Western Cape welcomes national MOU on School Sport: We are ready!

I am thrilled with the progress made in today’s Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the national Ministers of Sport, Arts and Culture, and Basic Education on the implementation of sports, arts, culture and other co-curricular activities in all public schools across the country. We look forward to engaging with our national department to understand the next steps and how funding for these important activities will be allocated.
 
This MOU enables us to move forward with speed to revitalise school sport in the Western Cape. We are on a mission to increase access to sport and recreation activities for young people. These programmes ignite confidence, passion and potential in children, helping to set them up to succeed.
 
We already run MOD* programmes in 181 schools across our province, employing 362 contract coaches and providing equipment for after-school sport and recreation activities. We run District Youth Camps, Indigenous Games, National Recreational Days, and Festivals. We support athletes, federations, municipalities, and events. We have spearheaded the development of Shared Facilities in Lavender Hill, Mitchells Plain, Malmesbury, George, Beaufort West, and Kraaifontein to improve access to safe spaces for communities to participate in sport and recreation activities.
 
Our Department of Cultural Affairs and Sport (DCAS) will now work closely with the Western Cape Education Department and other stakeholders to develop a School Sport Strategic Framework that aligns to the national policy framework.
 
We want all learners to be able to participate in school sport programmes, with support for educators, coaches, and community volunteers to deliver these programmes and to identify talented learners for high-performance opportunities. We also need to address inequalities in the infrastructure available for school sport.
 
We are currently formalising collaborative relationships in the sports ecosystem – between government, civil society and the private sector – so that we can share resources and broaden our impact. Last week, DCAS signed the first in a series of partnership agreements with various organisations, including Northlink College, Chrysalis Academy, Waves for Change, and Amandla EduFootball, among others.
 
*MOD = Mass participation; Opportunity and access; Development and growth
Read more: https://www.westerncape.gov.za/news/boost-sport-development-wcg-partners...