Blog: 'The latest research EFDS has put together is a great start'
New to the English Federation of Disability Sport (EFDS) website in 2015, we'll feature a blog post every Friday through the year.
February's theme is research and insight - chief executive of EFDS, Barry Horne, discusses the ongoing aims of the charity, the role of research within the organisation and our Charter for Change.
Barry's blog
You may have seen over the last few weeks that we were disappointed to learn that the number of disabled people taking part in regular activity has gone down over the year.
Sport England’s latest Active People Survey measures the number of adults taking part in sport across England. They revealed that 121,700 fewer disabled people are active since the last measurement.
Whilst there will be more to learn about why this has happened, it is clear there remains so much more to be done.
The English Federation of Disability Sport (EFDS) believes that the results confirm that we need to understand and respond to disabled people’s needs and preferences in a better way.
If you follow our work, you would have seen that we’ve talked a lot about the latest research EFDS has put together. It’s a great start but we’re far from finished in our learning.
As much as we change as humans over our lifetime, sport and physical activity and the way they are delivered change too. The barriers to being active and the changes in our lifestyle mean we access opportunities in different ways these days.
With the range of opportunities out there, surely it should be easier for us all to find the right one. At the click of a button, we can search for a local opportunity; perhaps a leaflet through our door is the easiest way to grab your attention. For some, working out at home may be the most convenient location.
If it’s easier to be active these days, why aren’t more disabled people adopting active lifestyles? This just shows that it’s not a short term or simple task.
Recently, we’ve seen some providers get a bit more creative in the opportunities they deliver for disabled people. But more consideration needs to be given to accessibility for a range of people with various impairments, support needs, and for the vast majority adding in the ‘fun factor’.
There are many organisations now working together to ensure disabled people can access more opportunities. From the National Disability Sport Organisations, to local clubs and charities, we hope there is something that appeals to disabled people of all ages.
Sport England has invested significantly and continues to deliver a strong message to National Governing Bodies of sport that disabled people should be an important part of their programmes.
It’s everyone’s responsibility to find new, exciting and accessible approaches that support inactive people with a wide range of impairments.
To ensure more disabled people have greater rights in sport and physical activity, we launched our Charter for Change on Tuesday 24 February. It sets out what disabled people say they need to access more opportunities.
The Charter asks for people across a wide variety of sectors to commit their support. It was a great night for all involved. Among those who committed their support was the Amateur Swimming Association. We hope you commit to the changes too and make active lives possible, for everyone.
Read more on the Charter here. For further information about EFDS and our research, please contact Emma Spring, Research and Insight Manager or Francis Leng, Research and Insight Advisor. Call 0161 200 5441.
