Youngsters celebrate Nursery Rhyme Week

Youngsters from across the North East celebrated National Nursery Rhyme Week at a special event at the Stadium of Light. Pupils from Tavistock Nursery, New Penshaw Academy, St Pauls C of E primary school, St Bedes RC Primary school and Willow Fields Community primary school, who work with Foundation of Light through the Primary Stars programme, took part in the event which featured a carousel of activities linking literacy and nursery rhymes. Youngsters also got a special treat when they got to meet Sunderland AFC first team player Josh Maja, who helped the youngsters with some of their tasks. Nursery rhymes play an important role in childhood development as well as being fun and assist with key skills such as language, communication, physical, social and emotional skills. The event was free to attend for schools who work with Foundation of Light through the Premier League supported ‘Primary Stars’ programme. Aaron Croft, Foundation of Light Primary Stars Coordinator said: “We had a fantastic time with the youngsters who seemed to get a lot out of mixing football with nursery rhymes. "The Primary Stars programme gives us an opportunity to enhance curriculum delivery for schools and give youngsters the chance to enjoy events such as this." "We’ve got a lot of other events like this planned for the academic year and we’d love to hear from schools who are interested in getting involved."

It’s great to see how the Sunderland AFC badge is being used to help youngsters with their schoolwork and the team from the Foundation have done an excellent job bringing the subjects to life with the help of football.

Josh Maja, Sunderland AFC forward

Miss Jordan, Teacher at St.Paul’s Church of England Primary School commented: "The children have really enjoyed today’s event, it’s great that the younger age group can come along, get involved and learn in such a fun way." Foundation of Light delivers award-winning sports and education programmes for schools and academies across the North East, bringing subjects to life for pupils helping improve attitudes and skills while also increasing enthusiasm and motivation within the classroom. All sessions are mapped to the National Curriculum in areas including literacy, numeracy, ICT, physical education, Personal Social and Health Education (PSHE) and more. All in-school delivery is suitable for Ofsted inspections.