CSP: Yorkshire Sport Foundation
Overview
Mums’ Team commenced in January 2016 following a pilot funding investment from sports coach UK and Sport England; part of the national “Reach” Campaign to get more women into coaching. Mums' Team aims to support mums, particularly from disadvantaged communities as identified in our Yorkshire Sport Foundation strategy, to volunteer gaining leadership qualifications, supported via community mentors.
Mums’ Team is changing the way sport and physical activity is delivered to women using people “like me” to inspire and motivate a new cohort of activators and leaders. The programme responds to the needs of local mums’ and their communities by providing support via a network of local community mentors. Each individual mum embarks on her own journey into leadership whether that be as a Walk Leader, a Rounders’ Activator or a Netball Coach. As they become qualified leaders they inspire people in their communities to get active and join in physical activity and sport.
Output Achievements (since January 2016):
- Recruitment, training and support of 19 Mums’ Team Mentors across South and West Yorkshire
- 140 Mums Team Volunteers are involved in the programme (cumulative figure reflecting the ongoing nature of the project)
- 61 Mums have undertaken qualifications (including our own ‘Active Communities’ 3-hour workshop which we devised with scUK.
- 53 new session activities have been created by the 140 mums
These figures surpassed our expectation at a participation level with high levels of inactive people become active through their engagement in Mums’ Team and the peer support.
Impact; Some Quotes from our Evaluation Report (conducted by Sport Industry Research Centre):
"I'd like to help other mums who are not particularly 'sporty' types to realise that they can give it a go - it's not scary and you don't need high fitness levels"
"Community involvement, bringing women together to enjoy sports, breaking down barriers" "Mum's team is a great project that the mums are still continuing with. Through the project the mums have gained lots of confidence and are now opening up other opportunities for other mums and local women in the area. The project has given the local mums a real drive for health and fitness and also helped with socialising and working together in the local community"
Impact; Reach through Social Media:
The Mums’ Team project has a focused social media campaign which is fundamental to the way in which the project connects Mums together and creates networks for them to organise themselves. During the pilot phase from January to March 2016 the Mums’ Team social media reach was; 338,926, with 91,962 Twitter Impressions, 90,785 Facebook impressions, 15 media articles and featured on BBC Look North in January 2016.
Impact; From one of our mentors Rashida Salloo:
Rashida, our mentor based in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire has a group of 15 volunteers she engaged with from her local community.
“Mums Team volunteers are making a big impact in their local community. One of the volunteers, Mona has tagged a session on to an existing coffee morning to bring physical activity to the local women in a familiar setting. Mona has taken her new found leadership skills to the next level and is now volunteering at a local cricket club. Another Mums Team volunteer went on the Rounders Activator course and has since organised teams to play in local Rounders leagues.”
Rashida started off a fitness session at Heckmondwike Primary School, with mums dropping their kids off before going into a hall at the school to do the session. Rashida identified one of the Mums Team Volunteers who has since taken over leading this session. Rashida’s support is vital as it’s her local links with clubs, leagues and schools which has led to the volunteers taking on these type of roles.
Rashida, has maintained her involvement from the pilot phase and is currently working with a new cohort of Mums’ Team Volunteers.
Key findings from the pilot phase research evaluation now helping to shape the project:
- There is a genuine need/interest for the project within the local communities.
- Timescales are important to allow the Mums’ time to develop/grow
- The 'leap' for Mums' into leading sessions seemed to be too big in some cases. Allowing opportunities for mums to deliver aspects of existing mentor-led sessions was the best route for some.
- Coaching terminology didn’t work- focus on leader/organiser/volunteer
- Select Mentors who work within the local community
- Using the 'sisterhood' of being a mum as motivation to exercise works, by shifting the focus onto ‘Mums’ and being a ‘Mum like me’. Women felt more comfortable getting involved in the project and more confident accessing the sessions as they were within their existing social network or with women who had a similar background to themselves and some common ground/shared experiences.
Since April 2016, Yorkshire Sport Foundation has been investing its own finances in the Mums’ Team project and has also attracted further investment through Tesco to support its expansion. The project is an important part of how the Coaching Plan is delivered locally and it is well connected into other CSP work areas and projects (for example, NGB connectivity). The Foundation is looking to build Mums’Team into other projects where community development and an asset-based approach can be used to tackle sport and physical activity at a neighbourhood level.