"The teachers have become a lot more confident in teaching Physical Education."
For St Luke’s Primary School in Warrington, having a professional football club like Wigan Athletic coming in to help take PE lessons has made a huge impact on teachers and children alike.
The hard work in delivering physical activity sessions across Wigan is being boosted by the introduction of the new Premier League Primary Stars programme.
"The teachers have become a lot more confident in teaching PE since we've had the coaching," Heather Moorfield, PE teacher at St Luke's, told wiganlatics.co.uk. "The children really love the sessions and it's raised the profile of PE in our school considerably."
PL Primary Stars, which is being delivered by 89 clubs nationwide, uses the appeal of the Premier League and professional clubs to engage young people and develop their skills on and off the pitch.
It will allow Wigan to upskill and mentor 80 primary school teachers in PE and provide more than 50 schools with up to 70 hours of free coaching.
"Some children, who are maybe not be as sporty as others, have that opportunity which they never had in the past," said St Luke's headteacher Steve Hardaker. "We have seen with some of our children they want to be more involved in sport because they have enjoyed it so much."
To mark the launch of Wigan's PL Primary Stars programme, Latics defender Dan Burn and goalkeeper Adam Bogdan visited St Luke's to see how it works, joining in with a PE lesson and a daily mile challenge.
"St Luke's Primary School are fortunate that they receive two hours of PE a week, which is massive because in some schools you don't get that," Burn said. "Sessions like this are really important. The coaches did a fantastic job and it was great to see so many happy faces."
To find out more, please contact Wigan Athletic Communty Trust's schools services manager Gareth Nolan on 01942 488530 or email g.nolan@wiganathletic.com.