Get Yourself Active newsletter

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 up to during the month of September – along with some opportunities, news and insight that we hope will be of interest. You’ll hear more from us next month!

Get Yourself Active offers free co-production training for the sport sector  Get Yourself Active is now offering co-production training to national sport and leisure organisations as well as groups in the localities of Haringey, Bristol and Gloucestershire. The training will help organisations gain confidence to co-produce with Disabled people, improving access and reducing barriers to physical activity. If you work in these places, we would love to invite your organisation to learn more about improving opportunities for Disabled people to access physical activity through co-production training. We want to lead change in the social care, health, and sport sectors, to improve health and wellbeing outcomes for Disabled people and help them to get active in a way that is right for them. Our team has been working closely with other Disabled people’s user-led organisations (DPULO’s) and the sport sector to embed co-production in practice.We offer training to a range of organisations that deliver physical activity, whether you co-produce activities already or not. As long as you have an interest and would like to do more, we can and want to work with you. Currently, we are providing training both at a national level as well as in three areas – Gloucestershire, Haringey and Bristol in partnership with local DPULO’s. If your organisation is interested in joining a workshop to improve knowledge and confidence around using co-production approaches in practice, please feel free to get in touch and we can discuss this with you in more detail. For more information, please contact Lydia Bone at Lydia.Bone@disabilityrightsuk.org  You can find out more here

Your Stories in September Every month we ask our community to share their experiences of getting active in a way that’s right for them, their thoughts on the latest news or what sport and physical activity mean to them. We want to share their stories online to help raise awareness of the different ways of getting active and help other Disabled people feel confident and empowered to take the first steps to a more active life. This month, we loved getting a panel of experts together for National Fitness Day (September 22nd) to answer some of the most frequently asked questions our community has about sport and physical activity.  We’ve covered so much more this month, including: 1. The amazing Louise Hunt took us through her memories of Paralympics past, and what elite sport has given her throughout her life.2. We shared a simple guide to co-production, written by the Get Yourself Active team that share tips and secrets for anyone who wants to introduce co-production to their next activity.3. Our friends at Traverse, shared their report on phase 2 of our involvement with TIF – highlighting all the good work we’ve done so far and what’s next for this important project. We’ve covered so much this month, and you can access all our stories here.

Get Yourself Active developing EDI plan for Tackling Inequalities Fund delivery  As part of the Get Yourself Active programme, we are looking at developing an Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Delivery Plan. Would your organisation be interested in supporting us?Get Yourself Active and Disability Rights UK aim to increase opportunities and reduce barriers for Disabled people, ultimately striving for equal participation for all. We therefore want to ensure we are doing all we can to recognise, support, and celebrate diversity within the community.We understand that in addition to identifying as a Disabled person, or as someone with a long-term health condition, people will often self-identity with other characteristics such as gender, ethnicity, a faith or belief, and sexual orientation.We want Disabled people from all backgrounds to feel able to participate, thereby ensuring that equal opportunity really is for everyone. We would therefore welcome thoughts and feedback around how we can embed equality, diversity and inclusion, from organisations that support Disabled people/people with long-term health conditions from other under-represented communities to be active. In particular, we are looking across:• Our delivery of the Tackling Inequalities Fund• Our work with the social care workforce and social workers• Embedding co-production within the sport sector• Communications• Policy workIf you think this could be you, or someone else from your organisation, please get in touch and we can either arrange a call or liaise further by email: anna.denham@disabilityrightsuk.org 0203 687 0784 Click here to find out more about the Tackling Inequalities and other Sport England funds

Superhero Series launches new winter events The UK’s one and only Disability sports series for all of us everyday Superheroes. The mission has always been simple for Superheroes Series: create fun, full-throttle mass-participation sports events where Disabled people are in charge and don’t have to worry about cut-off times or equipment restrictions.Founded by Sophia Warner, who saw the issues that Disabled people like her had when they tried to access sports events. Her own experiences combined with meeting many sports lovers over the years, like their wonderful ambassadors, who are crying out for more opportunities are the inspiration for this series.This year the amazing team at Superhero Series are running their first in-person physical event since 2019 and also continuing to run their ever popular at home event. They guarantee both events will be full so we recommend that anyone who wants to take part books now to avoid disappointment. Head to their website to join in the fun! You can read more on our Stories page Active @ Home We understand that many of you may feel more comfortable getting active at home.If you haven’t already, make sure you check out our Active @ Home section on our website. We’ve recently added a range of new accessible content from Videos to Toolkits so you can get active in a way that suits you. The page 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.We want this page to always work for you. If there’s a resource you’d like to see more of – or you have a video of your own you think would be of interest to others in the community, please reach out to the team.   Click here for the Active@Home website  Continuining to tackle inequalities Following the release of our interim report, the Get Yourself Active team are still accepting applications for the Tackling Inequalities Fund and are keen to continue our focus on groups underrepreseted in Disabled people’s sport & physical activity. If you work with or are an organisation representing Disabled people from Black, Asian or Ethnic Minority groups, women and girls, lower socioeconomic groups, or any other under-represented group to become more active, we would especially like to hear from you. So, if you or anyone you know might be interested interested in applying, please let us know at tacklinginequalities @disabilityrightsuk.org  Tel: 0203 687 0771Click here to learn more

Going Above and Beyond to Support RidersThe Barguse Riding Centre based in St Austell, Cornwall is a shining example of best practice and has been awarded the Accessibility Mark by the RDA. Centre owner, Lisa Todd and her team came up with interesting ways to engage with their regular riders during the pandemic.Accessibility Mark status is awarded to a riding centre that has been approved by the RDA following training and assessment. The close link with the RDA means that it can offer continuous support to the establishment to ensure it provides a first-class experience that aims to be hugely beneficial to all Disabled riders.The accreditation reognises how they supported their riders during a time that was incredibly difficult for everyone.We are so happy for them!  Click here to find out more about the Accessibility MarkSocial Care activity pack available now We are so proud to have launched a new online pack designed for carers, support workers and personal assistants who support Disabled people and people with long term health conditions.It was designed with experts in the social care and physical activity sectors including Durham University, Sport England, Sense, Sport for Confidence, Activity Alliance and Community integrated care. It will help to facilitate further Disabled participation in physical activity by educating and empowering those who care to help Disabled people get active in a way that suits them.The pack looks to address some of the barriers that Disabled people face when they want to get active. The interactive pack offers practical help, tips and advice that can be used to support Disabled people to participate more in sport and physical activity. It is free and available online for all – designed to be shared and consumed with the sole purpose of breaking barriers to disabled participation in physical activity. Click here to see the pack in full (PDF)Disability Rights Handbook ONLINEWe are delighted to announce we have a new digital edition of the Disability Rights Handbook. Created to support remote working, this enhanced version of our flagship publication is an essential resource for all professional advisers.Our online service sits on the well-established AskCPAG platform and: is fully searchable; allows you to create your own bookmarks, make notes, and cite in different formats; has clickable weblinks; is accessible (works with screen readers); provides regular bi-monthly updates throughout the year; is mobile-ready (you can even read it on your phone); provides access to articles on the AskCPAG website. Subscriptions cost £37 and can be purchased from the CPAG shop. Create a CPAG account if you don’t have one already, then log in and buy your subscription through the online shop.Individuals on benefits can subscribe for 12 months for £19. Contact us for a discount code to use at checkout. Email Tony Stevens to find out more.Buy your subscription to the digital Disability Rights Handbook