Award-winning charity Sport Aberdeen was delighted to be crowned joint winners of the Inclusion Award alongside Halo Leisure at the first-ever Seriously Social Awards.
The glittering ceremony – hosted by Community Leisure UK – took place at The Lowry Hotel in Manchester on Wednesday, November 13.
Sport Aberdeen’s entry for the Inclusion Award focused on its SPACE (Supported Physical Activity for Care Experienced) programme, designed to positively shape the lives of young people through the transformative power of connection, sport and physical activity.
The programme aligns to the aims of The Promise – Scotland’s commitment that all care experienced children and young people will grow up loved, safe and respected.
The Promise is built on five foundations: family, voice, care, people and scaffolding; all of these are embedded within the SPACE programme.
SPACE offers one-to-one or small group activities to support care experienced young people either during or out with the school day. The model is designed to build relationships with young people and their families through sport and physical activity, empowering them to choose activities to participate in, such as horse-riding lessons or a ‘walk and talk’ in nature.
Partnerships are crucial to the programme’s success, working closely with Aberdeen City Council’s Virtual School, Education and Social Work teams, alongside other third sector organisations.
Recognising that a whole family approach is essential, all care experienced young people and their support network are supported to access free Sport Aberdeen Get active memberships to continue getting active in different ways such as going swimming, playing tennis or attending the gym. To date, over 700 free memberships have been accessed.
Kim McRobbie, Active Schools and EDI manager at Sport Aberdeen, said: “We are delighted to win this award and be recognised across the UK that we are leading the way within our sector in supporting care experienced young people.
“Partnerships are crucial to the programme’s success, and I’d like to thank Aberdeen City Council and sportscotland, who both provide funding towards SPACE.
“At the core of our programme is the child’s voice, to ensure it is always heard and to empower our young people to live healthier, happier lives.
“I must say a huge thanks to the team who work tirelessly day in and day out to build trusting relationships and continue to find innovative ways to evolve the SPACE programme. They truly depict Sport Aberdeen’s vision of creating opportunities, inspiring people and changing lives through sport and physical activity.
“The next step for the programme emphasises our promise to continue listening to the children, supporting their strengths and playing our part to increase accessibility of our services.
“We will also continue to maintain our commitment to keeping The Promise and fulfil our responsibilities as a corporate parent.”
Kirsty Cumming, chief executive officer of Community Leisure UK, said: “A huge congratulations to all our winners and finalists. They are a shining example of what the charitable sector does best; putting people above profit to create positive social change for everyone in society.
“Rooted in communities, they support individuals and the whole community to live healthier, happier and more creative lives through leisure and culture.”
Find out more about Sport Aberdeen’s SPACE programme by reading its full award entry here.