England captain and Chance to Shine Ambassador Heather Knight today visited Hague Primary School in East London to inspire young girls and boys ahead of the ICC Champions Trophy and ICC Women’s World Cup taking place across England and Wales in June and July.
Heather’s visit helped to launch a new classroom based educational resource, which has been developed by UNICEF UK, Chance to Shine, and the Youth Sport Trust, under the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) Cricket for Good banner, and uses cricket to support learning and promote awareness of the rights of children around the world.
Speaking at the launch, Heather Knight said: “We have a massive opportunity to inspire children this summer during the ICC Champions Trophy and ICC Women’s World Cup. The schools resource from the UNICEF, Chance to Shine and the Youth Sport Trust is a great way to bring cricket into the classroom and help children learn about their rights at school.
“I know I would have loved a cricket-themed lesson when I was a kid! I’d urge all primary school teachers to get involved and download this free resource.”
The new education resource is available for any school around the world to download from the ICC website, and contains a six-week, cricket-based curriculum, which combines opportunities for pupils to get active, develop cricket skills, undertake exciting projects and learn about the rights of children everywhere.
England captain Heather took part in one of the six cricket-themed lessons in the classroom, before heading outside to Hague Primary School’s rooftop playground to watch how the resource can be used in a PE class.
Alongside the launch of the new Cricket for Good educational resource today, the ICC, UNICEF UK, and Chance to Shine will also work together this summer to deliver a series of once in a lifetime opportunities for schoolchildren to engage directly with the ICC Champions Trophy and ICC Women’s World Cup.
On match days, local schools will be invited to provide pupils to act as team mascots and flag bearers as part of every national anthem ceremony, while 16 lucky schools will get the chance to take part in a special Cricket for Good coaching clinic, with pupils set to enjoy a fun-filled session led by some of the best players in the world from the participating teams.
Hague Primary School, located in Bethnal Green, is a member of the Chance to Shine network and a recipient of the UNICEF UK Level 2 Rights Respecting School Award, the highest level of this accreditation, which supports over 4,000 schools across the UK to embed children’s rights in their ethos and culture.
Throughout this summer of cricket, the Cricket for Good and UNICEF partnership is using the extraordinary power and reach of cricket to help transform children’s lives around the world, so that one day every child will be free from danger. Follow on social media by using #OneDay4Children.
To download the UNICEF UK, Chance to Shine and Youth Sport Trust resource, click here.