Access Football Initiative
| Published by | Jon Randall Facility Manager Southampton City Council |
| jon.randall@southampton.gov.uk | |
| Telephone | 02380 437668 |
The Access Football initiative is a professionally coached, fun and interactive football session delivered by the Kick Start Project and Saints in the Community, at Chamberlayne Leisure Centre in Southampton. Sessions are designed for disabled people aged over 16.
Our delivery partners are...
Kick Start Football, Saints in the Community, Southampton Day Services, Geoff Holt, Peter Hull, Inclusive Fitness Initiative, Hampshire FA & Gamercize
We have funding and support from...
Aiming High
The project is located in...
Southampton, Hampshire
The start and finish dates of the project are...
Weekly sessions, every Wednesday from 10.30am - 12.30pm
The people helped are...
Local residents with disabilities
We set up the project because...
Very limited opportunties within Southampton for disabled footballers, there was a clear demand from the local Great Oaks School and Southampton Day Services
The difference this project makes is...
Providing people with the opportunity to access physical activity in a controlled environment promoting the values of fun and socialisation
What we did or are doing
Chamberlayne Leisure Centre launched Access Football on 22nd April 2009. The event saw key partners involved coming together celebrate the launch of the initiative and taster sessions were run for people wishing to take part. Our aim now is to sustain the initial attendance numbers through the planned and cordinated apporach to spending the funding from Aiming High.
We chose this method because...
The launch of Access Football aimed to reach the local community both pre-launch and post launch through marketing and public relations. The aim is to ensure that everyone who wants to take part in the sessions knows the facility is there and can access it.
What's happened is...
A fantastic launch with Geoff Holt opening Access Football. 22 participants thouroughly enjoyed themselves and Sammy Saint and Chambers the Cat provided great entertainment on the day. Gamercize were on hand to supervise the inivative Gamercize Machine and New Aged Kurling was also set up for the participants to enjoy.
Since the launch Access Football has attracted interest fro other local groups but is still aiming to attract new users, there is plenty of availability on the sessions.
What we'd do differently...
In an ideal world we love to have an outreach worker to promote not only Access Football but additional activites which take place at Chamberlayne. Partnerships and conversations are what has made this project work and we must sustain both of these things to continue to promote Access Football and reach our aim of inclusion in the next Special Olympics.
Evaluation
Access Football was a planned approach and a action plan and report were comlpeted for the launch session and long term sustainability of the initiative. We are currently identifying how we will allocate the finding recived from Aiming High, this will also be in the form of an action plan/report.
This project helped to deliver...
This project plays a part in helping the City Council achieve their LAA Targets and also assists Kick Start Football and Saints FC in meeting their targets for participation.
The project is now...
Access Football is alive and kicking and welcomes you to participate and spread the word. We aim to launch a under 16's session later this year.
The launch event saw key partners involved in disabled sport gather to celebrate the launch of the initiative, and taster sessions were run for people wishing to take part.
The launch event saw key partners involved in disabled sport gather to celebrate the launch of the initiative, and taster sessions were run for people wishing to take part.
"It was a great honour to be asked to open ‘Access Football'. It is a terrific idea and they are lucky to have wonderful facilities and a committed group of people making it happen. Although predominantly those with learning disabilities are taking part at the moment, it is open to anyone with a disability across the Southampton area."
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| Lead Organisation | Southampton City Council |
| Geographical Area | Hampshire/IOW |
| Outcomes | Community cohesion, Developing talent, Improving health, Increasing participation |
| Beneficiary Age | Adults |
| Beneficiary Groups | People at risk of mental health problems, People with physical or learning disabilities |
| Type of activity | Active lifestyles, Fitness & exercise, Play, Sport |
| Primary Theme |  |
| Secondary Themes | |
