Free fitness classes for some of Manchester's most vulnerable families
BActive Manchester is offering free training to families affected by mental illness, drug and alcohol misuse and domestic violence
Families in Manchester are set to benefit from a new scheme helping them to become more active with their children, thanks to funding from the National Lottery.
The new BActive Manchester initiative, run by a team of staff from Manchester Women’s Aid, Barnardo’s and Home Start, is providing activity programs for families from Manchester Women’s Aid refuges across the city and those supported by the BIG Manchester project (which works with families to address the impact on children of domestic abuse, parental mental ill health and/or substance misuse).
The first groups of families registered with BActive Manchester attended a recent launch event at Manchester Velodrome and took part in a host of sporting activities, including cycling sessions with the British Cycling team and activity classes with North Manchester Fitness and Supermovers.
Other BActive sessions that families have been involved with in the past few weeks include ball skills, dance, Zumba, badminton, relay races, activities in local leisure centres and encouraging families to get out and active together in parks, including flying kites and frisbees.
More than £440,000 National Lottery funding has been provided for the BActive Manchester initiative by Sport England over three years. Families that sign up are supported on a 12-week program, which sees them attend taster sessions and tailored activities with staff and volunteers for the first six weeks, followed by personalised activity plans and support to access existing activity opportunities in their local area for the next six weeks. A team of volunteers are also helping families on their journeys.
Weekly wellbeing drop-ins are on offer to all parents taking part, providing opportunities to do mindfulness activities, yoga and get advice on nutrition, as well as connect with other families.
One mum that has attended BActive sessions said: “It just makes me so happy and we really enjoyed the park session. It’s the first time in my life I’ve ever held a kite.”
Megan* is another Manchester mum who is loving being a part of the BActive initiative with her two children. Megan struggles with her mental health and finds it difficult to leave the house. Previously the family has been very inactive and the children spend a lot of time playing on computer games. They have attended BActive sessions over the past few weeks and have started going to family badminton sessions, which the team has supported them to attend.
Elaine De Fries, Director of Operations for Manchester Women’s Aid said: “We are delighted to be working with our colleagues at Barnardo’s and Home Start on this extremely worthwhile initiative with Sport England. BActive Manchester is providing families we support with tailored activity programs in safe environments, enabling them to have fun together and build good exercising habits that can be carried on way into the future.”
Deirdre Lewis, Children’s Services Manager for Barnardo’s said: “The benefits of regular exercise go way beyond keeping our bodies fit and healthy, and can improve mental health and quality of life, which is why it’s so important to encourage good exercising habits from a young age. BActive Manchester is showing families it can be fun to be active together, connecting them with free or low cost activities in their nearby area that they enjoy.”
Mike Diaper, Sport England's Executive Director, said: “Parents have many demands on their time and can lack confidence in how to get active with their children. That’s why Sport England is working hard to make getting active or playing sport with your children an easier choice. It doesn’t matter what people do or how good they are, having fun together is what is important and helps ensure children continue to be active adults.”
BActive Manchester is one of the first projects to receive investment from the £40 million National Lottery funding pot that Sport England has dedicated to helping families get active together. The key focus is on helping young people to enjoy experiences of sport and physical activity so they develop a positive attitude towards being active at an early age and continue being active in later life.