Sport, Health and Inclusion Services
The Sport, Health and Inclusion Services aims to create a more vibrant and healthy place to live and work. This is achieved by providing local opportunities for people to get active, get healthy and get involved thus increasing participation in getting started, staying and succeeding in sport, and physical activity. The provision of a diverse range of accessible sport, health and recreational activities and services helps to achieve this.
The teams main aims are to :
Increase participation in sport and physical activity for children, young people, adults and older people to create safer, stronger, healthier communities
Develop a club / group network which provides quality and accessible sport and physical activity
To promote / develop and sustain a quality, enthusiastic workforce
To manage and develop existing and new or improved facilities
The Sport, Health and Inclusion Services works with a wide range of partners from the voluntary, public and private and community sector to provide a broad and diverse range of services. The aim is to widen opportunities for people living and working in Bolton to become more active, and by doing so, to improve their health, well-being and quality of life.
What is Community Sports Development?
Community Links
Community Sports Outreach workers will develop links with local clubs, groups, agencies and individuals with the aim of improving and increasing the number of opportunities for participation in local areas.
Club and Group Development
The Community Sports Development team offer a wide range of support for clubs and community groups. This may include support to develop mentors, assisting with recruiting volunteers, obtaining funding, making clubs sustainable through club structures or support to gain national Governing Body Club mark accreditation and the Bolton mark accreditation. One of our main aims is to increase sport and physical activity opportunities in local communities.
Social Inclusion
The Community Sports Development team work in targeted areas of Bolton to ensure that people who may experience barriers to participating in regular sport or physical activity, have access to a number of opportunities in their local area.
Education and Training
The Community Sports Development Team provides a number of opportunities for local people to access relevant training and support. They will support people to access training run by outside organisations such as the Youth Service or CVS, as well as organising and delivering sports specific leadership and coaching courses.
Partners
The Community Sports Development Team have positive partnerships with a number of agencies, groups and individuals, locally, regionally and nationally.
It is important that the work we do reflects the broader issues affecting local people. We ensure that we have strong links with organisations working in the health, education, social services sectors. It is also important that we link with the private and voluntary sector.
What Is Widening Access?
In order to increase the number of people regularly participating in sport and physical activity it is important that all people are able to access appropriate opportunities.
Participation
Sport England have highlighted that participation levels are traditionally low among certain groups including women and girls, people with a disability and among BME communities. There are a number of barriers that exist for these groups which contribute to this low level of participation. Sport, Health and Inclusion aim to work with relevant groups and organisations groups to ensure that opportunities for participation are increased and that people are supported in overcoming these barriers
Clubs and groups
Sport, Health and Inclusion work with sports clubs and other community groups to ensure that they are fully inclusive in their membership and their organisation. SHI will support clubs and groups to make sure that their coaches and leaders are suitably qualified, they have relevant policies and procedures and that the facilities they use are appropriate and suitable.
Social Inclusion
Widening access also means that we work towards reducing the impact that social exclusion has on the people’s ability to access sport and physical activity. By working in the most vulnerable areas of Bolton and by supporting capacity building within communities, the number of sport and physical activity opportunities available to people will increase.
Facility Development
SHI will work with relevant partners to ensure that any barriers to participation in relation to facilities and equipment are addressed.
The Sport, Health and Inclusion team are committed to ensuring that access to sport and physical activity opportunities are available to all people in Bolton.
What is sport?
The decision to award London the 21012 Olympics has put sport well and truly back on the nations agenda. The overarching aim is to support the people of Bolton to Start, Stay and Succeed in their sporting careers. The sports development team work closely with the National Governing Bodies of sport to develop their whole sport plans from grass routes to elite level performers.
Club Development
The sports development team offer a wide range of support for clubs to gain national Governing Body Club mark accreditation and the new Bolton mark. The sports development team also support the Greater Manchester School to Club links scheme that support clubs and schools making sustainable links with coaching and out of school learning
Competitions and Festivals
The sports development team each year supports primary and secondary intra and inter school festivals, Bolton teams participating in county, regional and national events and young people that maybe participating on an individual basis.
Strategic Partners
The Sports Development Team has a number of key partners that it works with to develop sport; these include Greater Manchester Sports Partnership, Sport England, National Governing Bodies, Bolton Wanderers trust, Bolton Lads and Girls Club, Schools, etc.
For information about cycling and walking in Bolton see also
Healthy Walks and Cycling in Bolton