Flegg High School

‘Fair Play’ – the Starehe Way

What is Fair Play?   

‘Fair Play’ is a partnership between Flegg High School and Norwich City Football Club to promote visible, active citizenship to students in Norfolk High Schools. It is an initiative aimed at teenagers primarily but it can be extended to involve primary school pupils at a later stage.

The initial idea was to work with NCFC to establish peer support schemes in every high school that requested training. Peer support schemes are part of the range of anti-bullying strategies available to schools. A team of students are trained to look out for incidents of bullying on the school site; they also offer a confidential service to young people, both bullies and victims, helping them with mediation techniques and other ways to defuse tension.

The idea has developed further since its beginnings and now embraces a range of opportunities for active citizenship, including:

• Creating and sustaining effective Student Councils

• Active House Committees and Subject Committees

• Students working with School Governors

• Student leadership of  Environmental Teams

• Student Leadership teams, including School Prefects

• Voluntary Service

Fair Play was launched in February 2005 at a conference held in the ‘Top of the Terrace’ at Carrow Road. The event was attended by senior leaders and students from Norfolk High Schools and supported by Connexions, Norfolk LEA and Wherry Housing.  Further Conferences in September ’05 and June ’06 have been held on the theme of building effective school democracies through active student councils. It is our aim to hold two conferences each year to introduce new aspects of ‘Fair Play’ and provide a forum for schools to feed back on successes to date.

As part of our commitment to this initiative, Flegg High has agreed to offer training in peer support to six Norfolk High Schools each year. The training takes place at the new Study Support Centre facilities; Flegg High will offer ongoing support to schools in setting up their peer support systems. Flegg High is ChildLine’s nominated training school for the Eastern region.

What is ‘The Starehe Way’

The Starehe Way refers to the philosophy, ethos and practices of the Starehe Boys’ Centre in Nairobi, Kenya. It seeks to engender excellence by setting high individual and collective targets, constant encouragement and high motivation, and healthy competition. Princess Anne launched the Starehe Way in Macclesfield in September 2005; six Norfolk High Schools supported this event and have received training in peer support from experienced Peer Supporters from Flegg High School.  Another six schools are receiving training during the current academic year. Princess Anne has visited Starehe Boys’ Centre on three occasions, having become involved originally through her work with ‘Save the Children’ charity.

Starehe Boys’ Centre was established in Nairobi in 1959 – a difficult time in Kenya’s history, the time of the struggle for Independence. Post the Mau Mau wars, a large number of children, almost all boys, had ended up on the city’s streets, mostly orphaned and certainly without means of survival. Geoffrey Griffin, a white Kenyan of British descent aged 26, wanted to do something positive for these children and for the re-building of Kenya. He persuaded Kenya Shell and BP Company to part with two tin huts, some tools and £500. With this support, Starehe Boys’ Centre was born.

Today the school is at the top of Kenya’s league tables for academic excellence and it still serves boys in need: 70% of the boys at the school come from destitute families. In a country rife with bullying and corruption, the school is renowned for its absence of bullying and totally inclusive democracy sustained by the weekly whole-school parliament ‘Baraza’.

The inspirational Dr Griffin founded the centre in 1959, personally developed its ethos, and dedicated his working life to Starehe. He died in July 2005; his last words to his boys, delivered posthumously at his funeral service were:

‘This world is full of people who do their duty half-heartedly, grudgingly and poorly. Don’t be like them. Whatever is your duty, do it as fully and perfectly as you possibly can’.

Fortunately, before he died he was able to realise his other dream: the opening of the Starehe Girls’ Centre in February 2005.

Representatives from Flegg, Acle, Broadland, Fakenham, Attleborough, Cliff Park Hamonds High, Gt Yarmouth, Notre Dame, Earlham, Methwold, Cromer, and Charles Burrell High Schools have visited the Starehe Boys’ and Girls’ Centres to learn more about their practices and how we can introduce similar strategies in our high schools.

Why Norwich City Football Club?

The name ‘Fair Play’ was taken from the FA Fair Play League where NCFC has always had high billing; the Club finished fourth in the Fair Play league for 2004/2005 Premiership season.

The criteria for this award marry well with the philosophy and practices we are trying to nurture in young people in schools: good teamwork, respect and consideration for others, respect for figures in authority.

Flegg High made an approach to NCFC because they had been very impressed with NCFC’s community work, particularly the wide range of initiatives for young people. The school saw that the peer support training would dovetail well with NCFC’s other opportunities for schools.

Carrow Road provides the fitting venue for our conferences: Top of the Terrace and Canary Catering combine to create an inspirational venue for young people  - and the not-so-young.

NCFC supports the aim of broadening young people’s horizons and provides the motivational impact to launch our initiatives in the right way.

‘Fair Play’ is about creating and sustaining effective teams in our schools. What better partnership than with our local team who enjoy outstanding affiliation from their fans? Despite injuries and other setbacks, the team has to go out weekly and do its utmost to win – sometimes against a background of harsh criticism. If the school council meeting is not managed well one week, what do you do? Give up? No, redouble the efforts and ensure that the next one is the best it can possibly be.

Finally, respect for a club which has established some outstanding business practices and impressive growth. It provides, in short, an aspirational model for Norfolk’s youth and has a genuine commitment to young people –investing in today’s youth for tomorrow’s success.

Flegg and Starehe five-a-side teams