Through the Together Fund, 20Twenty delivered a project offering multisport activities to 90 children in Fenland for 12 weeks. A focus of the project was supporting children with a SEND classification.
The funding enabled 20Twenty to deliver their first sport and physical activity project. 20Twenty are an organsiation with established delivery in primary and secondary schools, running creative learning and social action project projects. This project provided an opportunity to add sport and physical activity.
20Twenty reflected on the impact the project had on a participant:
“Over the first few weeks, he gained some confidence and comfort within the environment. He began to have more extended discussions with our team and became something of an advocate and central figure in the sessions.
He is now part of our delivery team for Saturday morning football. As a result, he has grown in confidence with an apparent increase in his self-esteem.”
20Twenty said that the funding had supported work with the community, ” we have delivered a funded sports-related project for the first time. We reached out to young people who may be unable to access such opportunities. Sport isn’t always inclusive. We wanted it to be inclusive, and we wanted to offer something exclusive. For that reason, we didn’t rely solely on football and cricket. Instead, we added footgolf, dodgeball and other unusual activities. Indeed, we are now looking at opportunities to offer baseball and flag-American football too.”
The feedback has been exceptional, and many children have expressed benefits and gratitude (and a desire for more of the same). The organisation also says they have learn a lot from the project and will continue to invest in training to help them support and engage young people. Another aim is to continue to look to offer a variety of sport and physical activities to make their offer even more inclusive.
Sophie Etheridge – Adaptive Athlete “I have always swum but not always been disabled…” Sophie, a determined and passionate individual, has faced numerous challenges since her cycling accident in 2011.
Once this framework has been published, we encourage partners to consider how they can implement the framework to make a real change for disabled people to access physical activity, sport, and leisure in the way they want, when they want, with no barriers placed on them by society.
In partnership with the South Care Partnership, Cambridgeshire and Peterborough ICS and Cambridge United Community Trust, Living Sport are coordinating a walking football project in South Cambridgeshire running from March 2023.
Our aim is to improve health, happiness and wellbeing by supporting people to be active, in a meaningful way through programmes, events and influencing policy. Your donations are hugely appreciated and help make this possible.
