Scheme using sports to ease pupils’ transition to secondary school kicks off at Nairn Academy
A pioneering sport and psychotherapy project run by Brent Centre Highlands has kicked off at Nairn Academy.
Nairn Rotary and Nairn United Reformed Church are among the groups that have helped fund Sport & Thought, a group therapy project that uses football to support young people.
The initiative was first developed by Brent Centre for Young People in London.
Following the opening of its Inverness-based counterpart earlier this year, a partnership has developed between Brent Centre Highlands, Nairn Academy and the Inverness Caledonian Thistle Community Trust.
Julie MacDonald, head teacher at Nairn Academy, said: “We’re delighted to be working in partnership with Brent Centre Highlands and the Inverness Caledonian Thistle Community Trust to deliver Sport & Thought.
“It’s a great way for us to support some of the young people making the transition into Nairn Academy and we’re very grateful to have the backing of local funders”.
The partnership aims to use Sport & Thought to support young people who are making the transition from primary schools into Nairn Academy.
This way of working has proved successful for Brent Centre for Young People in London, which developed the Sport & Thought model to support young people who may not typically engage with longer-term talking therapies.
Sport & Thought sessions are run according to an established structure, which sees the group of participants take part in training drills whilst pausing at various points to reflect on themes that emerge during the practice.
Sessions culminates in a game of football followed by a group discussion where participants think together with the staff team about anything that has come up in the session.
Sam Thomas, psychotherapist at Brent Centre Highlands, said: “Sport and Thought is about using some of the principles of psychotherapy in a different setting – the football pitch.
“Working as a group enables young people to explore what happens with their emotions when they get in close proximity with others.
“Everyone might react differently, but this model gives us a structure and the chance to think about emotions in a way that may not happen in a football coaching session”.
The project is due to run for the rest of the 2024/25 academic year, and the team is hoping to secure further funding to allow it to continue and be rolled out to other schools in the Highlands.
