#SchoolSailing

School Sailing

Enhancing personal development, supporting academic learning

We are an RYA OnBoard centre and our programme gives young people the opportunity to gain an extensive range of skills and benefits through learning to sail in a safe and structured environment.

The programme compliments the national curriculum and provides a variety of valuable life skills that help to build confidence and shape personal development. This represents a tremendous opportunity for schools, colleges and youth groups to get their pupils or members involved. OnBoard is open to anyone aged 8-18 and, whether it’s a small group or a large class, we can help you get started.

What academic benefits can OnBoard bring?

• Sailing covers many areas of the Key Stage 2 curriculum, delivering practical application of academic subjects including geography, maths and science. Working with angles when turning a boat, identifying the effects of air and water resistance, and understanding forces in relation to working with pulleys and levers on a boat are just some examples of this. 

• Sailing engages children in key areas of PSHEE (Personal, Social, Health and Economic Education) including building personal identities, improving communication and learning to form good relationships, as well as covering a variety of cross-curricular learning areas.

• Many aspects of physical education are covered within OnBoard sessions. Sailing helps develop physical strength, flexibility, control, balance and spacial awareness, offering both individual and team challenges to those taking part. It also teaches important elements of water safety.

• Collaboration and competition are essential elements of the OnBoard programme, as are evaluating performance and recognising success.
• English is also covered, with spoken language and effective communication being essential elements of learning to sail. And of course, there is endless creative inspiration to be gained from being on the water and out in the great outdoors. 

Which life skills can the programme teach?

Sailing provides invaluable skills that can have a positive impact on an individual’s personal development and which colleges, universities and employers all look for when reviewing student or employee applications and when conducting interviews.

• Teamwork and communication are important aspects of OnBoard and participants will gain new skills and greater confidence in these areas.

• Sailing increases independence and many children benefit from this, being able to spend time on their own on the water. This also encourages greater levels of responsibility, with participants having to anticipate and address new situations and challenges.

• Many also find that sailing increases their levels of confidence through mastering an exciting activity that they had perhaps never considered doing before.

• Sailing presents challenges to be overcome and problems to be solved. Determination and resilience are required to meet these and this is another focus of OnBoard learning.

• Social skills and empathy are also developed through meeting, working with and having fun with other young people of different ages and backgrounds at OnBoard sessions.

For many, OnBoard teaches an activity that will stay with them for life. A number of past participants have qualified as instructors and now teach others the activity they love.  Some have gone on to compete at club, national and international levels or have developed a successful career in sailing related industries including boat design, build and manufacture, the superyacht industry or as watersports instructors.

Lincoln and District Sailing Association (LDSA) runs OnBoard sailing sessions.  As an RYA Training Centre, LDSA is inspected annually to ensure that training craft and instructors meet the high standards of the RYA. The RYA carries out inspections to ensure that the level of tuition and the condition of the equipment remains consistently high.

Who teaches at OnBoard sessions and what will be covered?

All children are taught by qualified RYA Instructor's on a seaworthy, safe, well-maintained and suitable craft. The course follows the RYA National Sailing Scheme. Sessions are taught to a national syllabus - the RYA National Youth Sailing Scheme, which provides young people with continuity and progression.

The RYA is responsible for administering the recognition system and ensuring standards of training are maintained. Instruction provided will also reflect each participant’s level of sailing experience. More detail of OnBoard can be found at www.rya.org.uk/programmes/onboard/Pages/onboard-home.aspx

Can teachers get involved in OnBoard?

Yes! OnBoard sessions are for children but we can also offer teachers the opportunity to get out on the water as well. We offer courses to help teachers get involved. The basic powerboating course lasts two days and most new staff gain this qualification very quickly so that they can help to man the safety boats which accompany all our sailing. The first qualification in dinghy sailing, which enables staff to sail with students without another instructor in the boat, requires sailors to complete an intensive four-day course successfully.

What safety standards are in place at OnBoard clubs and centres?

As an RYA Training Centre we have a detailed safety policy and operating procedures. We also have thorough risk assessment for our activities. We follow RYA guidelines on risk assessment that follow HSE and Local Authority advice.

Who supplies the equipment and kit for each session?

We provide all the boats, kit, and safety equipment required for each session. All the students or participants need to bring with them is a towel and a change of clothes. It’s a good idea to wear old trainers and clothes that you don't mind getting wet!

How can we help?

We can help you to make all the logistical arrangements you need to get your young peo out on the water and can help you to address any LEA requirements including risk assessment. We can come into your school and show pupils either as part of a lesson or an assembly what sailing is all about. Our aim is to make it as easy as possible for you to add sailing to your school sports curriculum or extra curriculum.

I would like to get my school or youth centre involved. What do I need to do?

Just contact us, it’s as easy as that! We are more than happy to visit you at school to talk through how you can get your school involved. We offer sessions during the school day and after school.

We offer 2 ways to get your school afloat:

Affiliated membership: This costs just £300 a year for primary schools and £400 for secondary schools.

Member schools and academies can sail with their young people as often as they wish depending on available qualified staff.

This represents excellent value and can be funded from your PE / Sport premium grant.

Our RYA courses are excluded from the price of affiliated membership, however for every new affiliated membership we will also provide a free place on one of our adult learn to sail course (worth £200) and a free powerboat level 2 course in the first year of membership. We also offer a wide range of learn to sail courses throughout the year and a youth after school club called Limpets on Thursday's throughout the warmer months.

Individual session membership: We can offer an introductory sailing session for your school / academy for £100 per session. These sessions last 4 hours. For every individual session membership we will provide a place on one of our adult learn to sail course at half price (worth £100) per institution.

We also offer a wide range of learn to sail courses throughout the year and a youth after school club called Limpets on Thursday's throughout the warmer months.