Physical Activity Providers Resources to Help Engage Wider Audiences
We have put together a range of resources, aimed to help you support and engage wider audiences and reduce inequalities. This can help you to increase participation in your community, so more people can equally enjoy all the physical, mental and social benefits that come with an active life.
We know that many people living in Devon are missing out on the opportunity to be more active and face more barriers to an active life than others, despite potentially having the most to gain.
This can be for many often-complex reasons – sometimes due to gender, where they live, their health status or their personal finances. Or because they are disabled, or they are facing a cultural barrier. More often than not it’s a combination of one or more of these, plus other factors such as personal beliefs, past experiences and motivations.
Engage Wider Audiences and Reduce Inequalities
In order to achieve our vision of ‘Everyone in Devon Active for Life’ we want to work with Devon’s physical activity providers. By working together, we aim to further close the gap in levels of participation so that everyone in Devon has an equal chance to get active.
Work to help close the gap is already happening all over Devon. Physical activity providers are looking at how they can open up their offer to those who are often excluded. This is done through innovative programmes and by creating inclusive and welcoming offers to their communities, and we are proud to share their best practice examples to inspire others.
Click on the links below to explore the resources and tools from our trusted partners. We know that a lifelong love of being active starts with positive experiences in early life, so we are also sharing some resources to support you to engage with children and young people.
Content Sections for Quick Reference
Below you will find a range of resources to help you support and engage with wider audiences, including:
- People With Long-Term Health Conditions and Disabilities
- People With Mental Health Conditions
- Women (including pre- and post-natal and menopause)
- Culturally Diverse Communities
- Lower Socio-economic Groups
- Children and Young People
People With Long-Term Health Conditions and Disabilities
UK Chief Medical Officers’ physical activity guidelines for disabled adults infographic
This infographic explains the physical activity needed for general health benefits for disabled adults. Click this link to access the infographic or see the quick view image below.
The Disability Inclusion Club Hub created by Sport England Club Matters
Created by Sport England Club Matters in partnership with the Activity Alliance this quick and easy tool takes around 10 minutes to complete. It asks a few key questions designed to help you to understand how inclusive and accessible your organisation is when meeting the needs of disabled people and where changes could be made to improve your offer.
Engaging disabled people and people with a long-term health condition guidance
Provided by Sport England Club Matters, this guidance explores barriers that people with long-term health conditions and disabled people may face when participating and volunteering in activity. Plus, principals you can adopt to improve your offer.
Developed by 15 leading health and social care charities, this national campaign supports people with a range of long-term health conditions. The campaign’s purpose is to help and encourage people to find ways to be active that work for them and their condition.
Activity Alliance Ten Principles
The video introduces the Activity Alliances ten principles to support activity providers to deliver more appealing and inclusive opportunities for disabled people.
There is a wealth of other resources available on the Activity Alliance website.
Top tips for including deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) people in your coaching sessions
Created by UK Coaching, in association with UK Deaf Sport, this resource contains top tips for including deaf and hard of hearing people in your sessions.
Inclusive Facilities – supporting people with a visual impairment toolkit
Produced by UK Coaching and the Thomas Pocklington Trust, this toolkit has been designed to support those working within leisure, sports and physical activity environments to provide more inclusive facilities. This in turn will help people with a visual impairment access opportunities to be more active and healthier, and to thrive.
Tips for including people with Autism Spectrum Condition (ASC) in your sessions
Guidance from UK Coaching produced in conjunction with the National Autistic Society containing tips for including people with Autism Spectrum Condition in your sessions
People With Mental Health Conditions
Sport and physical activity for people with mental health problems: a toolkit for the sports sector
This toolkit has been developed by Mind, the UK’s leading mental health charity, specifically for the sport and physical activity sector to help you make your services more accessible to people with mental health problems.
Information sheets on anxiety and depression | Information sheet on eating disorders
UK coaching has developed a series of mental health information sheets to support coaches in their duty to care for the health and well-being of the people they engage and interact with. This extends beyond their physical health to include their emotional and mental health.
Promoting good mental health through coaching part 1
Promoting good meatal health through coaching part 2
These infographics have been produced by UK Coaching in partnership with Mind, the UK’s leading mental health charity and with support for Public Health England (PHE) to help you promote good mental health through your activity sessions. Click this link to access the infographic or see the quick view image below.
Women
Increasing female participation in sports and community clubs
This infographic from Sport England Club Matters shares top tips on how to attract more women to your activity and keep them there. Click this link to access the infographic or see the quick view image below.
How to improve your services for women and girls: As told by the 51%
ukactive and Sport England’s This Girl Can campaign have joined forces to publish a practical guide filled with fresh insight, guidance and tangible solutions to support fitness and leisure operators in getting more women and girls active within their facilities.
This national campaign aims to tackle the gender activity gap and connect with women of all shapes, sizes, abilities and backgrounds who might feel that getting active isn’t for them, with helpful tips, inspiring stories, and useful links.
Guidance for gyms and leisure facilities to support safer spaces for women
Insight and guidance from Sport England’s ‘This Girl Can’ campaign and ukactive to help fitness and leisure facilities create safer spaces for women and girls to be active.
Pre- and Post-Natal
UK Chief Medical Officers’ Physical Activity Guidelines: Pregnancy and After Childbirth
These infographics explain the physical activity needed for general health benefits for women in pregnancy and after giving birth. Click this link to access the infographic or see the quick view image below.
Information for fitness, sport and health professionals – The Active Pregnancy Foundation
Support, guidance and resources for fitness and sports providers to reassure pregnant and postnatal women and empower them to make informed physical activity choices.
Pregnancy and Postnatal Period: Being Active Free e-learning module
This free e-learning module developed by the ‘This Mum Moves’ project in collaboration with Public Health England and Health Education England, raises awareness of the current national physical activity guidelines for pregnant and postnatal women and takes around 30-60 minutes to work through. It is suitable for fitness professionals.
Menopause
Movement and Menopause: How Fitness Instructors Can Help
EMD UK have rounded up some key information and additional reading to help fitness instructors support and empower class attendees who are going through the peri menopause and menopause.
Inspiring women to be active in midlife and menopause
A research report from Women in Sport which examines every aspect of women’s lives over a five-month period to fully understand their experiences of menopause and physical activity and uncover the barriers that women experience to being active throughout midlife and menopause.
Culturally Diverse Communities
Ethnically diverse communities
Guidance and tips from Sport England Club Matters to help you ensure that your sport or physical activity offer is accessible to ethnically diverse communities and that inclusive and positive experiences are delivered.
Muslim Women and Girls insight pack
Research from Women in Sport in partnership with Sporting Equals which aims to provide context on the different cultures and backgrounds that Muslim women and girls have, as well provide advice on how sport and physical activity can provide engaging offers.
Lower Socio-economic Groups
Guidance from Sport England Club Matters on setting up and managing a fund to support participation by covering some or all of the associated costs.
Engaging lower socio-economic groups
Guidance from Sport England Club Matters exploring some of the factors that may affect participation by people from lower socio-economic groups, and how clubs, groups and organisations can work to become more accessible.
Children and Young People
UK Chief Medical Officers’ physical activity guidelines for children and young people: 5 to 18 years
The Department for Health and Social Care guidelines show the physical activity needed for general health benefits for children and young people aged 5 to 18 years. Click this link to access the infographic in PDF and text format or see the quick view image below.
The Department for Health and Social Care guidelines show the physical activity needed for general health benefits for disabled children and disabled young people. Click this link to access the infographic in PDF and text format or see the quick view image below.
Inspiring children and young people to be active – insights guide
Active Devon in collaboration with Social Change UK have produced this guide. It contains key behavioural insights into children and young people’s beliefs, attitudes and perceptions of physical activity.
Reframing Sport for Teenage Girls: Tackling Teenage Disengagement
This report from Women in Sport summarises their most recent survey findings of over 4,000 adolescent girls and boys to understand the similarities and differences in their attitudes towards sport and physical activity.
Creating enjoyable experiences for children and young people
Guidance from Sport England Club Matters on things that organisations can do to help create enjoyable experiences for children and young people (CYP).
Campaign and resources from the Children’s Coaching Collaborative champion child-first coaching, which prioritises the fundamental rights of all children and young people in sport and activity. The goal of the campaign is for all children to have a voice, choice and decide their journey when participating in sport and physical activity.
Get in Touch
We hope you find these resources helpful and would love your feedback on how you are using them and the impact it has made. You may also have other resources that we could share? Please contact your local place-based lead from Active Devon. These are our ‘front line’ officers in designated localities across the county who have a role to help and advise local community-based partners and groups.
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