Sport for Confidence CIC has been appointed by Essex County Council to deliver an occupational therapy-driven county-wide therapeutic physical activity model that provides early help and preventative support to adults with physical disabilities, learning disabilities and long-term health conditions, and their carers.
Using Sport for Confidence's place-based model of early help and prevention, Essex County Council has launched Reconnect – a funded programme that embeds integrated physical activity pathways across the breadth of the county.
Reconnect is based on learnings from a 2-year Essex-based test and pilot programme called the ‘Prevention and Enablement Model’ (PEM), carried out in 2020-2022. The model, delivered by Sport for Confidence and a system of unique partners across the Health and Adult Social Care Sector, focused on creating system change, upskilling the workforce and embedding physical activity. This has since been taken forward into the delivery of Community Partnerships and Stay Connected service, and most recently Reconnect.
Reconnect will focus on early help and prevention principles through the provision of co-designed interventions delivered by occupational therapists and sports coaches to identified adults in a community setting.
Reconnect will be rolled out across all 5 Alliance’s across Essex, South East Essex, South West Essex, Mid-Essex, North East Essex and West Essex, enabling easy access for all residents in Essex.
Reconnect will drive proportionate universalism through the integration of physical activity-driven interventions that promote good health and prevent ill health.
Essex County Council has appointed Sport For Confidence to deploy its occupational therapists and coaching workforce to deliver meaningful physical activity as a way of building and maintaining physical, mental and emotional well-being.
Essex County Council has appointed Sport For Confidence CIC to lead a consortium of community partners to deliver place-based, therapeutic interventions that provide early help and preventative support to adults living with physical disabilities, learning disabilities and long-term health conditions, and their carers, through the use of physical activity. The intervention marks a significant move by the council to support community-driven health interventions that tackle health inequalities, creating person-centred physical activity opportunities available to those who traditionally find it difficult to access services and fall behind the rest of the population regarding activity levels.
“This is a huge step change in preventative health delivery” says Lyndsey Barrett founder of Sport for Confidence and lead occupational therapist. Lyndsey continues: “Whilst Sport For Confidence has had a long-standing positive relationship with Essex County Council, this is the first time Essex County Council has procured a service of this nature, positioning occupational therapists as innovators using physical activity for individual and social transformation, able to work across, sport, health and social care and have a key role in the prevention agenda.
“For many years, Sport for Confidence has been pioneering and evidencing the therapeutic benefits of sport and physical activity, especially for those who have the potential to gain most from being active but struggle to access meaningful opportunities.
“In 2020, we worked with Essex County Council Adult Social Care, Active Essex and a wider consortium of community partners to deliver the Prevention and Enablement Model, a 2-year test and learn pilot, initially funded by Sport England, that studied the impact of a whole system approach to adult social health and social care. The evidence was overwhelmingly positive. Outcomes, independently compiled and verified by the University of Essex, confirmed that embedding physical activity into a whole system approach to adult health and social care could deliver £58.72 of social value per £1 invested.
“Evidencing the commercial and holistic case for introducing a more supportive and preventative approach to adult health and social care laid the foundations for a new county-wide approach creating therapeutic physical activity opportunities to drive occupational outcomes that result in health, happiness and life satisfaction.
“Occupational therapists are the experts in the ‘activity-health’ links and are dual trained in mental health and physical disability. The profession takes a whole-person approach to wellbeing which empowers individuals to achieve their full potential. Our approach enables a much earlier intervention focused on prevention and support, whilst also alleviating the pressure on the more traditional clinical pathway to services.”
The Reconnect programme will see Essex County Council and Sport For Confidence deliver equity of access across the county with the expansion of Sport for Confidence services into West Essex. Lyndsey adds: “Sport for Confidence is committed to the principle of Proportionate Universalism. Extending our geographical reach into West Essex will enable access to whoever most needs it, anywhere in the county.”
Councillor John Spence, Cabinet Member for Health, Social Care and Integration, says: “The benefits from being physically active are well documented. Our successful trial programme has now demonstrated the major role physical activity can play in increasing the confidence and independence of people living with a disability or long-term health condition. The introduction of Reconnect is genuinely pioneering work, building on previous programmes and supporting residents’ health and wellbeing. By enabling people to live more independently, and therefore have less need for health and care services, this is a real win-win for Essex.”
Reconnect introduces a preventative approach to health and social care, helping alleviate the pressure on the NHS through the provision of community-based services that prevent, delay and reduce the need for statutory, clinical services. Sport for Confidence fully supports a full-system approach. Bringing together a multitude of community partners from leisure centre operators and care homes to community nursing teams and charity partners, Sport for Confidence will drive a fully engaged, collaborative approach to health and social care.
Jeanette Bain-Burnett, Executive Director of Policy and Integrity, Sport England, says: “The Reconnect programme will create a fully integrated physical activity pathway which ultimately supports good health while preventing ill health. In targeting those who traditionally struggle to get physically active, the programme is aligned to the ambitions of our 10-year Uniting the Movement strategy.”
Funding for Reconnect is guaranteed for 3 years with an option to extend a further 2 years.
To find out more about the Prevention and Enablement Model and access the full evaluation Report.
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