SDS and SAMH are delighted to be winners for the Be Active Be Well programme for the UK Coaching Coaching for an Active Life award. Many thanks to everyone who was involved as it was a real team effort.
The Be Active Be Well programme has been tremendously successful in ensuring participants of all ages became and stayed active throughout the UK’s coronavirus lockdown.
In March 2020, it became evident to SDS that people with disabilities, mental and physical health problems and those shielding from the virus would be affected detrimentally by the measures. By swiftly moving our activity programme online and through promotion by Branches, SDS encouraged potential participants and participants to be active every day through daily physical sessions and weekly mental well-being sessions.
Participants have indicated that the variety of physical activities on offer met their needs and that they found them enjoyable, motivating them to return to the programme day after day and week after week. With isolation a core problem of the lockdown, Be Active Be Well sought to address this through activity, social contact and new friendships.
One of the key reasons for the success of the programme is the quality of the tutors delivering such amazing sessions each week. Thank you – Robert Nesbitt, Bob Smith, Gill Penfold, Ella Beaumont and Helen Singleton. And behind every successful programme are the key workers who make it all happen seamlessly, so thank you Victoria Clark.
BABW also provided Disability Inclusion Training for coaches and volunteers through its member branches – redeveloped for the virtual classroom environment – and the delivery of two virtual Para Sport Festivals.
All in all, the programme reached over 600 people, of whom 83% were female, 51% were wheelchair users, 31% had a physical disability and 16% a learning disability. Watch an overview of the programme here:
SDS is delighted that the BABW programme is being extended into a winter season. For further details please see here.
A big thank you to UK Coaching for all the planning and organising to make the awards happen in 2020.