Aston Villa Foundation Remodels Programmes for Inclusivity
November 8, 2019
Over the course of 18 months, the Aston Villa Foundation remodelled its structure, embedding an inclusive approach by partaking in 'Lead’– an inclusion improvement programme from the Activity Alliance.
Aston Villa Foundation works hand-in-hand with organisations across Birmingham in the UK, partnering to enhance community engagement and provide opportunities for disabled people to be active.
In January 2018, Aston Villa approached the Activity Alliance to facilitate ‘Lead’ and support them to embed an inclusive approach across the organisation. Engagement Advisor, Mark Fosbrook delivered the initial workshop to all staff. Afterwards, he provided the Foundation with an organisational improvement plan.
Over the last 18 months, Aston Villa Foundation has made great strides towards becoming a truly excellent organisation for disabled people. Their Lead improvement plan outlined scope in particular areas. As a result, they have invested in specific training for all staff and boosted local engagement opportunities. They have also secured the future of local activity sessions for disabled people.
The Foundation has embedded inclusion training into their continuous professional development programme to combat low levels of disability awareness among staff.
Regular training opportunities now include disability equality, autism awareness and coaching blind footballers. In addition, Activity Alliance delivered an Inclusive Activity Programme workshop for current staff members to improve their confidence and skills to adapt activity sessions.
Aston Villa’s efforts are already having a direct impact on the local community. The Foundation stepped in to support a day centre that was forced to cancel their weekly activity session. Aston Villa now hosts the free activity session with 60-80 disabled people each week.
Aston Villa’s most recent commitment to inclusion has been signing up to the Include Me West Midlands pledge. This initiative aims to get West Midlands delivering more activity that is inclusive for disabled people and people with long-term health conditions. West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) are working in partnership with Sport England and Activity Alliance.
The pledge shows an organisation’s commitment to breaking down the barriers disabled people face within the region. As part of their commitment, Aston Villa Foundation will begin embedding Activity Alliance’s 10 principles into their planning and delivery. The 10 principles support providers to raise awareness of opportunities and make physical activity more appealing to disabled people.
Ray Ashley, Head of Engagement at Activity Alliance said: "We applaud [Aston Villa’s] commitment to improving how they include disabled people in everything they do.”
Debbi Rawson, Projects Manager at Aston Villa Foundation said:"Aston Villa Foundation are delighted to be part of the Include Me West Midlands pledge, we have worked hard over the last 2 years with the support of partners, such as Activity Alliance, to improve our disability provision and ensure all of our sessions are inclusive.
Activity Alliance, then called the English Federation of Disability Sport, were Official Shortlisters for the 2017 Beyond Sport Global Awards in the Sport for Equality category. Learn more about the Awards here.