Sainsbury’s Inclusive Community Training addresses new EFDS report's findings
New research from the English Federation of Disability Sport (EFDS) – ‘Supporting me to be active’ – demonstrates the importance of Sainsbury’s Inclusive Community Training and the positive impact the workshop is designed to make.
The workshop is three hours of practical training complemented by further online resources, is designed to improve the skills and confidence of those who support disabled people to be more active, and is a creative and informal development opportunity.
‘Supporting me to be active’, which was published earlier today (14 January 2016), shows that eight in ten supporters state they have some level of influence in encouraging disabled people to be active.
Sainsbury’s Inclusive Community Training is designed for those who support disabled people of all ages within the community, and have an opportunity to put the training into practice. For example; carers, support workers, parents, volunteers and community groups and organisations.
EFDS’s latest research demonstrates that supporters offer a variety of emotional and physical support to help disabled people to be active, depending on the needs of the disabled person.
The most common type of support given, according to 60% of supporters, is acting as a motivator and inspirer, providing disabled people with new ideas to be active or offering logistical support to enable them to take part.
A central part of Sainsbury’s Inclusive Community Training is enabling those who are in the position to positively support disabled people.
Joseph, a support worker from Bedfordshire, told EFDS that his experience of the workshop has equipped him with the skills and experience to provide improved support:
“Just because you’re disabled does not mean you cannot be supported to enjoy sport. It’s all about helping people to learn.
“I always want to find ways of helping people to live with their disabilities. There was one guy who didn’t really understand aspects of the training. He had a learning disability, so as a support worker I took it upon myself to take the time, helping him to understand and allowing him to learn and enjoy himself."
Supporters offer a variety of emotional and physical support to help disabled people to be active, according to ‘Supporting me to be active’. Joseph is just one example, and many more stories like his can be accessed through the EFDS website.
A popular aspect of Sainsbury’s Inclusive Community Training includes the signposting to attendees of local sporting opportunities and other support services available in the area.
This includes identifying the relevant County Sports Partnership (CSP), a local agency committed to increasing participation in sport and physical activity. The broader CSP Network contains 49 such agencies.
‘Supporting me to be active’ states:
"To be willing to encourage and support a disabled person to be active, a supporter must be confident the activity is relevant and suitable.”
Additionally, there exists “a correlation between the activity levels of supporters and disabled people.”
Sainsbury’s Inclusive Community Training helps delegates to understand the importance of physical activity and sport. As an organisation, EFDS see two broad outcomes which result from increased participation in sport and physical activity by disabled people; enhanced health and wellbeing for all disabled people, and a more equal society in which disabled people can achieve through increased opportunities and choice.
The new EFDS research identifies that 72% of supporters believe that the disabled people they supported wanted to do more physical activity. However, there are practical and emotional barriers preventing them.
Just 17.8% of disabled people take part in sport for 30 minutes once a week compared to 39.2% of non-disabled people.
Sainsbury’s Inclusive Community Training exists to counter these statistics and provide guidance, support and expertise to supporters, who today’s research shows are vital to the health and wellbeing of disabled people.
Read more about ‘Supporting me to be active’, and download it in its entirety, on the EFDS website. Sainsbury’s Inclusive Community Training is being delivered through the English Federation of Disability Sport and sports coach UK. The programme encourages parents, carers and friends of disabled people to be advocates of them getting and staying active, and can be a starting point for more people currently supporting disabled people to get into coaching. sports coach UK research tells us that 47% of disabled people who are supported in sport use a coach, compared to 52% of all participants. For further information, please contact EFDS, email AK4A@efds.co.uk or telephone 01509 227751. Find us on Twitter @Eng_Dis_Sport, Facebook and LinkedIn.
