Your Community Newsletter

Covid-19 has had a significant impact on all our lives over the last 18 months, but it has also exacerbated the inequalities in sport and physical activity for many communities across the county.

However, thanks to the Tackling Inequalities Fund and all your hard work, some of these communities have been able to engage in a wide range of sports and activities during these challenging times. From feedback you’ve provided, we know that your funded projects have helped improve the mental, physical and social wellbeing of all those concerned.

So far, 59 organisations have been funded across Kent & Medway with a total of £293,733 being awarded.  Based on the primary audience, 30% of projects have been focused on people from ethnically diverse communities, 16% of projects on people with a long term health condition, 23% on disabled people and 31% on people from lower socio economic groups.

Tackling Inequalities Films

We’re committed to highlighting the fantastic work that is going on across Kent & Medway in tackling inequalities in sport and physical activity. That is why we’ve commissioned GoForth Films to produce a number of short films to capture some of the powerful and moving stories as a result of your work.

The first of these films was shot during the last lockdown and really illustrates the impact that sport and physical activity can have on people’s lives.

Watch the first Tackling Inequalities Film .

Top Tips for Successful Delivery

From the feedback you’ve given us about your funded projects, we’ve collated some top tips to ensure successful delivery:

Be flexible in your offer . With the changing government guidance, be prepared to adapt your offer to suit the current guidelines and your participants needs. Continually consult with participants to find out if and where they need support.

Ensure your offer is inclusive . Not all participants will be able to access live sessions. To increase your participant reach pre-record sessions, develop leaflets or offer a mixture of online and face to face sessions.

Use your local community . Use the local people within the community to engage with your target audience and build bridges. Use this local knowledge and insight to understand your audience and where physical activity fits in to their lives.

Training Opportunities

We’ve received a request from one of our funded projects to host an online course around Managing Challenging Behaviours .

Course duration : 2.5 hours
Minimum age : 16
Date : TBC subject to interest

The course explores how sport and physical activity can be used as an engagement tool to address social exclusion, anti-social behaviour and community tension and build stronger communities. Participants learn the characteristics of ‘hard to reach’ young people and how to effectively engage with them.   They are shown how to recognise the causes and triggers of anti-social behaviour and explore the development of tools and skills that enable young people to take ownership of their issues and effectively manage challenging behaviour.

To express your interest in this course or if there are any other training opportunities you would like to discuss please get in touch with us at kentsport@kent.gov.uk . We have some funding to support training & development opportunities, dependent on overall course costs.

Sharing your Stories

One of the many highlights of the tackling inequalities funding is the personal stories and case studies that you’ve been sharing with us!

These stories and case studies really bring to life the projects and their impact so we will continue to share these on our website and via our social media channels.

Here a couple of stories for you to read in your own time (please click on the links):

Nordic Walking on Isle of Sheppey

Stepping Out in North Kent