Blog by Greg Brown, Children and Young Person Lead at Active Lincolnshire.

Collaboration and partnership working are integral at Active Lincolnshire. We know if we can share resources, knowledge and expertise we will have a greater impact on the intended audiences. That’s why we once again teamed up with the Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) Team at Lincolnshire County Council to coproduce a second ‘Share and Learn Event’ at Bishop Grosseteste University on Thursday 22nd February.

The Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) programme provides funded places for children and young people who are eligible for benefit-related free school meals. It includes access to physical activity, enrichment activities, provision of healthy food and food and nutrition education to promote healthy lifestyles.

The Share and Learn event allowed the various HAF providers across the county to access professional development opportunities and providing a chance to network and increase their knowledge of services that can enhance their provision.

In response to provider feedback the event consisted of three core elements:

Creating an Inclusive Environment Through Sport and Physical Activity: This practical workshop was delivered through Activity Alliance, the a national charity that push for inclusion to be at the heart of all plans in sport and physical activity. The workshop offered a chance for providers to learn about practical tools, key principles and new ideas that could be applied to ensure their physical activity offer is more accessible and inclusive.

Food and Nutrition Workshop: This practical workshop was delivered by Lincolnshire County Council's Food Education Team. The workshop provided them with a plethora of approaches and ideas of how to engage and deliver food and healthy eating elements at their settings.

Marketplace: The Marketplace was a chance for providers to not only network with other services to enrich their offer but also to share and learn from other providers across the county. Representation in the marketplace was vast and varied from Public Health, Community Dental Services, Lincolnshire ICB and One You Lincolnshire to name but a few.

From an Active Lincolnshire perspective, it was great to be able to connect, offer support and celebrate the success of the amazing work from a huge variety of settings that are pivotal in tackling the stubborn inequalities that unfortunately exist for Lincolnshire’s children and young people. We spoke about physical literacy and the vital role that the people in the room play in developing the foundations to be active through life. Creating the right culture around how we think, feel and connect with movement is fundamental in the blueprint to ensuring positive and meaningful relationships with sport and physical activity throughout life.

In summary, the event was a huge success with providers leaving with new ideas, knowledge and a newfound confidence in their ability to enhance their provision. This will not only benefit the individuals in attendance but cascade amongst their staff teams. In turn providing fresh approaches to ensure they are delivering positive, high quality, accessible opportunities for children and young people to access in the coming months.

Our Impact with HAF

Watch our video to find out more about Active Lincolnshire's impact on the HAF programme and our role in supporting inclusive physical activity within it.