Thousands grab the chance of Sainsbury's Inclusive Community Training
Over 5,000 people have now benefitted from Sainsbury’s Inclusive Community Training, with just over a year of the programme remaining.
The specialist training is designed to improve the skills and confidence of those who support disabled people to be more active, and is a creative and informal development opportunity.
It is for those who support disabled people of all ages within the community, and have an opportunity to put the training into practice.
One beneficiary, experienced volunteer Sophie Hook, says she enrolled onto the training in order to learn how to tailor an activity session to suit the needs of various participants.
“Throughout the course we learned simple changes to make to the session which will enable us to challenge the participants as well as keeping them engaged for longer.
“It was nice to see how other organisations do it and to get new ideas.
“Since attending the course I have applied what I learnt in recent sessions and have found the adaptations to have a positive impact on activities. It has also made me more confident in delivering group activities and knowing how to include everyone.”
Another workshop participant who has recently completed the training and applied what he learnt is Doncaster Titans manager Darren Warner.
“Recently, I’ve adapted an under-16s session because a profoundly deaf lad has arrived to play. We have now developed a way where he understands me and I understand him without us having to rely on British Sign Language.
"We’ve developed a series of actions where, when he looks at me, he knows what I want from him. And there’s a gesture I do that tells him I want to show him something to do with the game.”
Sainsbury’s Inclusive Community Training, a part of the Active Kids for All scheme, is funded through £1 million of National Lottery funding from Sport England
It is delivered by the English Federation of Disability Sport (EFDS) in partnership with sports coach UK.
The training consists of a three hour face-to-face session complimented by online resources and costs just £10 per participant (further subsidies may apply).
At present, only two out of every 10 disabled people are active regularly. While many want to do more, EFDS’s research indicates that 70% of those surveyed are not aware of any local opportunities.
