During the week talks were given by staff from Special Olympics Ireland and World Games, from parents of athletes and a visit was made to a special centre.

The lesson plans were then re written by the school enrichment programme manager during August 2001. These lesson plans were then piloted in 30 pr imar y schools ar ound t he count r y. Feedback was not ed f r om t he t eacher s evaluations and the lesson plans were then rewritten and this draft was piloted in 10 primary schools in January 2002.

The final redrafting was completed by the end of March 2002 by the school enrichment programme manager and a primary school teacher who was employed on a part time contract basis

That draft was sent to the designers in April 2002. The final product was signed off by the GOC on the 31st July 2003 after much proofreading by the school enrichment programme manager and the publications manager and her team. All the materials were translated into Irish in March 2003.

Comments:

The main concern in the development of the programme related to what content should be included in the programme and how it could be linked to the existing and proposed curriculum. The curricular links were imperative as schools and teachers get many packs into schools every day and the School Enrichment Programme had to stand out if there was going to be high usage.

The teachers workshop was one of the main reasons why the programme was used so much in primary schools. The teachers chosen had the experience and expertise to know what type of materials would be used and how the materials could fit into the present and future curricula. It is clear from the evaluations that teachers liked the format of the 4 booklets rather than putting the materials into one large folder.

Recommendations:

Initiate discussions with the curriculum bodies, expert groups and the Department of Educat ion and t eacher s unions, 18 months before the start of the programme in schools

A t eacher s wor kshop should t ake place 12 months before the completion of the materials. An attendance of 12 teachers maximum is sufficient at this workshop.

There should be only one pilot project with more development done before the pilot programme.

2 months should be allowed for proofing materials.

The materials should be in a booklet form and the content should in a modular format. Delivery of the programme should take place in the academic year before the start of the Games- approximately 9 months out.

Design, Printing and Packaging

The design stage started with a design company in September 2001. There were many designs done before we arrived at the design that is seen in the booklet which was signed off in April 2002.

Printing was done by a company linked to the An Post sponsor. Printing was completed within a three week period.

The four booklets and the video were packaged in a box type structure as seen below.

Fulfilment and Distribution

The packs were sent from the printing company with a letter (see appendix 3) to the principal of the 4, 200 primary schools. The address labels where used from our database which we had received from the Department of Education, both North and South and they were put onto the envelopes using the pr int er s computer system.

The cost of the postage was taken from the value in kind that we had from the sponsor of the programme- An Post. The design, printing and packaging and f ulfilment and distribution was similar for the post primary materials.

Comments:

The actual design was initiated much too early. It should have started when more feedback was acquired from the pilot projects.

The tender for the printing contract was done very late in the process at a time when deadlines were very tight near the end of the project.

Much discussion took place as to how the 4 booklets and the video should be packaged. It was decided that it was worth spending money on having high quality packaging so that the school enrichment programme would stand out in schools and this would encourage high usage. It also helped to keep the materials in good condition so they would last longer in the schools. Also putting the books in one package meant that the booklets were kept together in the staff room.

Fulfillment and distribution was achieved within a two week period.

There were concerns that a certain % of schools (approximately 3%) did not originally receive their materials. This could have occurred because of an inaccurate database or the distribution system fell down at a particular stage.

Recommendations:

Work with the design company should be initiated after feedback from the pilot projects and should occur 8 months before the start of the programme.

Tender for the printing company should take place 5 months before the start of the programme.

Printing should occur 2 months out from the beginning of the programme.

Check that the database for schools is up to date and there should be constant monitoring of the fulfilment and distribution of the materials.

3.2: Primary Sector Video

Material

The lesson plans were accompanied by a 30 minute video which covered the 3 modules used in the booklets and it contained three parts. The script was tailored specifically for the primary sector and the celebrities used in this video were chosen to suit this age group. The three parts were:

Part I: Learning Disability

When producing this part of the video there was an attempt to highlight the following themes:

Words really hurt

Celebrate Similarity

Focus on the ability of the person not their disability

Respect the individuality/personality

Accept the person as they are

Look beyond the physical image- Open our eyes

Medical reasons for learning disability

No more Name Calling

We can all make a difference

Courage of the person

Part II: Special Olympics

This section of the video made the students more aware of the:

Benefits of Sport to the athletes and their parents

Benefits of Special Olympics to the athletes and their parents

Involvement of the community in Special Olympics

Huge commitment of the Athletes, Parents/Sponsors and Coaches

in actually getting to the National Games/World Games.

The following themes were also emphasised:

Effort/Commitment/Pride of the athletes

Hard Work/Hard Training/Team Work

Co-Operation/Support

Aspiration/Goal/Ambition/Passionate

Development of the athlete

Representing their country

Part III: 2003 Special Olympics World Summer Games

This section of the video made the students more aware of the:

Forthcoming Special Olympics World Summer Games

Host Town Programme

The Song: Absolut ely Ever ybody was chosen f or it s cont ent and it s upbeat music.

Development

Having decided the content of the booklets, the scripting of the video was initiated and completed with the help of an advertising consultant who had worked with Special Olympics movement for the previous two years. It was decided to do the video in the modular format to compliment the booklet and to make sure that the video did not get outdated.

The script was started in September 2001 and filming took place in December and January 2002. The final edit was finished on the 15th March 2002.

Production was done in cooperation with a film company the Yard who were one of the Games supplier s- see photo overleaf.

Copying of the 5,000 primary school videos was completed by June 30, 2002. It was enclosed in a box with a cover which had the same look as the cover on the booklet. One video was sent to each school.

Comments

The video turned out to be an extremely important part of the School Enrichment Programme and as a general educational tool for the World Games. The video, especially the section on learning disability was in used for training the games volunteers and the host town volunteers.

It proved to be one of the most used of all the materials and was particularly suitable for the media conscious students and teacher. It was also a perfect way to teach students of all age groups about learning disability and to explain to students about the size and excitement of the World Games.

Recommendations:

Time and budget should be allocated for the development of a video 18 months from the start of the programme in schools.

Six months should be allocated to the scripting and filming of the video.

It should be in modular format- Part I , II and III.

Scripting is extremely important especially for the section on learning disability and much care is needed re the age group of the audience.

Copying of video should be allocated one month and supervision should take place re quality spot checks are recommended.

3.3: Post Primary Booklets

Materials

At Post Pr imar y Level, t he educat ion pack cover ed t hr ee modules: Lear ning Disabilit y; Special Olympics; and t he 2003 Special Olympics Wor ld Games, and contained lesson plans and resource materials for all class levels.

In the Republic of Ireland the materials were very applicable to the:

Transition Year Programme

Civic, Social and Political Educational Programme

Leaving Certificate Applied Programme

Religious Programme

The School Enrichment Programme at post primary level offered the opportunity for students to explore the following areas:

Learning disability.

The role played by the Special Olympics.

The unique privilege it is for Ireland to host these World Games.

Ways in which, both as individuals and collectively, we can learn from and contribute to this event.

Each lesson was laid out in the following format: a) Introduction (Basic concept of the lesson). b) Learning Outcomes (What the lesson intended to achieve). c) Lesson preparation. d) Materials (Resources required for the lesson). e) Methodology (Step by step guidelines).

The School Enrichment Programme was also divided into three modules, each comprising three lessons.

Module 1: Learning Disability

Lesson 1 looked at learning disability, what it is, the barriers created within society for those with a learning disability, and how we can address them.

Lesson 2 dealt with the importance of how we use language in relation to disability/learning disability. Lesson 3 looked specifically at the area of human rights/ learning disability.

Module 2: Special Olympics

Lesson 4 investigated the role played by sport in enabling people with a learning disability to realise their potential. Lesson 5 studied the Special Olympics athletes oat h. Lesson 6 was a case study based on Lisa McNabb, an athlete in Special Olympics.

Module 3: 2003 Special Olympics World Summer Games

Lesson 7 dealt with the logistics of hosting the 2003 Special Olympics World Summer Games. Lesson 8 examined the vital role played by the Host Towns in these Games. Lesson 9 concerned the pivotal role played by the volunteer.

The lessons were designed in a modular format so that teachers could decide to complete all the modules or could choose to do only one module depending upon the type of class that was been taught or the time available to the teacher. Each lesson was designed to take approximately 45 minutes. However if the follow-up exercises were completed the lesson may have needed two class periods. For each of the subject areas a different introduction was included in each booklet.

Development

The initial stages involved discussions with different groups including teachers and pupils in main stream and special schools, parents of children with learning disabilities, athletes, t eacher s unions, curriculum bodies and expert groups at post primary sector level. These talks occur red between January and May 2001.

Materials that were developed for previous Games including North Carolina and Alaska and the materials that constitute the Get into Programme from Special Olympics International were also examined.

In July 2001 a t eacher s wor kshop course was run for 25 post primary school teachers from 4 different subject areas who had been carefully selected after talking to the post primary school teachers union- the TUI and the ASTI- see photos above

The lesson plans were then re written by the school enrichment programme manager during August 2001. These lesson plans were then piloted in 15 post primary schools ar ound t he count r y. Feedback was not ed f r om t he t eacher s evaluations and the lesson plans were then rewritten and this draft was piloted in 10 post primary schools in January 2002.

The final redrafting was completed by the end of March 2002 by the school enrichment programme manager and 4 post primary school teachers who were employed on a part time contract basis

That draft was sent to the designers in April 2002. The final product was signed off by the GOC on the 31st July 2003 after much proofreading by the school enrichment programme manager and the publications manager and her team. All the materials were translated into Irish in March 2003.

3.4: Post Primary Video

The lesson plans were accompanied by a 30 minute video which also covered the 3 modules used in the booklets. The script was tailored specifically for the post primary sector and the celebrities used in this video were chosen to suit this age group. The three parts were as follows.

Part I: Learning Disability

The video highlighted the following themes:

Words really hurt

Celebrate similarity

Focus on a per son s abilit y, not disabilit y

Respect individuality/personality

Accept a person as she/he is

Look beyond the physical image - Open your Eyes

Medical reasons for learning disability

No more name-calling

We can all make a difference

A per son s cour age

Part II: Special Olympics

This section of the video made the students more aware of the:

Benefits of sport to the athletes and their parents.

Benefits of Special Olympics to the athletes and their parents.

Involvement of the community in Special Olympics.

Huge commitment of the athletes, parents/sponsors and coaches coming to the National Games/World Games.

The following themes were also emphasised:

Effort/commitment/pride

Hard work/hard training/team work

Cooperation/support

Aspiration/goal/ambition/passionate

Development of the athlete

Representing your country

Part III: 2003 Special Olympics World Summer Games

This section of the video made the students more aware of the:

Forthcoming Special Olympics World Summer Games.

Host Town Programme.

Volunteer Programme.

The Song: Absolut ely Ever ybody was chosen f or it s cont ent and it s upbeat music.

Comments

The video turned out to be an extremely important part of the School Enrichment Programme and as a general educational tool for the Games.

It proved to be one of the most used of all the materials at post primary level. It also was a perfect way to teach students of all age group about learning disability and to explain to students about the size and excitement of the World Games.

Recommendations:

Promote the video every strongly in any communications with post primary schools

Time and budget should be allocated for the development of a video 18 months from the start of the programme in schools.

Six months should be allocated to the scripting and filming of the video.

It should be in modular format- Part I ,II and III.

Scripting was extremely important especially for the section on learning disability and much care is needed re the age group of the audience.

Copying of video should be allocated one month and supervision should take place re quality spot check.

3.5 Website

The website was developed in cooperation with a group in a Dublin University. This group is generally responsible for a website run by the Department of Education which informs teachers about different subject matters. The development started in July 2002 and the website was hosted on their scoilnet website in October 2002 and it had a link to our Games website and vice versa. The content was exactly the same as in the booklets and when the booklets were translated into Irish these copies were posted on their website. The school enrichment programme was highlighted when you opened their website.

It recommended that the same procedure is done in the development and the hosting of the website. The process worked very well.

3.6 Evaluation

60 teachers in 30 primary schools and 30 teachers in 20 post primary schools around the island of Ireland were sent an evaluation form (see Appendix 4) in April/May 2003 . The response rate was 72% which was very satisfactory but his had been achieved after much communication.

The study showed that in the primary school sector the uptake of the programme averaged 80% of classes that had taken up the programme in some way or another whilst in the primary sector it was only 53% This was very understandable as the primary school sector has much more flexibility in the classroom.

The results on the other sections including content of the booklets and the video and the competitions are reviewed in the relevant sections.

It is recommended that if possible there should be a joint study with the Department of Education or a University/Training colleges to do an more comprehensive survey of the uptake and quality of the programme. This could be used in the future to link up with the Department to pursue the use of the programme in future curriculum aspect on learning disability.

3.7 Third Level Sector

Material

The case study

(see Appendix 5) was written by two lecturers in University College Dublin. It was intended that the student body that would use the case was at post graduate level in business schools and social policy schools. The academic focus of the case was related to stakeholder theory.

It was placed on the university website and included video clips that were used in the Games. It was accepted by the European Case Clearing House in April 2003 and an off shoot of the case see Appendix 5 will be included in an international marketing book in October 2003.

Development

As background the authors read a huge amount of material concerning the Games. Interviews for the case were conducted by the authors in conjunction with the GOC from 27th March 2002- end of April 2002. Interviewees included GOC staff including the CEO, volunteers, sponsors and government representatives. It was written up over a 2 month period and was piloted in MBA classes in September/October 2002. It was then redrafted and went to print in January 2003.

Interviews are presently taking place with staff, sponsors and volunteers to gain their reaction post Games. It is intended that a follow-up case will be go to print in December 2003.

Comments & Recommendations:

The case study proved a very valuable asset for lecturers of MBA classes in universities around the island of Ireland. It was also a useful exercise for the organisation. More time should be allocated by a member of staff to pursue this type of project with universities/colleges as it was very important exercise and will be part of the legacy of the Games. Also there should be a small budget put aside for its development.

Section 4: Communication and Promotion of the Programme

The promotion and communication of the programme consisted of many different strategies which are discussed in the following sector.

Host Town Coordinators

There was one educational coordinator on every host town committee. The role of this person was to promote the school enrichment programme in the schools in their host town and surrounding areas. The volunteer was asked to encourage schools to take part in the school enrichment programme and to keep the schools informed about what was happening in the Host Town Programme.

Training of these volunteers took place throughout the nine regions of the country from the 23rd September to the 8th October 2002. At these sessions the volunteers were brought through the content of the school enrichment programme and were informed about how they could try to promote the programme.

Dublin Based Co- ordinators

Training of these volunteers took place throughout the Dublin region from the 10th October to the 28th October 2002. At these sessions the volunteers were brought through the content of the school enrichment programme and were informed how they could try to promote the programme within the Dublin Region this region did not have a host town programme.

Media

Many methods were used including print and radio media. The above advertisement was printed 2 weeks after the launch of the programme.

Presentations

To promote the programme presentations were given to many different groups including:

Primary Schools Union Primary schools principals/teachers INTO Convention- primary Minister of Education- South Minister of Education-North ASTI and TUI- post primary unions Support Service Units- expert groups Post primary schools principals/teachers Curriculum Bodies

Presentations were also given in all the training colleges for primary and post primary teachers throughout the island of Ireland from September to April 2003 and to the primary and post primary school inspectors in February 2003.

Brochure/Letter to the schools

A brochure (see Appendix 6 ) was sent to all primary schools in May 2002 to inform schools that the programme was coming to the school in the next academic year. This proved to be a very useful tool.

National Launch of the Programme

Or iginally it was agr eed t o have a launch of t he school s pr ogr amme in February 2002 to highlight the fact that the programme was arriving into schools in September 2002. This did not happen as t her e was a t eacher s st r ike and it was f elt t hat it was inappr opr iat e t o have a launch of a school s programme at that time.

The National launch took place in the National Concert Hall in Dublin on the 4th October 2002. It was a formal lunch for 160 guests and was hosted by the Ministers for Education for the North and South of Ireland. Invitations were jointly sent out from the GOC and An Post.

The Pr ogr amme was launched at a Recept ion in t he Nat ional Concer t Hall and speeches wer e made by Noel Dempsey T.D., Minist er f or Educat ion & Science; Mar t in McGuinness MP, MLA, Minist er of Educat ion; J ohn Hynes, Chief Execut ive Of f icer , An Post , sponsor of t he School Enr ichment Pr ogr amme and Denis O Br ien, Chair man, 2003 Wor ld Games Or ganising Committee.

Today s launch r eally goes t o t he hear t of what Special Olympics and t he Wor ld Games ar e about . We believe t he School Enr ichment Pr ogr amme will be one of t he gr eat legacies of st aging t he Wor ld Games in I r eland. The legacy we want t o leave is a last ing memor y of abilit y. We want t o cr eat e an awar eness t hat Special Olympics is about r emoving bar r ier s. I t s about cr eat ing conf idence and t r ust , enabling at hlet es t o achieve because t hey believe and because t hey ar e r espect ed. And we want t o show t he whole community that when the barriers are removed, there are no limits to human potential he added.

Denis O Br ien, Chair man, 2003 Wor ld Games Or ganising Commit t ee.

Students from primary and post primary schools were interviewed concerning their understanding of the SEP and how the student body could benefit from the programme. A primary school choir performed at the ceremony. The cost of the launch was covered by the sponsor An Post. The launch was covered in the National Papers see photos overleaf

From left-r ight -Paul Brown-school enrichment programme manager- GOC, Minister Martin Mc Guinness, Peter Brennan-student, Minister Noel Dempsey, Patrick Cahill-student, Deirdre Traynor-student

The launch proved to be a successful occasion. It is recommended that the Minister of Education is involved in launching the programme as it brings credence to the programme.

Competitions

Two competitions were run throughout all primary and post primary schools by the GOC in conjunction with the sponsor An Post.

The first competition took place in October 2001 and the second competition arrived into primary and post primary school in November 2002 with the closing date of the end of January 2003.

Examples of the competitions from 2002 can be seen in Appendix7

The theme of the competition was the Four Corners of Ireland welcome the f our cor ner s of t he Wor ld . I t included a cr eat ive writing and art competition and prizes were given to the students and the teachers. The competition was based on materials in the School Enrichment Programme.

The competition in November 2002 was done in conjunction with An Post and Kelloggs. An advertising campaign was initiated in September 2002 see above photograph.

An Post had been running competitions in schools from 1992-2003 and the uptake for the competitions related to the World Games were three times as much as usual.

Awards were given at a ceremony in the Four Seasons Hotel on April 2003

The winning entries at primary and post primary can be viewed in Appendix 8.

The competitions were a very important link to the School Enrichment Programme. It encouraged many of the teachers to take part in the programme as the students had to have done the programme before they could enter the competition.

It is recommended that a competition should be held in schools 6- 8 months before the Games and 2 months after the materials have arrived into schools and that an advertising campaign is required for the competition. Prizes should be valuable enough to encourage teachers and their students to enter.

Section 5: Link with other programmes in the Games

Law Enforcement Torch Run

All primary schools were asked to design and build a torch to join the Torch Run Final Leg Team as it passed through their host town.

All schools involved were asked to nominate a student to represent them to run with their torch, accompanying the Torch Run Final Leg team as it passes through their community. This runner was accompanied by his/her classmates/schoolmates. Each school was asked to participate with a special needs school in their area if possible. Representatives from both schools could design and build a torch for this project.

This project was done in conjunction with the police forces. The police forces went into schools and informed the class about the law enforcement torch run- see Appendix 9. The photograph overleaf gives an example of the project in a Northern Ireland school.

Families Programme

Families are at the heart of Special Olympics and two programmes were designed to help the visiting families of Special Olympics athletes during their trip to Ireland. The Host a Family Programme offered visiting families the chance to stay with a family in the greater Dublin area free of charge for the duration of the Games. The Family Ambassador Programme offered local families the chance to spend time with the family of a Special Olympics athlete on one or more occasions during the Games, bringing them sight-seeing or to a local restaurant, and helping them see Dublin through the eyes of the locals. Schools, especially in the Dublin region were encouraged to get the parents and their families to be part of these programmes. Information was put in the school enrichment programme about the families programmes.

Volunteer Programme

The 2003 Special Olympics World Summer Games Organising Committee (GOC) recruited 30,000 volunteers to help with all aspects of staging the Games, from administration to sports and event management to finance and medical support. In the school enrichment programme students who were 16 years of age or more by June 2003 were encouraged to take part in the World Games. Information was in the booklets and on t he school s video.

Host Town Programme

The Host Town Programme is one of the hallmark programmes of the Special Olympics World Games in Ireland, where each visiting delegation spent time with a local community on the island of Ireland for four days before the competition began. Schools were encouraged to get involved in the programme and in many cases the students were very enthusiastic- see front cover.

Fundraising

The Support an Athlete Programme was designed to help Special Olympics athletes have the very best experience possible during their trip to Ireland for the 2003 Special Olympics World Summer Games. Individuals, organisations and schools were asked to fundraise 1000 euro for each athlete that they wanted to sponsor. Information on this campaign was included in the booklets in the school enrichment programme. The schools programme proved to be an excellent introduction for this campaign as the schools understood exactly why they were raising the money.

Spectator Teams

The chief executive officer of the Games sent a letter to all primary schools to invite them to spectate at the Games. There was no formal organisation of this process but still many schools attend the sporting competitions.

Sponsors

An Post had been allocated the school enrichment programme which fitted their marketing mix as they had a relationship with schools for the previous ten years.

During the two years before the Games there was a great attempt at developing the relationship with the sponsor of the school enrichment programme, An Post by the school enrichment manager. There was constant communication with the sponsor during that time re competitions, the content and design of the programme. During the stage of the printing there was a souring of the relationship that had been built up as it had never been made clear as to who should pay for the printing of the materials. Finally it was agreed that it should be spilt 50/50.

It is recommended that it should be made very clear at the outset the exact conditions of the contract. This is especially important when the sponsor is linked to a specific programme.

Section 6: Staffing and Organisational Structure

The staffing of the programme consisted of:

1 full time staff- school enrichment programme manager. This person was on a 3 year secondment from the Department of Education from January 2001-January 2004.

1 full time member of staff-primary school coordinators in the Republic of Ireland. This staff member was on a 3 month secondment from the Department of Education in from September 2002-December 2002.

2 full time staff-primary school and post primary coordinators in Northern Ireland. These staff members were on a 9 month secondment from the Department of Education in Northern Ireland from September 2002-June 2003.

All of the three coordinators were highly committed, self starters and brought and huge amount of expertise and experience to the project. They did excellent work in promoting the programme which was essential to the success of the programme.

It is highly recommended that a team of people are employed much earlier in the project.

The school enrichment programme was housed in the department of support and volunteers (see Appendix 10) . This worked well, especially as the school s pr ogr amme had many links with the host town programme.

Section 7: Budgeting

The main part of the budget was used for the development of the materials and the copying and printing of the video and the booklets.

Printing and Copying 45,000 euro Training and Development 10,000 euro Distribution/Postage 10,000 euro

The staffing costs were nil as all the staff were on secondment from the Departments of Education.

An Post the sponsor paid for the launch of the programme and their share of the printing costs. The payment for these should have been included in the World Games budget.

The budget for the school enrichment programme was way too low and it should have been made very clear from the start how much money is actually available for this programme.

Section 8: Timelines

2001

Discussions with groups re content complete Fri 16/05/01

Teachers workshops complete Fri 06/07/01

Pilot Material-Phase I designed-primary Wed 16/09/01 Scripting of Video complete Fri 12/11/01 Competitions number 1-An Post arrive in schools Mon 20/11/ 01

Meeting with Minister of Education- South Fri 14/12/01 Meeting with Minister of Education-North Thu 20/12/01

2002

Pilot Material-Phase II designed-primary Wed 16/01/02 Venue secured for Phase I launch Fri 18./01/02 Invitations sent for Phase 1 Tue 29/01/02 Pilot Material Designed-Secondary Tue 29/01/02

Launch Dublin-Phase I Mon 25/02/02 Launch Belfast-Phase I Thu 28/02/02

Primary schools principals/teachers informed of programme Fri 15/03/02 Secondary schools principals/teachers informed of programme Fri 22/03/02 Pilot Project completed-Secondary Mon 25/03/02

Pilot Phase II complete-Primary Thu 04/04/02 Video complete Wed 24/04/02 Organisational Structure Set Up-primary Fri 26/04/02

Curriculum Bodies approval of materials Fri 03/05/02 Organisational Structure Set Up-Secondary Mon 06/05/02 Brochure/Letter to the schools Mon 20/05/02 Case Study initiated for third level Mon 20/05/02

Primary School Communications complete Pre Launch Fri 31/05/02 Secondary School Communications complete Pre Launch Tue 28/05/02

Final Material Complete-primary Wed 10/07/02 Final Material Complete-Secondary Wed 10/07/02 Web Design initiated-primary Fri 12/07/02 Web Design Complete initiated-secondary Fri 12/07/02 Venue secured for Phase II launch Fri 19/07/02

Invitations sent for Phase II launch Mon 26/08/02 Primary Materials in Warehouse Thu 29/08/02 Secondary Materials in Warehouse Thu 29/08/02

3 staff on secondment Mon 02/09/02 Materials sent to Primary Schools Wed 04/09/02 Materials sent to Post Primary schools Fri 06/09/02 Launch Dublin-Phase II Fri 04/ 10/02 Dublin Based Training complete Fri 25/10/02 Host Town Training Complete Fri 25/10/02 Web Site live-primary Mon 28/10/02 Web Site live-secondary Mon 28/ 10/02

Materials sent to Universities-third level Tue 29/10/02 Competitions number 2-An Post arrive in schools Mon 20/11/ 02 Media Advertising complete Mon 27/11/02

2003

Primary School Communications complete Post Launch Fri 31/01/03 Secondary School Communications Complete Post Launch Fri 31/01/03

Launch Belfast-Phase II Tue 15/02/03

Translation of materials into Irish complete Wed 10/03/03

Presentations of Prizes-An Post Mon 28/04/03

Special Olympics Day in Primary Schools Fri 16/05/03 Letter sent inviting the schools to spectate Fri 23/05/03 Evaluation of the Programme complete Mon 26/05/03

Schools participate in Torch Run Fri 13/06/03 Schools spectate at Games Mon 23/06/03 After Action Report complete Mon 18/08/03 Third level case study- part B Fri 9/12/03

Discussion re the suitability of the different timelines is in the earlier sections of the report.

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