Our Founding Partners
We thank the following organisations for their support in helping to establish the International Physical Literacy Association.
Bedford Physical Education Old Students’ Association
Bedford Physical Education Old Students’ Association (BPEOSA) is very pleased to be a co-founder of the International Physical Literacy Association (IPLA) and looks forward to playing a part in the future of IPLA. BPEOSA was founded in 1909, six years after the founding of Bedford Physical Training College by Margaret Stansfeld. From 1906 to 1908 leaving students always returned to Bedford in the summer to build on their training, however in 1909 it was decided to create an official Association.
BPEOSA is now a charity and continues to thrive. It has a website, an annual report and an Old Students Day once a year. In addition, it awards funds every year from its Educational Projects Fund to support a variety of projects such as research and publications related to maintaining the quality of PE experiences for learners in school and additional opportunities for young people to take part in physical activity. The Physical Education courses at Bedford, now part of The University of Bedfordshire, include a four year BA(QTS) and a PGCE. BPEOSA wishes IPLA every success in the future.
Canadian Sport for Life
Canadian Sport for Life (CS4L) is a movement to improve the quality of sport and physical activity in Canada through improved athlete training and better integration between all stakeholders in the sport system, including sport organisations, education, recreation and health. A key feature of CS4L is Long-Term Athlete Development (LTAD), a developmental pathway whereby athletes follow optimal training, competition, and recovery regimens from childhood through all phases of adulthood.
The vision behind CS4L is to reshape how we support sport and train athletes at all levels in Canada from children to adults, from towns to cities, from provinces and regions through to the National level. In realising this vision, we aim to encourage more Canadians to become physical literate and active for life through sport and physical activity, and at the same time help Canadians in all sports win more medals internationally.
Liverpool John Moores University
LJMU is founded on high quality teaching, ground-breaking research and dedicated staff. It’s ethos of ‘dream plan and achieve’, captures the aims of a 21st century university. Founded in 1825 and granted university status in 1992, LJMU has 25,000 students studying from a range of 250 degree courses. LJMU understands the importance of civic engagement for a large university, and has developed a robust co-operative relationship within the city, region and beyond.
Collaborations ranging across all disciplines, from a research and teaching partnership to Sports Scientists and leading international research, are a strength of the university. As a modern civic university delivering solutions to the challenges of the 21st century LJMU is an integral part of the city landscape and economy. LJMU is undergoing an exciting and challenging period of change and has a clear focus on leading world-class research and scholarship. LJMU is genuinely excited at becoming a co-founder of the International Physical Literacy Association and fully supports the focus of physical literacy for life.
Scholary
Scholary is delighted to be a co-founder of the International Physical Literacy Association (IPLA) and looks forward to supporting the IPLA in it’s exciting future. Scholary aims to be at the forefront of educational innovation helping to support educational organisations and enhance how teachers teach and how students learn.
Scholary specialises in providing digital and educational consultancy and support services including publishing, advertising, marketing and events management, with a focus on supporting grassroots and start-up businesses, charities and organisations from across the education sector.
St Mary’s University Twickenham
St Mary’s University Twickenham is delighted to be a founding member of the International Physical Literacy Association. As an outstanding education provider (Ofsted, 2011) St Mary’s offers an under graduate course in Physical and Sport Education specifically for aspiring coaches and teachers based on exploring pedagogy with the aim of fostering physical literacy in both children and adults. We also offer a variety of undergraduate courses in sports science, health exercise and physical activity sport rehabilitation, nutrition and sports coaching science. There is also a variety of programmes at Masters level from applied sport and exercise physiology to pedagogy and professional practice in PE.
Our students have an excellent employment record. We offer over 65 programmes including undergraduate and postgraduate degrees and PGCE’s in a broad range of subjects. St Mary’s offers two PGCE courses in physical education one in Primary PE and another in Secondary PE. We also offer a variety of short courses. Our subjects cover a wide spectrum from theology, education, science, arts and humanities to sport and health sciences.
St Mary’s was founded in 1850 and is located on a beautiful 50 acre site in Twickenham. St Mary’s is a Catholic institution and we pride ourselves on our student focused approach to learning, providing graduates with a solid academic, professional foundation.
Stranmillis University College
In October 2012 Stranmillis University College celebrated its 90th year. Since the College was opened in October 1922 it has played a significant role in providing qualified teachers, primarily for schools in Northern Ireland. While it continues to maintain its long recognised position as a leading teacher education college, in the last decade it has also established an excellent reputation for developing a selective range of professionally related academic programmes including the BA in Early Childhood Studies and BSc in Health and Leisure Studies.
Stranmillis University College is committed to the development of a community of learners who learn with and from each other. We strongly encourage social responsibility through community engagement and are committed to providing an environment that fosters an understanding of, and a respect for difference.
All academic staff have been appointed on the basis of their subject knowledge and pedagogical expertise, which has emerged from their professional practice in schools and other related professional settings. They are themselves caring professionals who maintain close links with schools and other professional partners.
The College values the critical and positive contribution that physical literacy has on an individual’s ability to fulfil their potential and access a whole range of valuable experiences throughout their life course. Therefore, as a committed co-founder of the International Physical Literacy Association, Stranmillis University College will continue to work in partnership with the Association to promote the development of physical literacy worldwide.
University of Bedfordshire
The University of Bedfordshire is proud to be a Co-founder of the International Physical Literacy Association (IPLA) and looks forward to supporting the Association in the future. Physical Education at Bedford started in 1903 when Margaret Stansfeld – a student of Madame Bergman-Osterberg – opened the doors of 37, Lansdowne Road to 11 students. Principals of Bedford Physical Education who followed Margaret Stansfeld include Dr Eileen Alexander OBE and Dr Patricia Bowen-West OBE.
Bedford continues to train teachers of physical education and has a formidable history not only of being the largest provider of this training in the UK for many years but also being involved in national and international initiatives to develop and improve physical education in schools. Bedford continues to run a four year BA(QTS) course which is founded on the principle of physical literacy. The history of physical education at Bedford is preserved in detail in the Bedford Physical Education Archive which provides both a resource for scholarly research and a vibrant record of the development of women’s education created by the memories of students who have studied here. The University of Bedfordshire wishes IPLA every success in the future.
Plymouth University
Plymouth University boasts an educational history dating back to 1862 and has become one of the United Kingdom’s most prominent and dynamic universities. With a mission to be ‘the enterprise university’ and with over 30,000 students and almost 3,000 staff, Plymouth is a dynamic and innovative place to work and study.
Plymouth is a university built on a rich heritage and while it has grown in terms of size, reputation and impact, it remains true to its values of social inclusion with a strong sense of place and civic responsibility. It has embraced its leadership role in the city, region and beyond and is an engine of transformational change through education and innovation. The university aims to transform lives through education, world-class research and innovation on a global stage.
Supporting the International Physical Literacy Association is an extension of Plymouth University’s work as a social enterprise and as a proud co-founder of IPLA, the University’s support of the Association is both genuine and aspirational.
University of Wales Trinity Saint David
The University of Wales Trinity Saint David is proud to be a Co-founder of the International Physical Literacy Association (IPLA) and looks forward to supporting the Association in the future.
The University of Wales Trinity Saint David (UWTSD) was formed through the merger of the University of Wales Lampeter and Trinity University College Carmarthen, under Lampeter’s Royal Charter of 1828. The University’s Royal Charter is the oldest in Wales and England after the universities of Oxford and Cambridge and with the mergers the University now has over 25,000 learners across 17 campuses in rural and city locations.
The university has been training teachers on its Carmarthen campus since 1848 and as well the BA Education (QTS) courses, the University is committed to raising standards in Physical Education with a BA in Physical Education and an MA in Physical Education. The degrees are focused on pedagogy and based on the principles of Physical Literacy. The students on these prgrammes study a diverse range of modules linking with the Outdoor Education degree programmes at both undergraduate and post graduate level to ensure they are able to deliver high quality inclusive physical education in its broadest sense in a range of environments.
The University has established the Wales Institute for Physical Literacy which supports the development of Physical Literacy both in schools through its support of High Quality PE and in the community with rural health initiatives and links to clubs and organisations. The work of the Institute involves working with all ages groups from young Foundation Phase age children right through to research into the use of high intensity exercise to support the aging population in maintaining strength and access to physical activity into later life.
The University of Wales Trinity Saint David wishes IPLA every success in the future.