County Sports Partnership Update

 

Change 4 Life (C4L) – West Midlands Regional Conference

 

It has been a year since we first started to see those bright yellow posters on bus stops telling us to get off a stop early and the jelly-babies type characters on the ads on the TV.  You might be wondering ‘What is it all about?’  Well this month the Department of Health Regional Office hosted a conference to share the achievements and good practice of the C4L campaign with local co-ordinators, deliverers and supporters from across the region. 

 

Jane Baker, the Deputy Regional Director of Public Health (Dept of Health West Mids) chaired the event and she introduced David Shaw who gave a national update on C4L.  He explained that C4L is the brand name for the social marketing campaign led by the Department of Health and closely linked to their “Healthy Weights, Healthy Lives” (2008) plan. This plan was written partly in response to a Foresight report which forecasted that the health of the nation was on track to serious problems in the future with over 60% of the adult population predicted to be clinically obese by 2050.  You might be aware of a number of sub-brands to the C4L campaign such as Walk4Life, Bike4Life, Swim4Life etc.

 

“Healthy Weights, Healthy Lives” identified 6 clusters of families of which 4 were at ‘high risk’ of being overweight and inactive – this equates to over 3 million families in the UK. C4L focuses on changing 8 key behaviours using messages such as ‘me size meals’, ‘5 a day’, ‘snack check’, ‘sugar swaps’ and ’60 active minutes’.  From evaluations of the campaign so far, over 80% of mums recognise and trust the C4L brand.

Initially the C4L messages focused on families and particularly those with young children, but new strands are being delivered such as Start4Life (focusing on mums-to-be and babies), and another group which will be targeted is adults aged 45-65 years who are already overweight.

 

There was also a presentation from the Central Office of Information explaining how they help with the promotion of local campaigns, and the work they have already done linking C4L with Healthy Schools and a successful Walk to Schools campaign.

 

Delegates were treated to a display of ‘activity’ from the Coventry City FC Cheerleading Group and a Hoop Hop (Hula hooping to hip-hop music) demonstration by Kellee McQuinn from KidTribe and children from a Coventry primary school.

 

Tony Apicella, National Programme Director of ContinYou (representing the voluntary sector and a national partner with C4L) gave a very thought provoking presentation looking at putting C4L into practice and the successful work of the Breakfast4Life clubs across the country.

 

If you are thinking about running a local project that can benefit from using the C4L brand you should seriously consider using the Promoting Physical Activity Toolkit website.  This is a free, promotional tool which can help you design posters and other useful applications to help you with promotion and raising awareness of your events.  The website is; http://www.promotingactivitytoolkit.com

 

And finally, if you have not yet signed up as a local supporter please go to the C4L website where you can find a wealth of support materials and information; http://www.nhs.uk/Change4life/Pages/Default.aspx

 

Alison Williamson
Physical Activity Development Manager
T: 01785 619177
M: 07800 619695
E: awilliamson@staffordbc.gov.uk

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Aiming High: Disability Sport and Physical Activity Officer
for Staffordshire

 

 

 

Hi my name is Mark Fosbrook and I am the Aiming High: Disability Sport and Physical Activity Officer for Staffordshire. This role is one of the first of its kind in the Country and Staffordshire are looking to lead the way so other Counties may follow.

 

 

Before I tell you more about my role I want to tell you about myself. I am a double below knee amputee with congenital deformities to my hands. Basically I have two fingers on each hand and no feet or ankles. This was a condition I was born with and has an official name of Ectrodactyl. Having this disability has in no way stopped me from achieving my goals. I found sport at a young age and soon realised that I could use it to show that my disability did not affect me. I went through mainstream education and faced numerous challenges but I used sport as my motivator and actually represented my school in Hockey. I also went on to represent Portsmouth.  Most noticeably my sporting achievements have been:

 

1996 Paralympics Atlanta, Volleyball, squad player (7^th)

2006 Wheelchair Rugby World Championships (4^th)

2008 Paralympics Beijing, Wheelchair Rugby, Team Manager

2007 & 2008 British Indoor Rowing Champion (World Record Holder)

Currently play Wheelchair Basketball for Wolverhampton Rhinos (Best team in the Country)

 

These are only a few of my sporting achievements and I can tell you more when we meet. I have also always worked within the sport and leisure environment. I have managed fitness clubs, run a sports department at a Specialist college and have also been the Performance Manager for the Great Britain Wheelchair Rugby Squad. These previous roles have given me a wealth of experience to bring to this role and I am looking forward to developing opportunities for young disabled people through out Staffordshire.

 

The role has been primarily funded through the Aiming High initiative with support from Sport Across Staffordshire and Stoke on Trent. My objective is to develop a sustainable strategy that will enable the development of existing and new clubs to support children with disabilities. I will also be a collating all of the opportunities from across Staffordshire to ensure children and parents are aware of what is available. Another key area is ensuring that these clubs and opportunities are staffed by appropriately skilled people so the children are supported appropriately.

 

I am really excited about this role and believe that I can make a real difference in Staffordshire. I started in the post at the beginning of January and I can already feel the excitement, potential and support from everyone to ensure this initiative is a success.

 

If you have any further questions you can contact me on:

 

Tel: 01785 619398
Mobile: 07800 619683
Email: mfosbrook@staffordbc.gov.uk

  

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Active People Survey 3 Results

 

Active People Survey 3 (2008/9) began on 15 October 2008 and was completed on 14 October 2009, SASSOT have collated all the results for the Staffordshire area which are attached on the spreadsheet below.  The survey provides by far the largest sample size ever established for a sport and recreation survey. It identifies how participation varies from place to place and between different groups in the population.  The survey also measures;The two headline results: NI8 and The One Million Target.

 

NI8: Refers to the percentage of adult population in a local area who participated in sport and active recreation, at moderate intensity, for at least 30 minutes on at least 12 days out of the last 4 weeks (equivalent to 30 minutes on 3 or more days a week) The only difference between NI8 and KPI 1 is that NI8 includes five light intensity activities for people aged over 65 (yoga, pilates, indoor and outdoor bowls, archery and croquet).

 

Please note that for the NI8 Active People 3 result it is a combined figure of APS 2 & 3, which provides a combined sample size of 1,000 that is comparative to APS1.
 
The One Million Target:  Refers to the percentage of the adult population participating in at least 30 minutes of sport, at least moderate intensity at least 3 times a week.  The One Million Target has a narrower focus of activities and does not include recreational walking or cycling.

KPIs 1-6:
The remaining KPIs report the proportion of the adult population that participate in 30x30 sport and active recreation, volunteer in sport on a weekly basis, club membership, involvement in organised sport/competition, receipt of tuition or coaching, and overall satisfaction with levels of sporting provision in the local community.

SASSOT Headline Results:

NI8: South Staffordshire have achieved the greatest percentage of 23.8% followed closely by Newcastle and Stafford (both 23.6%).  Stoke-on-Trent & Tamworth have also witnessed positive direction of travel.

One Million Target: SASSOT has witnessed a positive direction of travel of 0.9% making us the 2nd highest performing CSP in the West Midlands.  South Staffordshire have achieved the highest percentage in Staffordshire (19.2%) whilst Lichfield have witnessed the greatest positive direction of travel (4.2%). 

KPIs 1-6: South Staffordshire achieved the greatest % of participation against KPI 1 (3x30mins), whilst Stoke-on-Trent witnessed the greatest positive direction of travel (3.9%). East Staffordshire achieved the greatest levels of volunteering (KPI 2) whilst Stafford achieved the greatest level of club membership (KPI 3).  Tuition (KPI 4) witnessed the greatest positive direction of travel in Tamworth whilst those taking part in competitive sport (KPI 5) was highest in East Staffordshire. The only two statistically significant results for the Staffordshire area were achieved in KPI 6: satisfaction with sports provision in the local area.  These result were achieved by both Tamworth and Cannock. 
 

To download the full results please click here.

 

For more information please contact:

Naomi Bird

Knowledge, Communications & Equalities Manager

Tel: 01785 619 585

Email: nbird@staffordbc.gov.uk

 

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Leigh Morton
Admin Officer
T: 01785 619349
E: lmorton@staffordbc.gov.uk

 

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