Sainsbury’s Active Kids for All heads to Manchester for Kidz to Adultz
On Thursday 16 November, EFDS team members were in Manchester for Disabled Living’s annual event- Kidz to Adultz North 2017. The focus for the exhibition was to promote the Sainsbury’s Active Kids for All Inclusive PE Training and Inclusive Community Training programmes.
Looking after our stand, George and Rhian from Active Kids for All programme and Tom Webster, Engagement Advisor for North West and North East. All were on hand to provide information about local opportunities in the area and signpost people to relevant organisations.
We were delighted with the influx of visitors to our stand from early on. Attendees were finding out about both training programmes, relevant local opportunities and EFDS’s work. This resulted in over 60 people from a range of backgrounds registering their interest in the programme and signing up for more information. They included parents, carers, healthcare professionals and teachers, among other groups.
There was a lot of interest from healthcare professionals, predominantly physiotherapists and occupational therapists, who wanted to find out how they could benefit from the Inclusive Community Training.
Rhian McCarroll, Active Kids for All Project Support Officer, who said:
“Kidz to Adultz North was a great event for EFDS. It provided us with a fantastic opportunity to reach more people and promote the Sainsbury’s Inclusive PE and Inclusive Community Training programmes. It was extremely valuable to meet a number of people and share our extensive learning in this area.”
George Bollands, Active Kids for All Project Assistant added:
“It was fantastic to see so many people visit our stand throughout the day. I truly feel that, whether it was handing out leaflets about our training programmes or linking parents to their local opportunities, it has helped to make a difference to the many disabled people’s lives.”
The Inclusive Community Training Programme is a creative, informal and informative three-hour workshop. It is designed to improve the skills and confidence of those who support disabled people to be more active and to date has provided low cost training to over 9,500 individuals who support disabled people in the community.
The Sainsbury’s Active Kids for All Inclusive PE Training provides free training and resources to support teachers, trainee teachers and other school staff across the UK to deliver an inclusive PE curriculum for all pupils. To date, the initiative has provided training to over 10,000 teachers, benefitting over 250,000 young people with special educational needs and disabilities.
Sainsbury’s Active Kids for All attends a variety of conferences and events throughout the year. Chloe Studley, Active Kids for All Manager, explained why:
“Attendance at conferences allows us to connect with parents and professionals who are influential in supporting young disabled people. Regardless of ability, we believe that every young person should have access to an active lifestyle. So the opportunity to inform these influencers at events like these plays an important role in making this happen.”
Disabled Living’s next event is Kidz to Adultz Middle taking place in Coventry on Thursday 15 March 2018.
