The Community Trust are ready to begin the 2022/23 academic year and will once again be heading into many schools across the local area to deliver a variety of sessions.
Ahead of the academic year, primary education manager Tom Keenan said: “We deliver many different activities and we’re so excited for the start of the new academic year. From football sessions to lunch clubs, we have lots of stuff going on.
“We’ve got around 25 different schools working with us at different levels. Some schools work with us on a smaller basis and we just deliver their lunch clubs while others have us in every day delivering PE lessons.
“There really is a wide range of things that we can offer to schools. If you come on board and work with us this year there are so many benefits that we have on offer.
“For example, we have free tickets for Chesterfield games for you and your families. We also have trained PE experts within the Trust and we can offer plenty of PE support.
“We have Chester, who loves going out and visiting all our partner schools. There really is so much that we can offer and we’ve not covered nearly half of it. There’s something for every school.”
Tom believes it’s important to try and get people down to the Technique Stadium to watch the Spireites while engaging with the schools.
“We love making a difference, we want to make Chesterfield FC as accessible to everyone as we possibly can,” he said.
“It’s important we try to get as many people down here as possible. First and foremost, we want to get the stadium bouncing, we want to encourage that and we want to be in the community getting people down to watch their local football club. That’s what it’s all about.
“I’ve been here around a year and the engagement is really starting to increase now, both on and off the field. This year we’re pushing for promotion on the field so the more people that we can get down into the stadium to help the lads on a Saturday the better.”
Tom also spoke about his long-term goals in his role and what he would like to achieve in his time at the club, saying: “We really just want to use the power of Chesterfield FC to not just deliver after-school clubs and other activities, but really to encourage and help the community.
“Using the power of the club is really important to me. I’m so proud of what’s going on here. It’s really special.
“As a PE teacher myself, I feel really valued here. Going into schools is fantastic. The chairman and the CEO are actively looking to help us and ensure we improve.
“They are coming to us to try and see if there’s any more that can be done. It’s fantastic to work in an environment like that.”
Since the Community Trust took over the football club back in 2020, the two organisations have worked together closely to improve the services that are on offer.
Tom believes that the close connection really makes a difference, adding: “It’s massive. I was a stranger coming into this club and I could see straight away that everyone on both sides was trying to pull together in the same direction.
“From the fans to the schools, all the way to the team – we’re doing well and let’s hope it can continue.”
Tom points out that anyone is free to contact him and says the Trust will work with schools to find a package that suits them and their individual needs.
“Just drop me an email, I’m happy to take any enquiries,” he said.
“You can even message the social media channels and it will get forwarded to me. We can work together and come up with a plan to create a package that suits the needs of your school.”
For more information, please email: tomkeenan@spireitestrust.org.uk.
