Last week former Arsenal forward Theo Walcott went back to school to launch brand new Premier League Primary Stars teaching resources which are designed to help children boost their self-esteem.
He attended a special classroom session delivered by coaches from Arsenal in the Community at Christ the King Catholic Primary School in Islington to talk about his experiences in overcoming setbacks in his own career and to help the pupils discuss resilience and positive mental health.
The Building Self-Esteem resource is one of more than 650 English, PSHE, PE and Maths resources that are available for teachers to encourage children to be active and develop essential life skills.
One of the teachers who helped launch the resource and will be using it with his pupils is Conor Kelly, a Year 5 class teacher at Christ the King.
Here, he explains the impact it will have on his pupils.
"The activities were so effective in helping children understand what self esteem is. It is very impactful for the kids to have that important knowledge for lifelong learning.
"The children were so engaged. It was interesting listening to their responses and hearing the questions they asked Theo. It was a great opportunity to observe how the children worked when I was sitting alongside them rather than from being at the top of the room when I am teaching.
"I heard questions from some children that I wouldn't have expected them to ask. I saw a different side to them. It gave me a better perspective on how they worked as individuals.
"One pupil gave a fantastic response that I wouldn't have expected when discussing resilience when returning from a long-term injury. How great was it that the activities were able to get that response from them.
"The resource contains lesson plans to videos; it has everything the teacher needs but the main point is that it is there for the children. It's creative and it's nice to have a different approach.
"It engages the children. It's on their level. It is something that they are interested in themselves.
"You can never have too many PHSE resources as a teacher because it's such an important subject for the wider well-being of children.
"It's vital that they are able to navigate the online world correctly so that they're safe. As they leave school, it's massive that children have a better understanding of who they are, how they fit into a community and that they have the tools to help themselves and others as they grow up.
"As teacher, to have this tool in our armoury to talk about mental health is fantastic.
"Having Theo at the school was a huge surprise for the children. They were buzzing. This is a real Arsenal school, we are around the corner from Emirates Stadium and the staff support the team, as do the kids.
"To have that link with Arsenal, with Theo in their school, in their classroom, to have the Premier League Trophy in touching distance, was massive. It was a wonderful day.
"We have a very strong relationship with Arsenal in the Community. They are here every week. A school community has various parts, teachers, staff, parents, the children... here at this school, Arsenal is another facet of that community.
"The relationship with Arsenal links outside of school to the inside of school. It exposes the children to different things.
"The Premier League is far more than simply matches on a Saturday or a Sunday. It's exciting to see that they recognise the influence it has and using it for good and using it where it counts most, with children."
The self-esteem resource launch comes as the Premier League celebrates 'More Than A Game', a two-week period showcasing the League's world-leading investment into all levels of football and community programmes run by clubs that positively impact millions of people.
About Premier League Primary Stars
Premier League Primary Stars is the Premier League's primary school education programme, using the appeal of football to support children to be active and develop essential life skills. It is available to every primary school in England and Wales, with over 19,000 schools engaged with the programme. More than 1.3million school sessions and events have already been delivered.
Funded by the Premier League, through the Premier League Charitable Fund, the programme has enabled over 70,000 teachers to use resources for English, PSHE, PE and Maths, to help children to be active and develop essential life skills. There are 650+ free resources available.
To find out more about delivering the programme in your school, please visit plprimarystars.com.
