69% of people with long-term health conditions and 75% of women want to be more active (Sport England), but many lack the confidence to attend a physical activity or sport session. Recent results from the Activity Alliance show how the pandemic has not only widened existing inequalities for disabled people but is creating new ones too.
Inclusive physical activity sessions ensure that nobody is left on the sidelines, so making small changes to your sessions and how you communicate can help those who are least active to get involved.
We work with a range of local organisations who have a wealth of knowledge so please get in contact if you are wishing to work in a specific locality or community or join our networks.
Below are some of the national organisations that can provide support, guidance and resources to help you provide inclusive sport and physical activity sessions.
Strategic lead for disability sport in England. They provide useful resources, insight and workshops to enable organisations to support more disabled people to be active.
• Activity Alliance Inclusion Club Hub toolkit – useful to clubs
• Reopening Activity: An inclusive response – guidance as part of their ongoing commitment to disabled people’s inclusion.
• COVID-19 and disabled people snapshot – aims to help those working in sport and leisure to understand the wider impact COVID-19 is having on disabled people and activity levels.
Trans-led and trans-involving grassroots organisation with a wealth of lived experience, community connections of many kinds, and a depth and breadth of trans community knowledge that is second to none.
Gendered Intelligence aims to support SPA organisations to make a positive, practical difference to trans inclusion, by increasing knowledge and confidence, to enable providers to create and implement realistic, welcoming, everyday trans inclusive policies and practices.
The charity uses the power of sport and physical activity to raise awareness, tackle mental health stigmas and support those of us with mental health problems to become more active. They also offer a range of resources and engagement opportunities for sports organisations who wish to do more around mental health.
The National Disability Sports Organisations (NDSOs) are a good starting point for many disabled people who want to be more active. They provide advice, support and opportunities for people of all ages with specific impairments.
The seven NDSOs are: British Blind Sport, Cerebral Palsy Sport, Dwarf Sports Association UK, LimbPower, Special Olympics Great Britain, UK Deaf Sport and WheelPower.
Aims to challenge homophobia in sport and improve access to sport for LGBT+ people.
The charity exists to help the inspirational people who are working every day to improve the lives of young people and tackle the problems that matter in their local community. Specialising in supporting the survival and growth of local community organisations using Sport for Development.
Promotes ethnic diversity across sport and physical activity, and are the only organisation in the UK to do so. Originally set up in 1998 by Sport England, in partnership with the Commission for Racial Equality, they are now a fully independent body and a national partner of Sport England.
Stonewall, stands for lesbian, gay, bi, trans, queer, questioning and ace (LGBTQ+) people everywhere. They imagine a world where all LGBTQ+ people are free to be themselves and can live life to the full.
Make Sport Everyone’s Game – sports toolkit
StreetGames harnesses the power of sport to create positive change in the lives of disadvantaged young people right across the UK. StreetGames’ work helps to make young people and their communities healthier, safer and more successful.
A collaboration of leading health and social care organisations in the voluntary sector. A collective voice to better influence health and social care policy, with the aim of improving the care and support for the 15 million people living with long term conditions we represent.
Age UK, Alzheimer’s Society, Versus Arthritis, Asthma UK, Breast Cancer Now, British Heart Foundation, British Lung Foundation, British Red Cross, Diabetes UK, Macmillan Cancer Support, Rethink Mental Illness, Royal Voluntary Service and Stroke Association.
The charity Women in Sport was founded in 1984, with the goal of giving every woman and girl in the UK the opportunity to experience the transformational rewards of sport.
Women’s Sport Trust raises the visibility and increases the impact of women’s sport through the promotion of diverse athlete role models, increasing media coverage and improving the funding landscape.
