Rosstulla School in Newtownabbey to benefit from Special Olympics' Young Athlete programme

Having launched in Riverside Special School, Antrim at the end of 2023, Special Olympics Young Athlete programme is growing its programme even further within the education system where it is embedded as a companion piece to the school’s existing PE lessons.

Rosstulla’s 4-12 year old pupils will be introduced to the Special Olympics family and have the opportunity to take part in the Young Athlete programme every week at school.

The programme focuses on developing fundamental movement skills in young children aged 4-12, introducing them to sport through fun and play in a quasi-club experience, supported by school staff, in a familiar setting.

Launching the programme this week, Rosstulla Special School was delighted to welcome representatives from both the Department of Education and the Department of Communities, including Gordon Lyons who is both the Minister for Communities and local MLA for the area. Other local political representatives attended Wednesday’s event alongside NI women’s soccer star and Cliftonville captain Merrisa Callaghan.

The event began with a Law Enforcement Torch Run, where the Guardians of the Flame, law enforcement members and Special Olympics athletes carried the Flame of Hope into Rosstulla School to launch the Young Athletes programme.

Speaking at the launch of the new programme, Gordon Lyons, Minister for Communities said: “I am delighted to be here at Rosstulla School to celebrate the launch of the Special Olympics Young Athletes Programme. This programme provides a fantastic opportunity for children to get active and sets the stage for lifelong participation in sport and physical activity. It is great to see this opportunity being offered in a school setting.

"We know that being active contributes significantly to better physical and mental health and the role physical activity plays in children's development and wellbeing. We want to ensure that sport and physical activity is inclusive and offers equality of opportunity to participate for everyone.

"I would like to pay tribute to the hard work of all those involved in the programme and look forward to hearing more about its success in the future.”

Special Olympics Ulster Regional Director, Shaun Cassidy added:“Special Olympics has designed the Young Athletes programme to be flexible and adaptable to many different settings – not only in schools but also community clubs, services and at even at home support for athlete development.

"With additional special schools also having completed training and getting ready to launch their own Young Athletes and senior programmes, it’s wonderful to celebrate the development of this programme into different settings.”

Principal of Rosstulla School, Laura Matchett, stated: “We believe that Special Schools are uniquely positioned to introduce children with learning difficulties to sport and spark what will hopefully become lifelong involvement in physical activity.

"We are delighted to see the turnout of support for our pupils and athletes as they embark on these new experiences together, developing their love of sport and most importantly, having fun.”