Bedford International Athletics Stadium

Children's Activities

Each holiday period (half terms and summer), the Athletic Stadium offers a variety of activities for children aged 8-14 years. Qualified coaches run courses for various sports including football, athletics, basketball and the supervisors also run multi-activities.

Throughout the Summer period a 6 week playscheme is run to allow parents to leave their children in a totally safe and fun environment.

The morning sessions (Summer Only) offer a wide variety of 5 day coached courses designed in such a way as to show progression in the chosen course with a certificate awarded at the end of the week.

* Courses available include mountain biking, football, rugby, basketball, dance, hockey, arts and crafts and athletics.

Cost: £25 for the week (must be booked in advance due to restricted numbers).

Coaching is 10.30am – 12.30pm although children can be dropped off from 8am for warm up games.

Please note; only 1 sport can be chosen for the week.

The Afternoon Sessions provide a multi-activity session every day, including swimming, treasure hunts, ten-pin bowling, football, rounders, water sports and quizzes.

Cost: £5.00 per day (book in advance to avoid disappointment)

We also run multi-activity sessions in the half terms for children to come along and enjoy the fun!!

Information for Parents

Staffing

All staff members recruited to work the playscheme at the Stadium have to be suitably qualified before consideration. Leaders are usually recruited through the local university and are made up of students in their final year of teacher training or are qualified coaches or PE teachers. All staff have been security checked and references are also obtained.

A staffing ratio of 1:10 (maximum) is used for the playscheme even though the suggested ratio from the county council is 1:15. there is always a minimum of three staff on duty at any one time and staffing levels are also increased during external outings, according to circumstances.

Security and Safety

The arrival and departure of all children is recorded using a wristband system. This is performed on a daily basis and the responsibility is delegated to a certain member of staff each day. Children will only be allowed to leave the Stadium with their parent/guardian unless a written child safety slip has been completed by the parent/guardian allowing the child to leave in another way (i.e. walking, cycling or being collected by another parent).

Upon booking a place on the scheme, a personal details card will be issued and retained by the stadium in case of any occurrences that may require parental contact (i.e. discipline issues, medical issues). This card will include emergency contact details and any medical issues that the stadium staff need to be aware of. A log is kept of these and is treated as confidential information.

After School Sessions 

A football ‘Kickers’ session is run on a Thursday 4.30-5.30pm for 7-11 year olds.  This is a supervised session of football training. Places can be booked up to a week in advance Payment is required on booking. It is advisable to book early as only limited spaces are available.

Kickers gives children between 7 and 11 a chance to play 5-A-side football for an hour. The session is lead by a qualified member of staff and is structured to let all participants play football against each other and sometimes include penalty competitions and other fun games.

It is crucial for all players maximum enjoyment and safety that participants of ‘KICKERS’ behave according to the coaches direction. Misbehaviour of any kind will result in the individual being asked to sit out of a session.

Parents/guardians must sign their child in at reception and should be there to collect their child from the indoor track prior to the end (5.30pm) where they will be required to sign them out with the member of staff taking the session. This has been implemented as a safety precaution.

Athletics sessions for children are also run by the resident athletics club Bedford and County. For more info on this please use the link ‘Resident Clubs’ to find out more.

Calling all Young Athletic Enthusiasts

Do you have an interest in Athletics?

How would you like to kit carry for TOP athletes at a major athletic event?

Interested?

Please contact the Stadium for further details.

Produced by the IT Unit
Economic Development and Regeneration Group