We understand that the most important thing in a successful sports day is that everyone has fun, including teachers and parents! It's a chance for children to showcase their skills and talents, support each other in their activities and encourage great sportsmanship.

It's a day that's a bit different to the usual timetable, sparking excitement all round, and taking part in a range of activities with their class mates is a chance to enjoy challenges in a competitive setting. So, enjoy organising your sports day and don't worry too much - with just a few essentials, some exciting games and races, the kids will love it and proud parents will love cheering them on (and are sure to join in themselves!).

Who's joining in?

Using a whole school approach to sports day as opposed to just year group sports days is a very popular choice, and this is proving to be really successful. Using this idea, the children in Year 6 act as Team Leaders for the groups and stations are arranged for how many groups you have. This is brilliant leadership experience for the Year 6 students, and gives guidance to younger students during their activities.

If all year groups are joining in, there might be a little more coordination needed, but this is a great way for the whole school to gather together, enjoy each other's company and show support for everyone. Adding in a race or two for the teachers and parents at the end always gets giggles and makes it even more fun. Once you know who's taking part, deciding on the stations and activities is easier.

Choose games and activities

There are so many games and ideas to choose from to make your sports day the best. The classic sports day games are lots of fun for all year groups, and you can adjust the rules to make them easier or more advanced for different year groups. A simple egg and spoon race or three legged race can quickly become more challenging by making the course longer, adding more rules or adding obstacles and cones to travel around.

Stations and coordinators

You will also need teachers or teaching assistants to help manage the station and hold the score card. At the end of the event the points are totalled and the winning team or colour is announced.

You need an overall coordinator who will be responsible for starting and stopping each station, usually using a whistle.

The number of stations will depend on the number of year groups or teams taking part, and the number of games or activities you're including. It's usually quite helpful to keep the teams fairly small so there isn't lots of waiting around, keeping everyone moving and feeling involved and energised.

Essentials

Make sure the children have access to water to drink, as well as sun cream and hats if you are lucky enough to get a sunny day.

Involve the families!

Don't forget the parents! If you have a PTA, they are usually happy to help with selling refreshments for the adults, raising much needed funds for the school.

You can even throw in a parent race at the end! It's always fun to watch families take part in a three-legged race or an egg and spoon race.

Congratulations and awards

At the end, thank everyone for their team effort and sportsmanship. It can feel really rewarding for the children to receive a rosette, medal or award for their achievements, and are brilliant reminders of their teamwork.

With prizes for 1st, 2nd and 3rd place, as well as prizes for taking part, or separate prizes for the different stations, children come away feeling a huge sense of achievement and learn to celebrate each other's achievements, as well as feeling motivated to keep trying.