Agenda item

To note and comment on the initiatives of Move More Sandwell Partnership in relation to young people physical activity.

The Physical Activity Project Manager provided an overview of the work undertaken by Move More Sandwell Partnership to increase physical activity levels among children and young people in Sandwell.

Move More Sandwell was a Partnership of local organisations - including the Council’s Public Health Team, Voluntary Sector organisations like SCVO and the Albion Foundation, Active Black Country, Sandwell Leisure Trust, Places Leisure and the SHAPE Forum - working together to increase the number of local physical activity opportunities and promote those opportunities and get more people active.  The key drivers for this were tacking inequalities by increasing choice, embedding physical activity into daily life and creating long term improvements in overall health and life expectancy.

Nationally, a significant proportion of children and young people (5-18 years) were not meeting the UK Chief Medical Officers’ recommendation of being physically active for at least one hour per day.  However, Sandwell was ranked the fourth best authority in England for physical activity levels, and top in West Midlands.

A mapping exercise of current provision had identified 106 physical activity opportunities in Sandwell to date, including Holiday Active and Food Provision project, free swimming for under 16s and the Public Health Development Officer school engagement work.  The ‘Stronger Sandwell Activity Finder’, available on the Healthy Sandwell website, listed all activities under a single directory, with users able to specify parameters such as the town and activity type.

Future plans for physical activity initiatives were outlined, which included:-

·             A partnership agreement with British Cycling for a Cycle Activator post in Sandwell for an initial two year period.

·             An Adaptive Cycling project to offer cycling opportunities to those with disabilities and special schools.

·             Projects with secondary schools, lead by Public Health Development Officers.

·             STEPS school programme to offer sport club taster sessions to children and young people, but in particular to looked after children, linking to the 2022 Commonwealth Games.

·             Use of Commonwealth Active Communities (CAC) funding for an array of activities across six of Sandwell’s wards, activating green spaces with low levels of activity.

·      Feasibility study with Bristol University and using the Nutrition and Physical Activity Self-Assessment for Child Care (NAPSACC) model to identify links between nutrition and activity levels in nursery age children.

·      Further investment in the free swimming offer to provide free swimming lessons to children and young people who would not be able to normally afford swimming lessons.

A partnership agreement had been concluded with British Cycling for a 2-year Cycle Activator Post in Sandwell, designed to ramp up the cycling training provision in Sandwell. This included drafting a service specification for adaptive bikes cycling project, which would help to open up cycling opportunities to children and young people with SEND and in special provision. 

The following was noted in response to comments and questions:-

·      As part of the CAC funded project, one green space had been had been identified in each town, based on the lowest levels of physical activity. The spaces identified all had good links to canal tow paths.

·               Brunswick Park (Wednesbury)

·               Langley and Barford parks (Oldbury)

·               Greets Green Park (West Bromwich)

·               Britannia Park (Rowley Regis)

·               Victoria Park (Tipton)

There was a rolling programme in Smethwick’s parks.

·      A voucher scheme was proposed to further enhance the free swimming offer, and schools would be asked to identify targeted families and distribute the vouchers.

·      CAC funding was centred on activities for the whole family.

·      A ‘Weigh to Go’ programme physical activity app was being developed so that families could access pre-recorded activity sessions on their electronic devices.

·      The Council would work with a provider to deliver a programme of adaptive cycling over a three-year programme.  Bikes would be taken to where the need was.

·      Public Health Development Officers would continue to work across all directorates and bring all relevant partners together to identify and address gaps in provision.