Conference Poster: Sport Aberdeen

The text of this poster reads:

SPACE is designed to remove barriers and support children and young people to improve their physical health, emotional wellbeing and enhance key life skills, using the power of sport as a catalyst for positive change.

The SPACE programme’s bespoke 1-2-1 and small group sport, physical activity and play sessions aim to improve:

• Mental Wellbeing
• Healthy Habits
• Peer Relationships
• Positive Destinations
• Educational Attainment
• Discovery

Sport Aberdeen is committed to its role as a Corporate Parent, with its approach shaped by the strong knowledge-base of the benefits of sport, physical activity and play on the holistic wellbeing of children and young people who have experienced adverse childhoods.

Care experienced children are at heightened risk of depression, anxiety or risk-taking behaviours, with subsequent long-term impacts on health, relationships and educational outcomes. In addition, the Scottish Government through the National Improvement Framework and Closing the Gap agenda highlighted the need to address the attainment gap between those with experience of care and the general school population.

Research evidences that sport and physical activity are well known to improve resilience and self-esteem and reduce symptoms of depression, anxiety and stress, which in turn improves readiness to learn, impacting positively on school performance. Therefore, this places unique value of creating opportunities for children and young people to be active.

Journey

Underpinning SPACE is a child-centred approach, ensuring children and young people are the voice of the support they receive. Sport Aberdeen’s SPACE project directly supports children and young people to create and shape their own packages of support.

Strong partnership working ensures children are supported to be healthy, active, included and heard and opportunities are aligned with education and their child’s plans.

The SPACE model has evolved over time, adapting during the covid-19 pandemic and to reflect the continuum of support with education. This includes employing a whole family model, aligning with The Promise to provide holistic and relational whole family support whilst broadening the reach of the programme and encouraging children, young people, their families and support networks to be more active. This includes:

Family Fun Day events - creating a stay and play environment for families to engage in games and activities as well as access food and drink.

Supporting caregivers to attend SPACE sessions to showcase their skills and learning, encouraging a shared experience and achievement between young people and their families.

Attending partnership events with the Kinship team and ‘Warm Space’ to highlight the opportunities available and answer questions, ensuring that the team are accessible and pro-active in engaging with the care experienced young people, their families and wider support networks.

Change

The work of the SPACE programme is innovative by design, with a unique ability to adapt to the needs of young people and families. This ensures the impact is individualised and responsive to the needs of those who need it.

The bespoke 1-2-1 sessions give young people opportunities to focus on their needs, whilst family sessions give a platform for connection. Specifically, the support has seen improved classroom transitions, increased access to positive destinations through volunteering and improved mental wellbeing. Sport Aberdeen’s commitment to ‘Keeping the Promise’ has emphasised the importance and success of physical activity on relationships, emotional wellbeing and achievement of wider outcomes for care experienced young people, their families and support networks.