Implementing Get Yourself Active Local in Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin

Get Yourself Active Local in Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin is a project being led by Disability Rights UK in collaboration with Energize Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin (STW) (an Active Partnership) and two local authorities with support from a range of voluntary and community organisations. The aim of the project is to increase the number of people with lived experience of disability, mental health and long-term health conditions to be more active and move in a way that suits them. The project includes:

• workforce development
• primary data collection
• a focus on system change. 

The approach has evolved through partners’ sharing expertise and insight from peoples lived experiences.

Disabled people or those born with a long-term health condition are twice as likely to be physically inactive and we know that those who stand to benefit the most to being active are those who face the most barriers. As 18.5 per cent of the residents in Shropshire and 20.5 per cent of the residents in Telford and Wrekin identify as disabled, we recognised a collaborative approach was needed to enable more people to be active in a way that suits them and to achieve positive and sustainable change.

The project began by forming a steering group of partners, including those with lived experience, all committed to promoting more inclusive practice across a range of sectors. This involved reviewing existing work and identifying opportunities to develop initiatives that support positive change in relation to physical activity and moving more.

Workforce development focused on three themes:

Moving social work training – education for social workers and other professionals who undertake Care Act 2014 assessments to understand the importance of physical activity and moving more and to embed conversations into everyday practice. Moving Social Work training was delivered by Durham University in collaboration with Disability Rights UK and Energize STW to 246 professionals, including social workers, social work assistants, and occupational therapists. 

Social care workforce training – aimed at educating carers (paid and unpaid) around the importance of physical activity and how to have conversations with the people they support. This has reached 30 individuals. 

Physical activity provider training – aimed at educating providers around the importance of co-production and how to embed this into their provision, to better support people living with a disability or long-term health condition. This has reached 15 individuals.

The primary data was captured using a local survey. The responses will enable partners to learn more about the experiences of both disabled and non-disabled people in relation to sport and physical activity. The data will be used to inform and help improve inclusion, belonging, and the quality of local opportunities available for Disabled people and those living with a long-term health condition.

Establishing the steering group created a strong foundation for cross-sector change. Partners have been able to share insight, challenge existing approaches, and explore a shared vision for inclusive practice. This collaboration highlighted where support, resources, or new approaches are most needed. Ultimately, this work has strengthened partnerships and is the foundation for continued advocacy around improving inclusion for Disabled people and those living with a long-term health condition to move more.

The Moving Social Work training will empower professionals to think more creatively around how to embed movement into everyday conversations with individuals they support. While the attendance for the social care workforce and physical activity provider training has been lower, the insights gained and relationships developed have been valuable.  

The project has led to each local authority recognising the importance of including movement-related questions into their social care assessment process. Telford and Wrekin Council have confirmed questions around movement are now included within their social care system. At this time, Shropshire Council have submitted a similar request but await confirmation.

The commitment to maintaining this collaborative approach remains, even after the direct delivery of workforce development. The steering group continues to meet regularly to maintain the momentum gained and to help shape future initiatives.

The addition to questions around movement in the social care process will ensure that strength-based conversations around activity and moving more are encouraged in everyday practice.

Through the Active Partnership involvement in delivering the training, key resource needs that social care professionals feel would better support them in helping people be more active have been identified. The resources suggested will be further explored and co-produced through ongoing work.

Disability Rights UK are recording versions of the social care workforce and physical activity provider training. Offering the training in this format increases its accessibility and allows it to reach a wider audience.

With just shy of 800 responses, the survey findings will provide local and accurate data to help shape future work.

An independent evaluation to examine the projects implementation, effectiveness, and overall impact is ongoing.

• The collaboration between the public and voluntary sector and individuals with lived experience in co-producing the project has been instrumental to its success.
• Adopting a top-down approach to coordinating the Moving Social Work training proved successful in reaching a large proportion of social work professionals in Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin.
• Using a bottom-up approach to co-ordinate the social care workforce and physical activity provider training resulted in lower attendance; however, outcomes from both training themes were still positive.
• Although the project so far has initiated a change within systems, long-term collaboration will be key to transforming culture.

Michelle Pullen
Email: [email protected]