The 1st phase of Excelsior’s ‘Playing For Success’ for secondary schools begins

The 1st phase of Excelsior’s ‘Playing For Success’ for secondary schools begins

Excelsior had been discussing how to offer the ‘Playing for Success‘ learning plan to secondary school students for a long time and it has finally become a reality with it launching just two weeks ago. “After a few months of research and fine tuning with different schools. We now offer the PFS course to secondary schools. The ambition had been there for quite a while, but thanks to several collaborations it has now become a reality.” Says project coordinator Iris de Iongh.

Comenius College

Comenius College, in the surrounding area of Excelsior’s Van Donge en De Roo Stadium, is one of the first schools to participate in the programmes. “The first schools we have a cooperation with are the Comenius college in Nieuwkerk, Capelle, Krimpen and Rotterdam. We are proud of this cooperation and hope to expand this with more secondary schools in the future.” Iris de Iongh continues. It’s a sentiment that General Director of the Comenius College, Joany Chalk, echoes, “When a student does not feel comfortable, or does not really connect with other students, it has a direct influence on their learning performance. At Comenius College we put a lot of effort into having suitable support for these types of student. The course of Playing for Success fits well with this kind of student. We hope it helps and allows them to develop more confidence in their new class”

Every Thursday

“The past Thursdays have been new, challenging and energetic. The secondary school programme is nevertheless, just a tad different than primary school. That is why the start with 6 students is a good way to start.” In 13 weeks, the students will get a class from 3 until 6 o’clock, every Thursday in the ‘WOW-environment’ of the Excelsior Rotterdam stadium. Iris de longh continues, “The goals of the primary and secondary school courses are not different, but the approach to the kids is. They are more adult and you guide them in a completely new process now that they have come to a different school situation.”

Positive reactions

There has been an overwhelmingly positive response from not only the kids, but the parents also. Many of the children with motivation problems say that they enjoy going to the Van Donge and De Roo Stadium. “It is really nice to hear this from the children themselves. In addition to this you also get the confirmation from the parents. So, they also see that this is a unique opportunity for their child and they notice that the behaviour from their child changes.” Says Iris de Iongh. The positive reactions from the first weeks of the programme has also got something to do with the intensive personal guidance. The first phase almost has 1-on-1 guidance by a qualified teacher and 4 interns from the HBO Social Work study and the goal is to continue with this intensive personal guidance for the children, “with the primary schools there is already a lot of recognition of the impact of Playing for Success on the self-confidence and also the school results of the students. Providing this support in a stimulating environment like the Excelsior stadium can also have a big impact on the students. The approach and the teaching materials for the courses have to be adjusted a bit, but there is already so much knowledge and experience with the teachers and other employees from Playing for Success that it would be a missed opportunity if we do no deploy this for the children in secondary school.” Concludes Joany Krijt.