Member Article

Ed-tech innovator looking to build on progress after successful first year

Innovative activity-based educational technology company Sporting Age is looking forward to a winning 2022 performance after building strong interest on the back of a successful launch.

Huddersfield-based Sporting Age, which provides solutions to improve movement skills among young people, has rolled out its technology across groups of primary schools, showcased its work to national activity providers and progressed partnerships with like-minded innovators across the UK.

CEO Shaun Fox and the management team are expecting a strong performance in the year ahead as more schools come on board to harness the Sporting Age solutions to tackle physical inactivity as part of the Covid-19 pandemic recovery.

Sporting Age solution Smart Motion, which is now being implemented across schools in the Kirklees area, tracks movement levels among young people at Key Stage 2 aged 7 to 11, allowing users to create differentiated activity programmes for each cohort, with additional recommended support for those with specific needs.

Sporting Age also provide physical learning programme Smart Prism for children in Reception and school years 1 and 2, using evidence-based research to raise development and movement levels. In total, 4800 children have taken part in Sporting Age programmes using the technology in the largest implementation to date.

The team also put on their biggest showcase to date for a national audience of activity providers during the Aspire Partnership conference in Birmingham, which generated discussions around implementation with interested companies based all over the UK.

Shaun Fox said: “Sporting Age has been well received by experts and peers in the physical activity sector, giving us every confidence that 2022 will be another positive year.

“We have introduced Smart Motion in a large group of local schools, providing us with vital experience in shaping its powerful impact upon understanding activity levels.

“The data being shaped will be priceless as we develop Sporting Age and has allowed us to partner with colleagues in the academic field for what promises to be some fascinating research.

“Most importantly, we are building commercial partners across the UK, thanks in part to the success of the Aspire event, which should allow us to grow revenues and profits during the 12 months ahead.”

The Sporting Age team, who have their HQ at The John Smith’s Stadium in Huddersfield, believe their solutions can play their part in the recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic, which saw child physical activity levels drop and movement skills deteriorate during lockdown.

Smart Motion shapes bespoke plans to improve individual school groups based on data.

Sporting Age are working across the Yorkshire and North to join forces with quality assured partners to implement the online software system, which first assesses movement skills among pupils before creating a series of lesson plans to bring measured improvement within the group.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Chris Leggett .