Charlotte Hill leaves the EFL Trust Board after nine successful years

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The EFL Trust Board today extend sincere thanks to Charlotte Hill, OBE, as her time as an EFL Trust Board member comes to an end. Charlotte leaves the Board as she has reached the maximum possible 9 years of serving as an Independent Trustee. 

Charlotte first became known to the EFL Trust when she was CEO of UK Youth, a network organisation representing the youth sector in the UK. UK Youth and the EFL Trust had many shared plans and ambitions, and Charlotte was very well respected across the sector, having received the Rising CEO Star award from the Charity Times in 2012.

At that time, the EFL Trust Board lacked diversity in knowledge and expertise in wider charity areas, such as youth engagement. By 2014 Charlotte had moved on to head up Step up to Serve, a volunteering campaign back by the then Prince Charles and all the major political parties.  The EFL Trust were delighted that at this point, Charlotte also agreed to join the Board and bring her wealth of sector expertise and knowledge to the organisation.

Now CEO of the fantastic Felix Project in London, the advice and guidance Charlotte has provided to the EFL Trust over the last nine years has been invaluable. As well as her industry knowledge, Charlotte enthusiastically drove a governance review process and took on the role of Senior Independent Trustee. The EFL Trust subsequently achieved the highest level of compliance with the Sport England Code of Governance which has in turn led to a myriad of opportunities to expand the work and success of the charity and its network of club community organisations.

As Charlotte departs from the Board, the role of Senior Independent will pass to Uma Cresswell, who joined the Board in November 2021, and has become a committed and integral member of the team. The work of charity Trustees often goes unnoticed, but the impact that Charlotte has had during her long association with the EFL Trust is extraordinary. Charlotte’s knowledge, enthusiasm, positivity, and commitment has been a huge factor in the success of the EFL Trust and we all wish her the very best in her future career and similar success to incoming Board members.

 

Proud to deliver Joy of moving programme in milestone year

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The EFL Trust is proud to celebrate 10 years of delivery across England and Wales of the Ferrero social responsibility programme, Joy of moving, with its network of Club Community Organisations (CCOs).

As the impactful programme enters its milestone 10th year, Joy of moving has inspired over 550,000 children to get moving through play and delivered over 2.5 million hours of learning in hundreds of schools.

With more than 70,000 children set to benefit from the programme this academic year via 27 CCOs, Joy of moving is based on a unique methodology, developed by Ferrero alongside independent experts.

Joy of moving encourages children to get active using play as the foundation, whilst helping them to develop key skills, such as motor coordination, creativity, and social skills.

In the UK, the unbranded Joy of moving programme consists of two elements: the Move & Learn project and the Joy of moving Festivals, delivered in schools.

Charlie Cayton, Director of Corporate Affairs and Communications at Ferrero UK, said: “We are incredibly proud to be celebrating ten years of our Joy of moving social responsibility programme.

“The programme, delivered by our amazing partner and their fantastic Club Community Organisations, inspires children to get moving while playing and having fun.

“We know that this approach is key to get children engaged and I’m delighted to be able to say that together we have been able to reach over half a million children since our initiative began.

“Joy of moving has gone from strength to strength over the past decade and we’re excited for the programme to continue its success as we look ahead to the future.”

Adrian Bradley, Head of Healthier Communities at the EFL Trust added: “More than half (53 per cent) of children do not meet the Chief Medical Officer guidelines of taking part in sport and physical activity for at least 60 minutes every day, according to Sport England findings*.

“Our Club Community Organisations (CCOs) are at the heart of their communities and have been integral in the development and delivery of the Joy of moving programme designed to inspire active lifestyles in children, teaching children how to enjoy moving through play, and to help them develop positive habits for adulthood.”

To learn more about the Joy of moving programme visit www.efltrust.com/joyofmoving

‘Inspiring’ Blackpool FC School offers chance to children who ‘struggle with mainstream education’ 

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Blackpool FC have showcased their onsite school which looks to offer children who experience challenges in mainstream education a chance to fulfil their potential and be known for their personalities and aspirations.

The school, which opened its doors in 2021, has proved to be a great success, with manager Neil Critchley and goalkeeper Richard O’Donnell heading down to the school last week to oversee one of the many football sessions the school hosts for the pupils.

ITV Football visited the school to find out more.

Speaking to ITV, Critchley said: “I’ve been really impressed and the January transfer window is still open, so some of these players might be coming in on Monday! I used to work in schools many years ago when I was a young coach starting out and you know the impact you can have on some of the younger people, the happiness it brings, their sense of belonging, social interaction, their inclusion.

“Coming down here today and being just a small part of it is quite amazing really, it’s quite inspiring to be honest with you.”

The school, which is open to children between the ages of 14 and 16, is the vision of Blackpool FC Community Trust and is found at Blackpool’s home ground Bloomfield Road, in a purpose-built facility in the North Stand area of the stadium.

Gemma Trickett, Headteacher of Blackpool FC School, told ITV: “The school’s open for students who struggle with mainstream [education]. That could be for a variety of different reasons, whether it’s special needs or it could be behavioural issues.

“Our vision and ethos at the school is to ensure that every child in Blackpool has an alternate provision where they can access a curriculum that’s suited to their needs.”

Blackpool FC School offers a unique experience which looks to inspire and engage each young person who walks through the doors of the building. The school aims to recognise each person individually and take a holistic approach to meet their needs and development.

The Tangerines are one of 72 Clubs across the EFL that use the power of football to engage young people who have not found the ideal place to grow. Figures from the latest ‘Measuring the Impact of EFL Clubs in the Community’ revealed 85% of the 309,648 participants engaged on education, training and employment programmes at EFL Clubs reported improved attainment at school.

Gemma continued: “I think it’s a great opportunity that the students have to be able to play alongside the first team, for the first team coach to come down and watch our students involved in football.

“They’re really excited.”

Ashley Hackett, CEO of Blackpool FC Community Trust, said: “The biggest success for me was last year we had our first cohort finish year 11 of 12 students. 11 of them have now gone onto positive destinations and by that we mean they’re in college or they’re in a job.

“This is an unbelievable achievement by the team.”

Green Football Weekend Kicks Off

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EFL Clubs and the network of Club Community Organisations are once again supporting Green Football Weekend.

Running from 2-5 February, EFL Clubs and their community organisations are hosting a wide range of activities and initiatives to have a positive impact on our planet, including to encourage football supporters across the world to incorporate more vegetables into their diet, not only benefitting their own health, but also having a positive impact on the planet.

We’ve already seen lots of activity, including:

  • Northampton Town holding their Green Game last Saturday, with local community and environmental groups attending to share their work with fans.
  • Wycombe Wanderers launching their new BeOne Sustainability Strategy.
  • Leicester City in the Community joined volunteers in planting 90 trees at a local playing fields.
  • QPR sharing their sustainable travel pledge as part of their green game last Sunday.
  • Watford announcing a new sustainable travel partnership to help understand and address the impact of fans travelling to matches.
  • Bradford City players visiting vegetarian restaurant Prashad to learn more about plant-based cooking ahead of the Community Foundation’s launch of new veggie and vegan options in their community hub.
  • West Bromwich Albion introducing their Baggies Pastures Green to fans and shared some of the work they’ve done since forming in 2022.
  • In the lead up to their game against Southampton, Rotherham United launching their Swap Shop, offering fans the chance to trade in their surplus Rotherham United kit and swap it for something new.
  • Blackburn Rovers Community Trust linking up with their Club partner, BGreenn, to provide guidance energy saving guidance to two groups of young people who regularly attend the charity’s Neighbourhood Youth Offer programme, and promoting the benefits of smart meters as part of their Smart Energy GB community work to Remember the Rovers participants.

Damon Fox, Sustainability Lead at the Northampton Town FC Community Trust, said: “People in our community are very interested in doing what they can to help the environment and prevent climate change.

“I urge everyone to get involved because engaging with Green Football Weekend is a lot of fun for you and your family, and you’re helping a great cause.”

Keep an eye out on activity by following the #GreenFootballWeekend hashtag over the weekend.

Supporters can log their actions on the Green Football Weekend website in order to score green goals helping their team climb up the leaderboard as fans support the campaign.