News
Foundation Brings School Pupils Together For Tour and Tournament
Wed 22nd March 2023
The Rangers Charity Foundation invited dozens of pupils with additional support needs for a tour of Ibrox stadium and a football tournament.
More than 40 young people from schools which incorporate the Foundation’s Hub in the Community programme had the opportunity to learn about the history of Rangers and enjoy small-sided games at the Ibrox Community Complex on 21 March 2023.
The event was an opportunity to bring together pupils from S1-S5 and staff from Govan High School’s Enhance Nurture Provision and Language and Communication Resource, Drumchapel High School’s Learning and Development department and Whitehill Secondary’s Support Centre. Pupils from another Foundation-partnering school, Hillpark Secondary, also attended and represented the school’s Language and Communication Resource.
As part of the Community Hub model, a full-time Foundation Hub Officer is based in each school to work with pupils from all year groups as part of groups or on a one-to-one basis. They support with the transition from primary to secondary school and into positive destinations when pupils are ready to leave.
The event saw many neurodivergent young people with additional support needs invited to Ibrox who are supported in one-to-one sessions by Hub Officers.
Neurodivergent describes people whose brain differences affect how their brain works. That means they have different strengths and challenges from people whose brains don’t have those differences, including medical disorders and learning disabilities.
Mark McKinven, a Hub Officer based at Drumchapel High School, said: “The main aim was for everyone to have fun and also develop their interpersonal skills. It was also a great way to meet new people from different areas and work together with their classmates in a setting outside of their normal school day.
“Putting events like this on is very important because it keeps all the pupils in the school included.
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“Many of the kids who attended have additional and sometimes multi-additional support needs. They may struggle to engage in classes and, as a result, they receive extra support. As a member of staff within the school who is not a teacher, I have helped those pupils in one-to-one sessions.
“One of the girls, Keira, came along and absolutely loved the tour. She was commenting on how interesting it was to hear about the history of the Blue Room and changing rooms and how they are so unique in terms of the materials that were used to build them and are still there to this day.
“There was a real buzz from the group on the bus back and they were all asking when we could organise another event like this in the future.”
On top of delivering special events outside of the school environment, the Hub in the Community programme also delivers in the classroom. All four Community Hub Officers work with pupils to support attainment whilst also delivering SQA qualifications. Incentives are designed to help boost attendance and to support them in their learning.
