Clubs, Coaches, Volunteers Newsletter March 2025
Social Value of Sport
In October 2024, Sport England announced the annual social value of sport and physical activity across England was £107.2 billion in 2022/23. Broken down by a ‘primary’ value of £96.7 billion placed on the wellbeing of adults, children and young people taking part or volunteering in sport and physical activity, and a ‘secondary’ value of £10.6 billion on the wider savings to the health and social care system.
They have now released the local breakdown by region, Active Partnership and Local Authority. The local data shows the regions in England with the greatest combined social value in 2022/23 were the Southeast (£18.3bn), London (£16.2bn) and the Northwest (£13.8bn). For Active Kent & Medway, the figures show a total social value of £3.5 billion, made up of £3.2 billion in annual wellbeing and 0.3 billion in wider savings.
Funding Opportunities
Parkinson’s UK Physical Activity Grants
The Parkinson’s UK grant scheme opened on 10 March 2025 and helps fund activity providers to give people with Parkinson’s more opportunities to get and stay active.
“Being active and taking part in a variety of exercises and physical activities definitely helps me to manage my Parkinson’s.”
They provide grants of up to £3,000 to support physical activity projects. They offer application support tools to help you make the best application.
Apply for the Parkinson’s UK Physical Activity Grant
Sport England’s Movement Fund
Sport England offer up to £15,000 for physical activity projects in the community. The focus is on people who face barriers to activity and projects designed to help them join in.
They encourage not for profit organisations who play an important role in keeping their community physically active to get involved. Projects that provide opportunities for groups facing barriers to activity are of particular interest, as well as projects in communities identified as having the greatest need for activity programmes.
Training Opportunities
Buddle Learning Workshops
Sport England’s Buddle exists to help people with their development. They provide free workshops and webinars throughout the year and the March learning opportunities are listed below:
Leadership and Governance: Tuesday 25 March, 7pm. Focus on who’s leading your organisation and the skills needed, exploring links with good governance principles and tips to help them put your policies into practice.
Your Culture and Values: Thursday 27 March, 6.30pm. Explore and build on your understanding of organisational values and what defines your culture.
Become Youth Mental Health Aware
Through the Tommy Crush Foundation we are delighted to offer free places on this online introductory session to raise awareness of young people’s mental health.
Some of the common mental health issues affecting young people include depression, anxiety, eating disorders and psychosis. This session will enhance your skills to work more effectively with young people living with mental health issues.
Register for the Youth Mental Health Aware Workshop
DBS Sessions for Sport Sector Organisations in the South East
Kelly Matthews, DBS Regional Outreach Adviser, has put together a great programme of free online webinars across March and April, available in the evenings and via lunch and learn sessions.
Covering DBS checks, eligibility for Enhanced, and Enhanced with Barred Lists(s), understanding the legal duty to refer and harmful behaviours, these sessions will develop the sectors understanding, or act as a refresher.
Sport Welfare
Club Welfare Officer Drop-In Session
Our next online drop-in session for Club Welfare Officers takes place on Monday 7 April 7pm – 8pm.
Our Sport Welfare Officers, Stuart and Jimmy will be facilitating the session and will be sharing information around ‘What is an Active Bystander?’.
There will be an opportunity to ask any questions you have or to discuss more general safeguarding/welfare issues.
Register for the Drop-In Session
Bowls Development Alliance Roadshow
On Thursday 27 February, Jimmy, one of our Sport Welfare Officers, attended the Bowls Development Alliance (BDA) ‘Empowering Clubs and Growing the Sport’ Roadshow held at Swale Indoor Bowls Club in Sittingbourne. He was given the opportunity to explain more about the role of Active Kent & Medway, and specifically how we can support local clubs via the Sport Welfare Project.
Jimmy commented, “It was great to be invited to the Roadshow with over 30 clubs attending and participating in very informative and engaging sessions. Topics covered included safeguarding, club development and affiliation. We’re looking forward to continuing our work supporting the BDA and their clubs in Kent.”
Supporting England Hockey and Holcombe Hockey Club
Working in partnership with England Hockey and Holcombe Hockey Club, Stuart arranged a UK Coaching Safeguarding & Protecting Children Workshop for club members on Sunday 9 March. 12 attendees, coaches and welfare officers learnt about recognising and responding to concerns and how to take an individual approach to put the child/young person at the heart of every decision.
Gaynor Tom, Club Development Manager, England Hockey said, “England Hockey are really excited to be working with local Sport Welfare Officers appreciating the wealth of experience that they bring. The officers working with clubs locally is such a positive, allowing safeguarding and other specialised training to be held at clubs for clubs. The network of Sport Welfare Officers across the country is an extremely valuable resource and we actively encourage local clubs to engage with their expertise to benefit club members.”
Active Lives Survey Online Tool
Sport England’s Active Lives survey provides a world-leading approach to gathering data on how children, young people and adults engage with sport and physical activity. It gives anyone working with specific age groups data to help understand attitudes and behaviours around sport and activity.
The Active Lives Online Tool allows you to select the data you are interested in analysing, from location, to levels and type of activity, to age group and more.
Free Access for National Sports People
The Kent FANS (Free Access for National Sports People) scheme provides support to the county’s leading sports performers through free, off-peak access to a number of the county’s sports facilities.
Join over 300 local sports performers of ALL ages, representing over 40 different sports and receive a number of benefits to help with training and competitions. Find out if you or someone you coach is eligible for the scheme and the benefits you can access to help you stay in the best possible condition.
Visit the FANS Scheme to find out more
For anyone living in Tonbridge and Malling, the tmactive Talented Athlete Scheme (TAS) is a new initiative dedicated to helping local sports people elevate their performance and achieve success in their sporting journeys. The funding application deadline is 28 March 2025.
Other News and Announcements
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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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