National News

 

IFI Search Facility

Do you want to know where your nearest Inclusive Fitness Initiative (IFI) accredited gym is? If so check out the English Federation of Disability Sport (EFDS) search tool.

 

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Sport England £2.6 million funding boost to get more disabled people playing sport
Disability sport has been given a boost as Sport England revealed how £2.6 million of investment will help increase the number of disabled people playing sport – and make grassroots sport more inclusive.

For the first time Sport England will be directly funding five disability sports organisations to advise, support and guide other sports bodies as they create opportunities for participation by disabled people. In total these organisations will receive £1.1 million of National Lottery funding.

In addition, the English Federation of Disability Sport (EFDS) has been awarded £1.5 million of Exchequer funding to accelerate its strategy to increase sports participation by disabled people.

Currently one in 15 disabled adults play sport regularly compared to one in six of the overall population.

 

The five disability sports organisations to benefit from the investment are:

• British Blind Sport
• Cerebral Palsy Sport
• Dwarf Sport Association UK
• British Wheelchair Sport
• UK Deaf Sport
  

To improve the way expertise on disability sport is shared, EFDS will now act as a single point of contact for national governing bodies of sport and other sporting groups. EFDS will pull in impairment-specific information, support and advice from the other six disability organisations and help ensure a consistent approach.

 

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Safeguarding deaf and disabled children and young people, Child Protection in Sport Unit, NSPCC, June 2011 (5 pages)

Despite some traditionally negative misconceptions about young people with a disability or hearing impairment, the reality is that the vast majority of deaf and disabled children and young people are ready, willing and able to participate in sport and physical activity when they have access to facilities and appropriately trained staff to support them. The Child Protection in Sport Unit (CPSU) believe that when supporting the inclusion of deaf and disabled children and young people, sports need to also recognise the additional vulnerabilities these young people experience and that “child protection procedures, guidance and training help staff and volunteers to recognise the additional vulnerability of some children and the extra barriers they face to getting help.”1 For these reasons the CPSU have made safeguarding deaf and disabled children and young people in sport a priority theme and have established a range of multi agency groups to carry out work in this area.

 

This briefing summarises the key issues around the additional vulnerability of deaf and disabled children and young people which are reaffirmed in statutory guidance.

 

Click here to download guidance

 

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Making health walks more inclusive: Guidance for Walking for Health Schemes. Walking for Health, Natural England

This guidance document has been compiled in response to enquiries and suggestions from schemes. It provides advice and ideas on how to make health walks more inclusive for people with different ability levels. This may include people with long term physical health conditions, physical or sensory disabilities, learning disabilities or mental health conditions.

 

Click here to download Guidance

 

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