Footballers help kick off school standards initiative

The new partnership is being launched at the Rotherham children and young people's festival, by the Millers' chief operating officer Paul Douglas and Rotherham's director of children's services Joyce Thacker .

As part of the project, players and staff from the club will be supporting all Rotherham schools in a variety of projects both immediately educational and as diverse as health, truancy and anti-bullying.

Councillor Paul Lakin, cabinet member for children and young people's services, said: "We are delighted to see the Millers making this commitment to extend the excellent work they already do in our schools.

"It's great to have them on our team as we have already seen the benefits they bring to our schools through projects such as our work on anti-bullying and literacy. The players are great role models for our young people and the squad have been willing to help us and get involved.

Paul Douglas said: "The children and young people's festival is a great opportunity for the Millers' to engage with young people and exhibit the different types of classroom and sports based learning we can provide.

"We know how important it is for young people to have positive role models to get the best from them and the Millers' player will be actively supporting all projects throughout the year."

Tomorrow's event starts at 9.30am and will include a range of taster sessions being run for school staff.

A council spokesman explained that themes such as health, education, disability, community cohesion and sports participation would be all covered in an attempt to show how broadly the RUFC Community Sports Trust can benefit local schools.