Back in September 2024, we met with the team at Pendle Family Hubs to tell them about our work and experience within inclusive physical environments.
In the initial meeting, they informed us of the inclusive physical activity sessions they already provided, and we discussed what they wanted out of the training resource we were creating.
A key talking point surrounded the fear of getting things wrong, so we wanted to put them at ease by creating a “magic box” at our first session in November where they could write about any worries or questions they had. This was a really useful exercise as it allowed everyone to open up about their own experiences, both personally and professionally, and reduce any anxiety they may have had prior to delivering physical activity.
Prior to this, we delivered an activity which involved the staff moving around the area they found themselves in, labelling the activity ‘Move in any way you can’. We chose to do this intentionally to show the staff that you do not need lots of equipment or instructions to make physical activity fun.
Later, we got the group into a circle, giving individuals the task of experiencing physical activity through the lens of a different impairment. Examples of this included wearing a blindfold and earmuffs whilst trying to receive instructions from a partner about where the ball was.
The staff then had a go at creating their own session for each other, using a range of different equipment such as bell balls and sensory items.
The follow-up session took place in March 2025, and as well as creating their own session, the staff gained an insight from Let Me Move Staff member Bradley into the many people that can be involved in someone’s physical activity journey. Staff were assigned roles of different people within someone’s life, such as a doctor, teacher, or a parent, and the role each of these people play when promoting a positive relationship with physical activity.
Senior Family Support Worker at Pendle Family Hubs, Vanessa, gave her thoughts on what her favourite part of the day was:
“What is also helpful from today is the activity where we had to think different ways of adapting (the activities) because the staff come up with the planning for these events, so it’s built their confidence with using activities that we currently do already, but how to adapt them for the needs of the different people that may be attending our sessions.”
We were thrilled to be able to deliver this training and collaborate with Pendle Family Hubs. We thank them for their efforts throughout the training and hope the staff gained valuable learning from the two sessions we put on!
Watch the video here: