Creating opportunities

How we create opportunities to play

  1. Coaches inspire children in schools and communities all year round
  2. We take cricket to areas with fewer opportunities to play
  3. Teachers are trained to sustain cricket in schools
  4. Children are supported to continue playing at cricket clubs and in their community

Free and Accessible 

With the current cost of living crisis, The Children’s Society found that 85% of parents and carers were concerned about the impact on their family or household over the next 12 months.

All Chance to Shine programmes are completely free. In 2021/22 we started new projects in 67 of the most deprived communities in the UK, and worked in 1,600 schools where the percentage of pupils who are eligible for free school meals is higher than the national average.

84% of Street participants agreed that it is important that Street sessions are free. 

23% of parents said that their child would not partake in any other extra-curricular sport or activity if it weren’t for Chance to Shine. 

We take a targeted approach to ensure we give opportunities to those who need it most. We aim to work in: 

  • Economically disadvantaged areas
  • Areas where a high proportion of children are inactive
  • Schools where a high percentage of children are eligible for free school meals
  • Areas where a high proportion of people are from ethnically diverse backgrounds
  • Areas without an existing, affordable cricket offer

Sources: The Children’s Society (2022), The Good Childhood Report 2022; Chance to Shine survey of 826 Street participants; Chance to Shine survey of 224 parents of Street participants

Case Study: The only way is cricket

The main playground at Gascoigne Primary sits on a rooftop high above the streets of Barking, offering panoramic views of East London. This is one of the largest primary schools in the country, but certainly not your usual setting for cricket.

“Where we are, there’s not any sporting facilities at all,” says P.E. lead Rob Reynolds. “We’ve got Greatfields Park…you’ve got a couple of secondary schools with facilities but it’s hard to use. We have quite a long way to the nearest Cricket Club and it obviously costs money which a lot of our families don’t have, so we have to try and offer everything we can and to do it for free as well.”

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