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EFDS work supports YST manifesto for young disabled people

The Youth Sport Trust (YST) has published its own manifesto ahead of the 2015 general election in which is calls upon the next government to prioritise high quality PE in schools.

The document, entitled Unlocking Potential: A Manifesto for PE and School Sport, has at its heart a desire to see reflected across politics:

“A joined-up, cross departmental approach to ensure every young person has access to high quality PE and sport opportunities at school.”

The English Federation of Disability Sport (EFDS) shares that desire to get more young disabled people active. Among the many programmes and projects, EFDS is involved in, the Inclusive PE (IPE) Training and Inclusive Community Training (ICT) support the increased participation for this age group.

Inclusive PE Training

Working with the four Home Country disability sport organisations and Sainsbury’s, with support of Paralympics GB and the Youth Sport Trust, IPE is a course primarily designed for PE teachers on schools, though it may prove of benefit to others such as teaching assistants and special educational needs co-ordinators.

Taking just six hours to complete and combining face-to-face learning and online work, IPE is backed by £1 million of Sainsbury’s support.

The aim is to provide teachers and others with a clearer understanding of the needs of all pupils. The training supports the work of teachers in ensuring all pupils are engaged and make good progress within PE.

Thousands have already received IPE training and thousands more have benefitted from improved teaching. Said one PE teacher:

“I didn't have much training at university around making PE lessons inclusive which meant I was worried about my lack of experience when I first started teaching. The training has really opened my eyes to how easy it can be to adapt activity to suit all children without changing it completely or excluding students."

Inclusive Community Training

Another training scheme which improves the accessibility and inclusion levels of sport and other physical activity is Sainsbury’s ICT.

Aimed at those who work with disabled people and have the opportunity to introduce physical activities, but do not current do so, the training involves a three-hour workshop complimented by online resources.

Typical participants include support workers, carers, parents, healthcare professionals and community groups.

ICT has proved so successful that this month, just over a year after launch, the 1,000th person was successfully trained.

One graduate of ICT told EFDS:

“The workshop was above and beyond what I expected. It was fun and I learnt many ways to modify activities, and it made me think of things from a different perspective.”

To mark the 1,000th person successfully trained, EFDS this week published two new videos which explain more about ICT and why you too should get involved.

Chris Ratcliffe, Director of Development at EFDS, said: 

“Sainsbury’s Inclusive Community Training allows us collectively to reach more disabled people through physical activity and sport, making active lives possible. At EFDS we are really excited to see the impact of this initiative unfold and these new videos give a great taster for the training.”

The need for change

Sport England's Active People Survey, published in June 2014, found that 17.8% of disabled people take part in sport for 30 minutes once a week compared to 39.2% of non-disabled people. 72.1% of disabled people take part in no sport or physical activity, compared to 47.8% of non-disabled people.

In their 2015 manifesto, YST state that just 21% of boys and 16% of girls meet the minimum recommended guidelines for physical activity. One in three children who leave primary school are obese or overweight. YST say:

“We know the powerful impact PE and sport can have on young people’s development: boosting achievement, building vital communication and leadership skills and teaching the importance of healthy active lifestyles. For talented young people, PE and school sport is often the springboard to success in elite competition.

“We believe every child has a right to access high quality physical education and school sport and work to develop and deliver innovative programmes and interventions in schools across the country and internationally.”

With the inclusion of Inclusive PE Training and Inclusive Community Training, EFDS aspires to make a similar difference to the lives of young disabled people in 2015.

For further information, please contact Jimmy Smallwood, Communications Officer, by email jsmallwood@efds.co.uk or telephone 07794 525034. Kat Southwell, Active Kids for All Manager, by email AK4A@efds.co.uk or telephone 01509 227751.