Bridgwater & Taunton College has been given £102,000 funding from Sport England to reduce the number of their students who are completing less than thirty minutes of activity each week.
Sport England’s new Strategy ‘Towards an Active Nation’ puts tackling inactivity at the heart of what they do. As part of this initiative Sport England is investing £5 million into projects in colleges that will support their inactive students into regular activity.
Bridgwater & Taunton College will tackle inactivity through its BTC Active provision by offering a range of inclusive activity sessions each week to engage all students to take part in a regular physical activity. BTC Active will target those students who are currently in the pre- and contemplation stage of the behaviour change model, with the help of our enthusiastic and dedicated Student Activator team to create and develop innovative activities that spark student interest.
Through our Wellbeing Referral programme, the provision will also have a strong focus on breaking down barriers to mental health and supporting students with poor mental health. Working alongside other college support teams, we will offer one-to-one and small group activity sessions with a focus on improving the students’ mental health using physical activity.
BTC Active is well supported by the College’s performance sport programme, Team BTC. Team BTC will provide a sustainable exit route for continued participation and, in addition, BTC Active will build on the strong community links established by Team BTC to support students taking part in regular physical activity outside College.
Around one in five college students are inactive, and many come from groups that have lower socio-economic status or from ethnic groups that are less likely to be active. Colleges in the programme will specifically target these groups to reduce the activity gap between them and their student peers.
Mike Diaper, Executive Director of Community Sport said:
“We are delighted to offer Bridgwater & Taunton College National Lottery funding to help get students active. College is a crucial time in a young person’s development. It is often the first time that activity is not a compulsory part of their study programme and therefore all too many young people become inactive. This funding will allow colleges to be innovative in addressing the needs and desires of their students to help embed activity in their lifestyle in college and for years to come.”
About Sport England
Sport England is a public body and invests more than £300 million National Lottery and government money each year in projects and programmes that help people get active and play sport.
It wants everyone in England, regardless of age, background, or level of ability, to feel able to engage in sport and physical activity. That’s why a lot of its work is specifically focused on helping people who do no, or very little, physical activity and groups who are typically less active – like women, disabled people and people on lower incomes.
For further information on the national programme please contact: SportEnglandFE.Team@sportengland.org
