The West Norfolk Rugby Schools Programme: Empowering Teachers to Create Lasting Impact
The West Norfolk Rugby Schools Programme is placing teachers at the heart of its mission to tackle physical inactivity and health inequalities among children and young people in King’s Lynn and West Norfolk.
Through dedicated training events, the programme is equipping school staff with the skills, confidence, and resources to deliver inclusive rugby sessions, creating a sustainable legacy that extends far beyond the life of this funded delivery programme.
A New Focus: Training Teachers for Long-Term Change
By investing in teachers, the programme ensures that opportunities for physical activity are not limited to external coaching, but become embedded within everyday school life.
During the training, teachers learn how to deliver safe and fun rugby sessions while building the confidence to engage girls and less-active pupils. Roseanne from Watlington Community Primary School explained ‘the session has taught us a variety of games to try with the children, along with lots of skills to develop, like balance and coordination. And actually, I wouldn’t have expected coordination and spatial awareness to be such important skills for rugby as much as I’d anticipated.’
Why This Matters
West Norfolk faces significant health inequalities, with some communities experiencing high levels of child poverty and childhood overweight rates of up to 46%.
Barriers such as cost, confidence, transport, and gender stereotypes often prevent children, particularly girls and those from disadvantaged backgrounds, from accessing sport beyond the school day. By training teachers to deliver inclusive sessions, the programme directly addresses these challenges, ensuring that:
- More children can access sport within a familiar and supportive environment
- Girls are actively encouraged and supported to participate with the encouragement from female coaches and role models.
- Physical activity becomes a consistent and embedded part of school life
Supporting Schools, Strengthening Pathways
Alongside teacher development, the initiative is strengthening links between schools and West Norfolk Rugby Club, helping to create clear pathways into community sport. Jane Middleton-Jones, coach of the club’s ladies’ team, said the impact was already being felt. “The programme has been a fantastic connection to the local schools ,” she said. “The girls’ section has particularly benefited. We’ve seen a real uplift in attendance and are now in a position to field full West Norfolk teams rather than combining with other clubs.”
A previous pilot across 11 schools saw 19 children transition into club rugby, demonstrating the effectiveness of combining school-based delivery with strong community pathways.
Across the academic year (September 2025 – June 2026), the programme will:
- Train teachers across 20 schools
- Deliver 116 sessions alongside school staff
- Engage up to 600 children
- Increase participation among girls and disadvantaged pupils
- Build long-term capacity within schools to sustain delivery
A highlight of the year will be a schools’ rugby tournament hosted at West Norfolk Rugby Club, celebrating participation and bringing together pupils, teachers, and families.
Becky Gillick (Active Communities Officer – Active Norfolk) says ‘It’s been fantastic to see the West Norfolk Schools Rugby Programme go from a successful pilot in 11 schools to an offer that now reaches even more young people across the borough. Rugby gives children such vital skills – confidence, teamwork, resilience and it’s brilliant to see that impact growing.
Investment in teacher training has been crucial, giving staff the confidence to deliver high quality sessions and ensuring the programme has real longevity within each school. It’s also been great to see stronger links forming between schools, local communities, and WNRC. There’s real momentum behind this work now, and there’s plenty more to come!’
By empowering teachers with the skills and confidence to deliver inclusive physical activity, the West Norfolk Rugby Schools Programme is creating lasting change, ensuring that every child, regardless of background, has the opportunity to move, play, and belong.