Clubs, Coaches, Volunteers Newsletter May 2024
Annual Review 2023-24
Our recently published Annual Review provides a summary of our work in 2023-24 across our five identified priorities plus our Everyday Active Campaign.
The review provides links to stories and videos designed to bring what we do and are so passionate about to life, sharing the experiences of real people from across our county and how sport and physical activity really can change lives.
We’d like to thank the hundreds of organisations and individuals across Kent and Medway that we work with on a daily basis to get more people, more active, more often.
Volunteers' Week 2024
This year, Volunteers’ Week (3 – 9 June) turns 40, and in support of this milestone, Active Kent & Medway invite you to celebrate the volunteers that are making a difference in your clubs and organisations so we can recognise these incredible people and the fantastic contribution they make to our local communities.
Is there someone you know who has made an outstanding contribution in the past year? Maybe they’ve helped maintain a facility? Supported coaching sessions? Organised fundraising events? Helped keep members informed? Taken on the role of Welfare Officer? Encouraged others to try a new sport/activity? We’d love to hear from you so we can celebrate their achievements on our social media channels throughout Volunteers Week.
Follow this link to find out how you can get involved and celebrate a volunteer
Sport Welfare Project
Active Kent & Medway is committed to promoting good practice and safe sport for children, young people and adults at a local level. The Sport Welfare Project is being driven by two Sport Welfare Officers within the team, Stuart and Jimmy, who are part of the new national network of sport welfare officers.
Stuart and Jimmy are hosting an online Club Welfare Officer Drop-In Session on Monday 24 June 19:00 – 20:00. They will explain more about the national Sport Welfare Project and the work going on here in Kent as we begin to create a supportive network.
Training Opportunities
Start your Safeguarding Journey
An interactive webinar, delivered by NSPCC Child Protection in Sport Unit, is taking place on 22 May 2024, 19:00-20:00, for small community groups and activities.
This webinar will provide you with some basic information about safeguarding and protecting children during their sport and physical activity sessions. There will be an opportunity to ask questions.
Safeguarding & Protecting Children Workshop
Taking place on Wednesday 3 Jul 2024 (17:45 – 20:45) at Medway Park, Gillingham, Kent, this interactive face-to-face workshop will cover the importance of person-centred care, protecting yourself, the young person and your club/employer by understanding and following good practice.
The course has been awarded 2 CPD points by the Chartered Institute for the Management of Sport and Physical Activity (CIMSPA). The cost of the workshop also includes access to a digital resource A Guide to Safeguarding Children and Young People in Sport & Physical Activity to help guide you in your future coaching. Packed full of practical guidance it will help you to deal sensitively and effectively with any issues that arise.
Complex Disabilities in Sport Workshop
Sense Active are launching a new ‘Complex Disabilities in Sport’ workshop – a workshop supporting sport and physical activity coaches and instructors to provide meaningful activities for people with complex disabilities and deafblindness.
The new three-hour practical and theory workshop includes guidance on how to:
- Develop a meaningful approach to making sport accessible.
- Achieve effective communication and engagement with your participants.
- Prepare, deliver and evaluate activities inclusive sport activities
Funding Opportunities
Active Kent & Medway Small Grant
Active Kent and Medway, in partnership with Kent Trust for Youth Sport, is able to provide funding for any club or organisation, looking to encourage and increase participation in physical activity for those living in Kent or Medway (excluding London Boroughs).
50% of the total project costs, up to a maximum of £500 could be available for projects such as new programme of activities, taster sessions, events or pilot schemes, that re-engage with their previous audience and/or encourage those new to activity to continue to be active.
“A simple application and fast to be approved. It’s made such a difference to the lives of the people within the group.”
Awards
Kent Mental Wellbeing Awards
The Kent Mental Wellbeing Awards accepts nominations linked to three themes – kindness and compassion, wellbeing, and mental health. The awards will be staged in October by the mental health charity Mind in Bexley and East Kent in collaboration with a range of wellbeing and mental health organisations.
Nominations can be linked to a simple act of kindness that lifted the spirits, a business that has improved staff wellbeing, through to a targeted initiative delivered by a charity or statutory organisation to support a mental health issue.
This year, new categories have been added for veterans, seniors, partnership projects and suicide prevention. Nominations from across Kent and Medway can be submitted up until noon on 1 September 2024.
Muslim Sports Awards
The Muslim Sports Awards are more than a celebration, it is a beacon of change aimed at addressing the concerning levels of inactivity within the British Muslim community and the inequalities faced in accessing sports and physical activities.
The awards, run by the Muslim Sports Foundation, stand as a testament to the commitment to inclusivity, showcasing and rewarding the excellence and resilience of British Muslims in sports and physical activity. Categories include Sports Personality of the Year, Coach of the Year, Community Initiative, Lifetime Achievement, and Rising Star.
Everyday Mental Health
Active Kent & Medway is proud to support the Release the pressure campaign delivered by Kent County Council and A Better Medway.
We invite local organisations, clubs and community groups across Kent and Medway to get behind this important and timely campaign.
We’ve produced a campaign toolkit with editable posters, social media graphics and suggested tweets for local clubs, national governing bodies of sport and other organisations to use in their own promotion of the campaign.
Other News & Announcements
Contact Us
We’d love to hear from you
If there’s anything in this newsletter you’d like to discuss, then just get in touch and one of our team members will get back to you as soon as possible. Please email: activekent@kent.gov.uk
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