On Wednesday 17 July Bath Opportunity Pre-School (BOP) will be providing a demonstration of its Young Athletes™ Programme as part of its Leaver’s Party for the 20 children who will be ‘graduating’ to primary school in September.
Over the past seven weeks BOP, which is the only pre-school in the county providing therapeutic and educational provision for 0 – 5 year olds, has been following the Special Olympics Young Athletes™ Programme, and on Wednesday family members will be invited to see the programme in action.
“It’s been a brilliant seven weeks,” says Michelle Kimberley, BOP Manager. “The structured programme provided by the Special Olympics has worked well for our children, who all have additional needs, and they have really enjoyed it. It has also inspired our staff to be more creative and provided great ideas for physical activities, and it has also encouraged families to get their children more involved in activities regardless of their needs.
“We’ve seen a huge improvement during the programme and families are also telling us that they are seeing developments at home as well.”
The Special Olympics Young Athletes™ Programme for 2 to 7 year olds is a unique sport and play initiative for children with intellectual disabilities with a focus on fun activities that are important to metal and physical growth. Children enjoy games and activities to develop motor skills and hand-eye coordination. As well as providing an early introduction to sport and the world of Special Olympics, the children learn new things, play and have lots of fun.
Bath Opportunity Pre-School has been running two Young Athletes™sessions a day for the past seven weeks to ensure that every child attending the school has a chance to participate and the Mattel Children’s Foundation is funding the programme at the school.
“We’ve invited the children’s families to come along to the Leaver’s Party to see the Young Athletes™ Programme in action. We will be continuing to offer it to all our children from September and I have no doubt that it will continue to be of great benefit to them.”
There will also be a chance for the public to see the Young Athletes™ Programme during the 2013 National Summer Games. On the morning of Thursday 29 August there will be a demonstration at Bath Sports Centre.
For more information, contact Michelle Kimberley, Manager, Bath Opportunity Pre-School, Tel: 01225 830972 or visit them online.
