In the first year of this programme 65 pilot academies were took place, followed by 100 academies in year two and 200 in year three. During year four, 300 MSAs are to be delivered. Approximately 10,000 young people have attended MSAs so far.
A Multi-skill Academy uses a variety of approaches and contexts to help children develop physical skills from a broad and appropriate development vocabulary. Four broad areas have been defined as the basis for this movement vocabulary. These are:
- Coordination
- Movement
- Thinking
- Body awareness
It is intended to give teachers and coaches a great deal of flexibility in the creation and delivery of Multi-skill Academies (G&T). While adhering to each of these four core principles – coordination, movement, thinking and body awareness – teachers and coaches will look to deliver activities based around development of skills such as hand/eye coordination, strength, running, striking, balance, agility, power, kicking, jumping/leaping and catching.
A Multi-skill Academy for gifted and talented pupils does not therefore consist of rugby on session 1, netball on session 2, tennis on session 3, etc, etc.
MSAs are designed to enhance and enrich the current national curriculum at key stages 2 and 3, for they focus on achieving in the following areas:
- the acquisition & mastery of generic skills that are useful for all activity
- helping children understand the benefits of activity
- helping children find their future potential
MSAs can be organised as either a weekly after-school activity or as a holiday programme with consecutive full days of activity. Sports Colleges are encouraged to involve Step into Sport young leaders in the delivery of activities at MSAs.
It is important also that Sports Colleges organising and delivering a Multi-skill Academy (G&T) are able to help pupils identify appropriate opportunities for their continued involvement in physical activity. These opportunities may include after-school clubs/activities, local sports clubs or other local authority provision.
Multi-skill Academies should form part of a Performance Pathway for Young People alongside Multi-skill Clubs and the Junior Athlete Education Programme and MSAs can help to bridge the gap to NGB Player Pathways. Multi-skill Academies are funding by DfES as part of the PESSCL gifted and talented programme.
You can download the multi-skill clubs and academies factsheet here