Burnley Football Club today launches a pioneering new scheme aimed at teaching Primary School children across East Lancashire about the club's proud history.

The 'Local History Scheme of Work for Primary Schools' is unique in concept and the first of its kind to facilitate classroom teaching of local history through the heritage of a professional sports club.

The scheme has already been hailed as "amazing" following a successful trial at Padiham St Leonard's Primary School.

And with Burnley Football Club's help, the scheme is now under consideration by the Football League Trust to be rolled out to other Football League clubs.

The 'Local History Scheme of Work for Primary Schools' is the brainchild of lifelong Burnley fan Brian Heywood, who qualified with B.Ed (Honours) in Physical Education and English from the Carnegie Faculty of Sport and Education in Leeds before embarking on a teaching career of 18 years in both junior and middle schools across England.

His innovative and educational blueprint, the result of 10 years of research into the social history of sport, is aimed at Years 5/6 and provides a fully resourced and structured sequence of lessons and has a cross-curricular skills-base.

It is fully referenced to the National Curriculum and Primary Framework and requires no specialist knowledge of football from the teacher.

Burnley Football Club is confident that the scheme will motivate children to develop their knowledge and interest about the living history of Burnley Football Club and its place in the community.

Every Primary school within Burnley, Pendle, Rossendale and Hyndburn has received an invite to the launch, which takes place at 2pm today in the 1882 Lounge in ther Bob Lord stand at Turf Moor.

Schools will be presented with an overview of the scheme and be offered a free CD to copy resources for use in their school.

The event will also include an overview of the origins, structure and content of the scheme, and examples of children's work from Padiham St Leonard's.

For more information, please contact Darren Bentley, PR & Communications Manager on 01282 704701