Global sports star David Beckham OBE is joining Sky as an ambassador, it was announced today.

The long-term partnership will see Beckham play a leading role across the breadth of Sky’s work to support grassroots sport and encourage participation across Britain and Ireland. He will also feature in adverts to promote the unrivalled range of sport and innovative services offered by Sky.

As a national sporting icon, David Beckham is an inspirational role model to millions of young people. In his role as a Sky ambassador, he will help to use the power of sport to change lives through the successful Sky Sports Living for Sport initiative which is delivered in partnership with the Youth Sport Trust. Now in its tenth year, this free initiative uses the life-changing stories and expertise of athlete mentors to inspire young people to learn new skills and improve their lives. Around 30,000 young people a year participate in the programme, which reaches one third of all secondary schools in Britain and has just launched in Ireland.

Some of the comments we hear most from Middle and Senior Leaders in schools today include the desire to ‘raise my confidence in the leadership role’ and ‘think about the bigger picture to make change happen in my school.’

Time is your most precious resource and we understand that Leaders in your school need to get the most out of their learning. Quality, bespoke Middle and Senior Leaders Development Programmes from BlueKiteCoach provide you with confidence that the learning your teams tackle has been specifically designed to inspire, engage and motivate. Indeed, it will be a talking point in your staff room, for all the right reasons, long after your learning event.

Cycling charity Sustrans has produced a new step-by-step guide for schools to help encourage more pupils to cycle to school.

Developed for teachers, parents and governors the guide contains a suggested programme and top tips for events, activities and lessons to help get pupils motivated and skilled-up to cycle to school.

The guide is free to download from Sustrans’ website (www.sustrans.org.uk/biketoschoolweek) and is designed to be delivered over a six week period - culminating in a celebratory Bike to School Week.

Schools can promote cycling using the guide at any time of the year, although Sustrans will be celebrating the launch of the guide with National Bike to School Week, 10-14 June 2013.

In the UK only 4% of school children commute to school by bike or scooter, but research shows that nearly half of all children want to be able to. Sustrans hopes that this new teaching resource will help schools to show children and parents just how easy it is to get around on two wheels.

Diving offers children as young as eight a unique and unrivalled experience combining adventure, adrenalin, exercise, exploration, tranquillity and relaxation.

Professional diving specialist Oyster Diving has years of experience offering scuba diving courses, and has established itself as the premier provider of diving holidays to schools and colleges.

This year the highlight of Oyster Diving’s school trips is an itinerary to the legendary dive destination of the Cayman Islands located in the Western Caribbean. The Cayman Islands was the birthplace of recreational diving and today the trio of islands provides first class professional diving schools with stringent safety requirements and excellent infrastructure. Regularly cited as one of the world’s top diving destinations, Cayman is famed for its pristine coral reefs, an undisputed track record in marine conservation and of course idyllic conditions that are highly conducive to learning and enjoyment.