Get Yourself Active newsletter

Welcome to the Get Yourself Active April Newsletter

Spring is definitely in the air! Welcome to the latest edition of the Get Yourself Active newsletter.  This is our round up of what the Get Yourself Active team and our partners have been working on over the past month – and some opportunities that we hope will be of interest. More from us next month. Until then, stay safe…and enjoy the longer, warmer days, including the bank holiday weekend!

Get Yourself Active is hiring! Our team is expanding! We are looking for an experienced Communications Officer to join us.

We are seeking a highly articulate and proactive individual with a flair for communications, with lived and/or professional experience of disability. The post will work closely with the Get Yourself Active team to manage internal and external communications and to engage new audiences and existing stakeholders.  The post will play a key role in ensuring our communications are influential, informative and engaging, as well as leading on work supporting the redevelopment of our website.

The job description and person specification can be accessed by clicking here. To apply, please send your current CV together with a cover letter, outlining your interest in this job and addressing each point in the person specification. The deadline is 9.00am on Wednesday 26th May 2021. Should you wish to apply using another format, please contact us at recruitment@disabilityrightsuk.org. Applications without a suitable cover letter will not be considered. Click here to apply

Tackling Inequalities Fund by Sport England – funding still available

Disability Rights UK (DR UK) is one of the National Delivery Partners for Sport England’s Tackling Inequalities Fund (TIF) and has recently been accepted to continue to deliver funds over the coming months.

The fund aims to reduce the negative impact of Covid-19 and any widening of inequalities in participation rates in sport and physical activity. To-date we have been able to fund almost 40 organisations of varying sizes across England, all supporting disabled people, or people with long-term health conditions, to be active during the pandemic. Projects have included online exercise classes tailored for people with particular health conditions, walking groups, nature trails (photo), bespoke exercise routines and more! Funding has helped to pay for a range of things including, the cost of instructors, specialised equipment and volunteer costs.

The Get Yourself Active team at DR UK is accepting applications, from User Led Organisations (ULOs), or organisations which can demonstrate a user-led project idea, that supports disabled people, and/or people with long-term health conditions, to keep active in a Covid-19 safe environment (restrictions permitting – see below for more details) and in a way that is right for them. For more details, including how to apply, please contact: tacklinginequalities@disabilityrightsuk.org or call Elliot on 0203 687 0771 Click here to find out more about the Tackling Inequalities and other Sport England funds

Check out the ‘Active@Home’ section on our website! 

Despite lockdown measures starting to ease, you may feel more comfortable getting active at home for the time being.

As well as releasing our own accessible and inclusive exercise videos developed from research, which are available on our YouTube channel, the GYA team also created a new section of the GYA website so that you can easily find resources to support you to be active at home. We have collected videos according to which activity you are interested in, which also includes videos from some of our TIF partners. As well as this, we have pages dedicated to other resources, such as worksheets and downloadable resources.

Liddie Bone, Get Yourself Active Project Manager, commented: “Disabled people’s activity levels have been disproportionately impacted by the pandemic and during this difficult time, it is more important than ever that we are supporting disabled people to be active in a way that is right for them. Creating this new section of the website means disabled people can easily access resources that have been created by organisations that are doing amazing work to support people to be active during this time.” Click here for to see the Active@Home section of the website

Join the Moving Social Work co-production team
The Moving Social Work project, led by Durham University, aims to produce the first research-led teaching and community-based training materials and resources on physical activity to influence social work practice of today and tomorrow. To ensure the project is co-produced, Disability Rights UK will be developing and leading on a co-production team to help to steer and deliver the Moving Social Work project. We are still looking for a social worker and someone who works in the physical activity sector (such as an Active Partnership) to join the team! If you wish to express your interest in joining the group, please email Liddie – Get Yourself Active project manager.

Sense ‘Activity Finder’ now available
Sense has officially launched its new Arts, Sport & Wellbeing Activity Finder platform to help you to find and enjoy accessible activities, in your own space. The Activity Finder collates over 100+ free accessible activities suitable for people with sensory impairments or complex disabilities, via their website. The launch of the platform reflects Sense’s commitment to make sure no one, no matter how complex their disabilities, is left out of life and will help to tackle social isolation and loneliness for disabled people.

Sport England regularly updates its news and blogs page in response to any government changes regarding sport and physical activity in England. Please check regularly and sign up to its newsletter to stay informed.