The Foundation has been in local Crawley schools this month delivering workshops for Black History Month.
The Foundation’s Premier League Primary Stars Coordinator Liam Joyce visited Northgate Primary and the Bewbush Academy to give No Room for Racism, anti-discrimination and Education Activation workshops throughout Black History Month in October.
The Premier League Primary Stars initiative aims to educate young students about diversity and inclusion with high profile footballers featuring in the programme.
Joyce said:
‘We used a case study of Manchester City and Lioness player Demi Stokes which was about her journey, background and what she has experienced to share with the the pupils; to then look at their own environments of diversity, culture and heritage.
This was important because in Crawley we have such a diverse community and so many children can relate to Demi Stokes in so many ways so it allowed us to empower, share, celebrate and embrace everyone - culture race, language and religion.
For me, it’s about empowering and being proud whatever the race, religion or your background. We discussed how you can be and ally, how to show solidarity and how we can take a stand.’
The programme has reached over 300 children in Crawley and Joyce hopes that it will be the impetus to do more:
‘We are not celebrating for a month, but including in all our PSHE delivery and look to engage with more schools. It has made us reflect and want to create more empowering content as a club and a foundation for our communities.
Northgate Primary School's Years 2-4 Phase Leader Anthony Blakeman was pleased to see Joyce delivering in the school:
"Liam ran multiple engaging and enriching class-based workshops for our Upper Key Stage 2 classes. All six classes reported that they enjoyed the sessions and were engaged by the footballer case studies and the manner in which Liam delivered the information.
To close the day, Liam held a Key Stage Two assembly for Years 4 through to 6, which rounded off the day's learning perfectly. The children asked some intriguing questions and Liam was able to respond to each of them appropriately.
Subsequently, as we take pride in being such an inclusive and diverse school, we have held a meeting with our Year 6 Anti-Racism Ambassadors who were all keen to provide feedback on the day's activities. They were all delighted that the sessions had been held and think that important messages were given to all the children at an appropriate level.
As part of our Black History Month learning, it allowed us to discuss the topic of racism within the setting of sport and highlighted the importance of the 'Say No To Racism' and 'Give Racism The Red Card' campaigns within everyday life. We would like to thank Liam, and Crawley Town Foundation, for the fantastic day and hope to partner with you again in the future."
