We have created a communications pack for you to share some more information about your upcoming Sports for Schools visit with the parents. We find that schools that share more information with the parents & carers at their schools do significantly better with their fundraising so we decided to make it really easy for you and give you everything you need, every step of the way!
Using your usual parent communication channels and social media, copy and paste the suggested wording we have written below along with the social media posts provided.
Step 1: Download your parent communications pack here
Step 2: Save this timetable, so you know what to send and when
Step 3: make sure you tag us in your social media posts!
@sportsfs @sportsforschools @sportsfschools
3 weeks before your event, copy and paste the following text to your parent mailing system – make sure you include the name of your athlete!
Copy and paste this text:
We are thrilled to be able to share some more information about our upcoming Sports for Schools event. We are excited to announce that the athlete who will be visiting us will be [insert athlete name here]!
On the event day, all pupils will take part in a sponsored fitness circuit run by their athlete, a terrific way to get all children excited about sport and realise that getting moving is really fun! Their athlete will then share their incredible sporting journey, a story of resilience and determination in a fun and interactive assembly. There will also be an opportunity to ask any burning questions in a Q&A session with their inspiring role-model at the end!
Fundraising for the event will begin next week when the children will be bringing home a sponsorship form. The money raised for the event will go towards new important resources to improve levels of physical activity in our school, such as new sports equipment!
Let the local press know you’re having an athlete visit!
Send the below to your local news outlet, they’re likely to cover the event and give your schools some press coverage, the children might even get their picture in the paper! Here are some examples of articles written about an athlete visit prior to the event:
https://www.islandecho.co.uk/kickboxing-champion-touring-island-schools-to-inspire-young-minds/
Copy and paste this text in an email to your local press:
Subject: Olympian/Paralympian/ GB athlete visits local primary school
We are excited to be welcoming a top GB athlete to put the children through their paces in a sponsored fitness circuit and then hold an inspiring assembly for the whole school. [Insert athlete name here] will be visiting our school, [insert school name here] on the [insert event date here]. The aim of the event is to help the school raise money for sports resources, to improve levels of physical activity and wellbeing in the school, and to inspire the children to be more active and follow their dreams.
We’d love it if you would like to cover this event and we are happy for someone to come to the school on the day.
Kind regards,
[Your name]
Ask for sponsorship from local businesses:
Local businesses are usually very supportive of their local schools – they like to show the community that they are helping as well – so why not ask them to support your event by sponsoring the school? We have found that many businesses even have allocated funds for local projects and causes. We have written the below for you so you can just copy and paste it into an email to the businesses you choose.
Copy and paste this text:
Would you like to sponsor a local primary school? [insert school name here] are welcoming Sports for Schools athlete, [insert athlete name and sport], on the [insert event date here].
We are excited to be welcoming a top GB athlete to put the children through their paces in a sponsored fitness circuit, and then hold an inspiring assembly for the whole school. The aim of the event is to improve levels of physical activity, wellbeing, and academic results in schools by inspiring the children with a real-life sporting role model and encouraging them to follow their dreams. The event is based on a fundraising initiative, whereby most of the funds raised come back to the school for new sports resources.
Your sponsorship could help our school to purchase vital sports equipment that will help with getting children moving more, support greater physic
al activity and well-being, and leave a lasting impact on the whole school.
If you would like to sponsor our school, you can do so at the online fundraising page by following this link: [insert school fundraising page here].
Kind regards,
[Your name]
In the past, schools have been sponsored by businesses such as Estate agencies, supermarkets, farms, veterinary practices, independent shops, and so on.
The below image is from a school that was sponsored by a local estate agent. In this case, we made them a banner to help them let the community know about the event and sponsorship:
Set up online fundraising page:
You can set up a fundraising page for your school by following these steps.
- Go to the Sports for Schools website https://sportsforschools.org/
- Click on ‘set up a fundraising page’:
- You can watch this video on how to set up a fundraiser page: How to set up a Sports for Schools fundraising page
- Click on ‘find my school’.
- Start typing your school name and select your school from the dropdown – check that the postcode matches!
- This should take you to a page with your school’s name at the top and information about your visiting athlete. Click on set up a fundraising page.
- Fill out the details with ‘athlete visit’ where it asks for the child’s first name and the school name where it asks for the child’s last name:
- Set the class and year as ‘0’ and set your target amount. Feel free to upload a photo (optional).
- Click on ‘publish page’ and you’re all set! When you go back to the school fundraiser page, click on ‘find a fundraiser’, then type in ‘athlete visit’. The fundraising page you just created should show – click on it to go to the page. This is the page you can share with local businesses if they would like to sponsor your athlete visit.
2 weeks before your event, on the date of your athlete reveal assembly, copy and paste the following text to your parent mailing system – make sure to include your event date and the name of your visiting athlete!
Copy and paste this text:
Dear parents/carers,
Today, we revealed the Sports for Schools athlete that will be visiting us on the [event date] in our school assembly!
[Athlete name] will be running a fun fitness circuit, followed by an inspirational assembly and Q&A session.
The children will be bringing home a sponsorship form today, so make sure to check their bags for this! There are even some fun games on the back of the forms – don’t forget to enter the Sports for Schools competition by emailing a photo of the completed sponsorship form to [email protected].
If you would like to sponsor your child, you can bring in cash with the sponsorship form, or you can donate online by following this link and searching for the school name: https://sportal.sportsforschools.org/events/landing
You can post this image along with the text on your parent mailing system, and/or share it to your social media channels to announce your visiting athlete:
To find the image of your visiting athlete, download this folder and select the post of your athlete: Athlete reveal (2 weeks before the event)
You can use this text with the image on your different social media platforms:
Today, we revealed the Sports for Schools athlete visiting us in just a couple of weeks in our school assembly!
Don’t forget to sponsor your child for their sponsored fitness circuit – you can sponsor online by following the QR code and searching for the school name.
You can post this image on your social media channels one week before your event as a reminder to parents to create their child’s sponsorship page:
You could use this text with the image:
With a week to go before our Sports for Schools athlete visit, have you set up your sponsorship page yet? If you’ve already got yours set up, don’t forget to share it with your friends and family!
Copy and paste this text to your parent mailing system:
With a week to go before our Sports for Schools athlete visit, have you set up your sponsorship page yet? If you’ve already got yours set up, don’t forget to share it with your friends and family!
If you need help with setting up your sponsorship page, watch this short YouTube video on how to set one up: https://youtu.be/e4IXMdNAzbI
If you captured any photos of your event, share them with the parents with the suggested text. Don’t forget to tag us if you share any to social media!
You can use the text below when you share these with the parents and families:
Have a look at what the children got up to at their Sports for Schools athlete visit! As you’ll see, they all worked really hard (including the teachers) and learned some really important and inspiring lessons from their athlete. If you’ve not sponsored your child yet, now is a great time to reward them for their hard work. You can sponsor them here: https://sportal.sportsforschools.org/events/landing
Remember, you’re raising money for new resources to improve levels of physical activity within school!
Share the link to this YouTube video of Sports for Schools sportivater, Chloe, explaining the prizes the pupils will receive for their fundraising efforts: https://youtu.be/jxEjxQuCrn4
Share the link via your usual mailing platforms along with the following text:
There’s still 6 days to collect any sponsorship money for yesterday’s visit from [athlete name], here’s a reminder of the great prizes you’ll get for your fundraising efforts in this short video: https://youtu.be/jxEjxQuCrn4
Remember that the money raised will go towards new sports resources to improve levels of physical activity in our school! If you’ve not sponsored your child yet, now is a great time to reward them for their hard work. You can sponsor them online here: https://sportal.sportsforschools.org/events/landing, or bring the cash in with your sponsorship form.
You can use this image to share to your social media:
Share this image on your parent mailing system and/or your social media platforms as a reminder of the great prizes pupils will receive for their fundraising efforts:
Copy and paste this text along with the photo:
3 days to go to bring in your sponsorship money for the hard work in the fitness circuit with [athlete name]! Don’t forget there are some amazing prizes on offer:
A sheet of stickers for ANY money raised!
A blue Sports for Schools wristband for any money raised over £5
A red wristband, signed by your athlete for any money raised over £15
All of the above, plus a signed athlete poster!
Copy and paste this shorter text to social media:
3 days to go to bring in your sponsorship money for the hard work in the fitness circuit with [athlete name] – don’t forget there are some amazing prizes on offer!
Share this image on your parent mailing system and/or your social media platforms to remind parents/families it’s their last chance to sponsor. If you’ve decided which voucher option you would like to go for, now might be a good time to share this with the parents so they know what their money may contribute towards!
Copy and paste this text to your parent mailing system:
Today is the last day to raise money for the sponsored Sports for Schools visit from [athlete name]! Please make sure any cash is brought into school by the end of the day along with your child’s sponsorship form, or donate via the online fundraising page.
The money raised will help us purchase important sports resources in school, which will help to improve levels of physical activity and mental wellbeing across the whole school.
Copy and paste this text to your social media platforms:
Today is the last day to raise money for the sponsored Sports for Schools visit from [athlete name]!
The money raised will help us purchase important sports resources in school, which will help to improve levels of physical activity and mental wellbeing across the whole school.
If you haven’t already let the local press know, it’s not too late!
You can send the suggested wording to your local news outlet along with any images you captured of your event on the day, they’re likely to write an article about how inspired your whole school were by the visit from your athlete and give your schools some press coverage.
Copy and paste this text in an email to your local press:
Subject: Olympian/Paralympian/GB athlete visits local primary school
We welcomed top GB athlete [insert athlete name here] to [insert school name here] on the [insert event date here], where the children were put through their paces in a sponsored fitness circuit and were inspired in a whole-school assembly.
The aim of the event is to help the school raise money for sports resources, to improve levels of physical activity and wellbeing in the school, and to inspire the children to be more active and follow their dreams.
We’d love it if you would like to write about the visit. Attached are some photos captured on the day.
Kind regards,
[Your name]
Here’s an example of an article written about a Sports for Schools athlete visit after it has taken place:
