Sport AND education with up-grade training…Rewarding young people in sussex

Last November saw the return of the Active Sussex Sports Awards and this month I caught up with the winner of the ‘Outstanding Contribution to Sport’ Award, Dan Barfoot, the owner of Up-Grade Training in Bexhill. This honour was in recognition of Dan having a major impact within sport and the community, having mentored/supported others whilst driving and influencing change.  

Dan leads a busy life – he is a school teacher, father of four, counsellor and elected town councilman. He also has a black belt in kickboxing and was the UK and Southern Area kickboxing champion. Whilst being a fully qualified sports coach, he’s currently completing his Master’s Degree in Psychology. I began by asking Dan about Up-Grade Training and how it all started.

“I was a schoolteacher in a children’s residential home as well as a martial arts and kickboxing coach for a local gym. I was fighting semi-professionally during my time at school, and I began to see the benefits of mixing martial arts and school education. Initially, I implemented my ideas into my very small class of 4 children at the residential home, where the young people who previously displayed severe behavioural challenges began responding positively to school work, resulting in a 50-60% rise in attendance. Eventually those pupils went on to be the first in the history of their home/school to complete their GCSE’s! It was then I decided to start Up-Grade to bring my approach to education to as many young people as possible.”

Up-Grade Training’s approach is to promote a relaxed, one-to-one approach to education that focuses on the individual child’s interest by working sensitively and therapeutically to help them re-engage with school. It operates by working with Sussex’s local authorities who refer young people to them that are unable to access education due to, amongst other things, anxieties, or special needs. Additionally, they work with children’s residential homes, Pupil Referral Units, Young Offenders teams and many mainstream schools. 

Once a referral is made, the young person is engaged in a one-to-one to find out what makes them tick. From there, a curriculum is created together including a physical martial arts syllabus.  Dan says: “It’s a team effort to be able to find a way back to school or positive educational outcomes, as well as reaping the benefits of the incremental but steady improvement and achievement inbuilt in a martial arts syllabus.”

With this unique approach to combining education and sport I was interested to find out how Up-Grade compared to other offerings in Sussex? “Finding ways to educate those young people who find it the most difficult to engage with education is so important, and Up-Grade is truly unique in its delivery. The therapeutic approach to martial arts and education, the personal projects with tailored curriculums, and the encouragement for creative expression both physically and mentally, makes us a one-of-a-kind for now.”

Health and wellbeing didn’t seem to be so much of an issue when I was growing up, so why is it important for young people today? “The truth is of course that it has always been important, but through no fault of anyone’s, there are now so many temptations like video games and social media that offer a far quicker and often more immediate satisfying endorphin hit! The trouble is that the very things like social media providing those endorphin hits, are the very things inducing so much anxiety in the first place. The depression and anxiety that some young people feel when it comes to school can be crippling, and as a result, any sense of achievement is so far from their level of understanding. We look to reverse this negative experience by introducing slow, sensitive, incremental achievement and through self-esteem and self-confidence, boosting activity.

What in your opinion needs to change for young people to understand the importance of their lifestyle? “Education has been structured to be too ‘one-size fits all’. Young people are taught the value of being unique, independently themselves and always to embrace their differences, however this is not always what is encouraged in the mainstream school system. As educators and mentors, we are simultaneously telling young people to celebrate their unique differences whilst demanding they adhere to rules and regulations that cause them great anxiety and difficulty. At Up-Grade, we turn that around and empower the young person to find what it is they love about learning and remind them that they are perfectly capable of achieving it in their own way. It’s often as simple as taking a couple steps back to be able to empower them to move forward. Breaking negative behaviour cycles is what we do, and it is often the case that once young people accept that they were temporarily stuck, not incapable, their faith in themselves and their education journey is restored.”

After winning the ‘Outstanding Contribution to Sport’ Award last year Dan remains proud and humble in equal measure. “It was truly the highest of honours. We have been working so tirelessly to implement this type of unique education for as many young people who need it as possible. To be recognised for this hard work is incredible and has inspired us to push forward with even more enthusiasm and vigour. Moving forward as we extend and begin to work with more and different services, we know that that quality-seal provided to us by Sussex Sport will help reassure these providers that our truly unique brand of education is one that truly works for young people with such specific needs. We have so many interesting projects and courses coming up, we are embracing the challenge of growth and won’t stop until we are bringing our now celebrated approach to education to as many young people who need it as possible.”  

Finally, I asked Dan what keeps him motivated every day? “It is difficult to imagine anything more important to society than the quality of its education. Education is everything and if a young person is lucky enough to fall in love with the process of learning during their formative years, it is something that never goes away and something that only keeps on giving. Our first ever student is now an employee of the company and knowing the direction this young man was heading in and seeing him thrive so wonderfully today is one of the many things about Up-Grade that keeps me motivated to keep fighting for education and every young person, every single day.”

To find out more visit www.up-gradetraining.org