In order to support more young women and girls from low-income communities to be more active, StreetGames supported five groups of young people to undertake peer research with other young people in their communities and to use their findings to develop a ‘Dragon’s Den’ style pitch which secured social action funding from the South East & Mid Wales Collaborative Construction Framework (SEWSCAP - now rebranded as ARDAL).
The challenge
National datasets have shown over many years a significant gender gap between boys and girls when it comes to participation in sport and physical activity – with the gap widening even further when family affluence is also taken into consideration.
The latest Sport England Active Lives data1, shows that, whilst 60% of boys from high affluence families are ‘active’, just 42% of girls from low affluence families are.
This disparity exists, not because of a lack of demand, but because of a lack of affordable, accessible and appealing opportunities within low-income communities.
The solution
To support more young women and girls from low-income communities to be more active, StreetGames supported five groups of young people to undertake peer research with other young people in their communities and to use their findings to develop a ‘Dragon’s Den’ style pitch.
All of the teams’ proposals had to meet the same goal – to increase participation in sport and physical activity amongst women and girls.
Peer Research
Five different groups of young people all volunteered to take part.
The young people involved all received peer research training from StreetGames to help them to:
- Understand what Peer Research and social action is;
- Develop their discussion topics and questions;
- Understand the different ways they could go about capturing the views of their peers and how to do this safely;
- Analyse the data they receive; and
- Develop budget plans and bid writing skills.
The teams then went out and conducted research with other young people in their communities to find out more about what an attractive sport/physical activity offer looks like for girls and young women in their area.
Dragon’s Den
Once the young people had undertaken their research, they were supported to create a business plan, proposing how they intended to create and deliver a suitable project.
Each team of young people, then put their business plan to the test against a team of ‘Dragons’ consisting of representatives from ARDAL and StreetGames. The teams presented their plans and asked questions from the team of experts about their proposals.
The expert panel was so impressed with the young people’s proposals resulting in SEWSCAP investing nearly £80,000 across the five projects.
The Activities
The proposals which each of the groups developed, were all different in their approach – as they sought to respond directly to the key issues that had been raised via the Peer Research. The information below provides a summary of the activities that were provided. For more information see here: ARDAL Peer Research - One Year On - StreetGames
Bettws Boys and Girls Club (Bridgend)
As young people who have previously benefitted from StreetGames experiences, Lara, Carrie, Grace and Morgen wanted to be involved in the Us Girls peer research project to increase opportunities for girls to take part in sport and physical activity in Bettws, Bridgend.
The group conducted research in their youth club around what an attractive sporting offer could look like. Their resulting proposal comprised fortnightly sessions at a purpose-built facility for girls to learn to dance and cheerleading – following their Dragon’s Den pitch, the group received over £19,000 of investment from ARDAL.
This funding allowed the group to transport girls to and from the dance studio on a bi-weekly basis, as well as providing kit, Us Girls merchandise and food for all participants to encourage regular attendance.
Some of the girls were also able to undertake leadership courses to empower them to deliver sessions themselves in the future. As a result of this funding, one of the girls became a paid member of staff at Bettws Boys & Girls club.
Powys Youth Service (Powys)
Jazmin, Tia, Caitlin and Jovi are young ambassadors working with Powys Youth Service who were approached to take part in the Us Girls Peer Research project in Wales.
As a group they conducted research in their communities around what an attractive offer could look like for young women and girls in their community. They were awarded £15,000 in funding for their proposal to deliver a girls-only provision project, including food and kit offers, for a year, with the aim of making it sustainable.
Powys Youth Service have now introduced female-only boxing sessions and given out free swimming passes to young women and girls in Newtown and Welshpool. The team are currently working on creating a training calendar for young people engaged in the project. They also aim to offer alternative provision during school holidays where young people will be able to leave their immediate community and experience other areas and opportunities. These have included inspirational trips, such as: attending the rugby league world cup.
Treharris Boys and Girls Club (Merthyr Tydfil)
As longstanding members of Treharris Boys and Girls Club, Olivia, Elisha and Cadence were encouraged to take part in the Us Girls peer research project. They all regularly attend fitness sessions at the club and are working towards their Bronze Duke of Edinburgh awards.
After conducting research in their communities, they developed an ambitious plan to transform an unused room in their community centre into a purpose-built gym/studio to provide girls-only sessions in addition to regular activities. Their proposal was awarded over £16,000 in investment.
Treharris Boys’ and Girls’ Club have now renovated the disused room and turned it into a female-only physical activity room/gym, including mirrored walls for dancing and gym equipment.
StreetGames introduced them to Morgan Sindall who were able to undertake the work at no additional cost, and who also donated £2,000 towards some of the gym equipment. The group have worked to make their project sustainable, including generating income by hiring out the space when it is not in use. Some of peer researchers have been upskilled to deliver their own sessions in this space, including dance qualifications and gym qualifications.
Aneurin Leisure (Blaenau Gwent)
As community coaches at Aneurin Leisure, Courtney, Alisha, Chelsea and Elise were keen to get involved with the Us Girls peer research project in Wales.
The team ran a community-wide consultation focused on what girls in the local area would like to see at sport and physical activity sessions. Based on their findings, they put forward a plan to make it easier for participants to make it to sessions by offering transport and delivering sessions in three different areas, which was awarded over £15,000 in funding following their Dragon’s Den pitch.
The team have placed real emphasis on ensuring sessions are participant led, with opportunities for young people to upskill. They are also already making links with partners to make their project sustainable by partnering with the local health board running a wellbeing project in their community. This project was bespoke to young people who were at risk of leaving school, with funding supporting an engagement of 6/7 weeks of wellness and activities – as a result, some of these young people have now re engaged in education and went on to sit their exams.
Valleys Gymnastics Academy (Caerphilly)
Valleys Gymnastics Academy (VGA) is a community gymnastics club which regularly provides outreach projects in the local area. The peer researchers, Olivia, Mia, Carys, Charlie and Maddy are athletes, young leaders and coaches within the club who felt it was important to get involved with this project to work towards reducing the gender gap in sport.
Research conducted both at VGA and in the wider community found that girls wanted to be able to choose different activities and have access to a wider variety of sports. The team therefore sought funding to allow them to offer weekly multisport sessions led by fully qualified staff and coaches. Following their Dragon’s Den pitch, the group were awarded over £10,000 of funding.
The weekly sessions offer a range of different activities with an emphasis on delivering sports that are male dominated, for example football. The group have also engaged external organisations to deliver sessions and taster days in order to expand the range of options available for girls to take part in and are upskilling volunteers as part of their project.
The impact
The funding to deliver the new activities was provided by circa £80,000 of (social value) investment from ARDAL.
The investment has created new opportunities and safe spaces for hundreds of young women and girls to be active and take part in a wide range of sports and in some cases go on to become role models, volunteers, leaders and gain paid work.
A core legacy of the project has been the embedding of a youth led approach amongst the organisations involved.
How is the new approach being sustained?
The new activities are being sustained via a range of different methods, including:
- Supporting and up-skilling some of the young women and girls involved to undertake leadership and training courses and qualifications so that they are able to deliver activities themselves within their community.
- Using the refurbished facilities to generate income by hiring out the space when not in use by the youth group
- Making links with other local partners to develop wider health and wellbeing projects.
- Some girls are now taking part in wider community sports sessions and teams (e.g. with the Swansea Foundation) as the initial funding included purchasing kit and equipment meaning that they were able to do so.
Lessons learned
- Young people are brilliant at coming up with solutions to local problems – they are keen to have their voices and ideas heard and acted upon.
- LTO leaders are key to making these projects a success.
- It is vital to ensure that peer researchers are clear on what the outcome links to.
- The training and support required to support young people as peer researchers should not be under-estimated. We have now extended the length of this training from half a day to a full day – with additional support and training provided throughout the social action period.
- Ensure that clear policies and procedures are in place re gaining young people’s consent in research projects.
Contact
Rhiannon Sheen de Jesus [email protected]
Links to relevant documents: For more information see here: Us Girls champions secure new sporting opportunities for women and girls - StreetGames