Working towards a level playing field for disabled children and young people
National charity Activity Alliance is calling time on negative perceptions through its campaign, ‘Who says?’. The leading voice for disabled people in sport and activity wants disabled children and young people to have the same opportunities to be active as their non-disabled peers.
Who says? draws attention to just some of the negative perceptions that can impact disabled children and young people’s opportunities to be active.
Activity Alliance’s research highlights that there is significant work to do for it to be a level playing field for disabled children and young people in sport and activity. Only a quarter of disabled children say they take part in sport and activity all of the time at school. This is compared to 41 per cent of non-disabled children.
Who says? focuses on four perceptions about disabled children and young people. The perceptions arise from the charity’s research – My Active Future report:
- Young disabled people should sit out of PE lessons
- Disabled people can’t be leaders
- Disabled children can’t grow up to be active adults
- Families can’t be active together
The campaign is brought to life through four short films. Who says? provides straight-talking and upbeat insight from a mixture of disabled and non-disabled children and adults on what the perceptions mean to them.
Disabled people of all ages have countless personal experiences that lead to marginalisation, low confidence, and inactivity. Who says? empowers people of all ages, on and off the field of play, to challenge their own and others’ perceptions.
Kirsty Clarke, Director of Innovation and Business Development for Activity Alliance, said: “We’re delighted to launch this year’s campaign after two years in a pandemic affecting disabled children and adults the most. Changing attitudes is core to achieving our vision - fairness for disabled people in sport and activity.
“Who says? raises awareness of negative perceptions that are ingrained in our society. If we want a nation in the future that is inclusive and active, we need to address our own and others’ views.”
Tim Hollingsworth, Chief Executive for Sport England and Government Disability and Access Ambassador for sport and physical activity, said: “Tackling the inequalities that disabled people face when playing sport and getting active is central to our strategy, Uniting the Movement. Disabled children and young people have been disproportionately negatively impacted by the pandemic. So we absolutely welcome this campaign.”
RYA CEO Sara Sutcliffe added: “We are proud to support Activity Alliance's latest Who says? campaign. All disabled children and young people have the right to be active. We want to ensure that there are a vast range of welcoming local opportunities, and to do so, it is vital to raise awareness of the negative perceptions, so we can challenge, find solutions and create meaningful change.
“Being on the water is great fun. It builds confidence, independence and opens up a world of possibilities. That’s why we are proud to support the Who says? campaign as we strive to break down perceived barriers to participation and provide more opportunities for disabled people to get on the water.”
Activity Alliance wants everyone to get involved in the campaign and join the movement by posting your own experiences using the campaigns hashtag, #WhoSays. You can share Activity Alliance’s Who says? films and make your own to add your voice to the campaign and follow the #WhoSays campaign on Twitter.