Active Black Country and Sense form local partnership
Sense and Active Black Country are working together to ensure more people with complex communication needs across the region have more opportunities to be active. The two organisations will launch a new action plan that improves activities.
It is commonly known that taking part in sport and active recreation has significant physical, mental and emotional benefits. Yet over 300,000 people with dual sensory loss in England encounter a number of barriers in accessing and taking part in sporting activities.
In the Black Country there are 234,991 people whose day to day activities are limited by a long-term health condition or impairment. This represents approximately one in five of the population.
Currently, half of this population (50.7%) are classed as inactive (less than 30 min of activity a week), and 22.4% have not been active in the past year.
Sense is a national disability charity that supports people with complex communication needs to be understood, connected and valued. In 2016, Sport England awarded Sense over £420,000 to deliver ‘Sporting Sense’, a project that aims to increase sporting opportunities.
Following on from the Sport England-funded Deafblind Active project awarded in 2014, this represents a combined £670,000 investment in Sense’s sports function over the last three years.
The partnership aims to build on current activities across the Black Country. They want to develop new opportunities for the Health and Social Care sector to engage with sport. Also, ensure sports venues and providers are capable of delivering high quality services that meet the needs of participants.
Together, Active Black Country and Sense hope to connect with key partners, sharing better practice, insight and learning. In addition, they want to improve the marketing and promote new activities and training opportunities through multiple channels.
Ian Carey, Active Black Country Director, said:
“We’re very excited to be working with Sense and supporting the Sporting Sense project. One of the key areas we will be supporting is the upskilling of deliverers to ensure that individuals with an impairment get a great experience when trying new activities. The joint action plan certainly provides the framework to generate more accessible activities and raise the profile of much-needed opportunities to be active for people living with a disability in the Black Country.”
Callan Barber, Midlands Sport Coordinator at Sense, said:
“We are really pleased to announce this partnership with Active Black Country, and hope that by working together to implement our action plan, we can support more people with complex communication needs across the Black Country to become more active. The CSP will provide us with crucial local insight and knowledge, which will allow us to understand the barriers faced when trying to access sport, link with new partners, and upskill the sports community to ensure they deliver high quality, inclusive activities.”
Photo credit: Sense
