British Blind Sport, national disability charity, Sense and UK Deaf Sport, have joined forces and are collectively working as the Sensory Alliance. With a shared remit and common goals, each partner in the Sensory Alliance will work with key stakeholders within the industry to create a unified approach to breaking down the barriers to sport and physical activity for people living with sensory impairments and/or complex disabilities in England.
The Alliance was established in response to the need for a joint approach as highlighted by partners and individuals with sensory impairments and/or complex disabilities and combines unique skills and experience to develop a joint approach to tackling inactivity within these disability groups.
Each organisation forming the Sensory Alliance receives funding from Sport England to support and engage people with sensory impairments and/or complex disabilities in sport and physical activity.
The Sensory Alliance is committed to:
- Sharing research and data with partners to support the increase of sport and physical activity levels of people with sensory impairments and/or complex disabilities.
- Working jointly on opportunities that will strive to improve experiences of sport and physical activity.
romoting activities and events delivered by each organisation within the Sensory Alliance and other external opportunities.- Working together to develop resources and guidance for the sport and physical activity sector, on how to best support people with sensory impairments and/or complex disabilities to be active and stay active throughout their lives.
Logan Gray, National Partnerships Manager at British Blind Sport commented: “At British Blind Sport, we are excited at the prospect of working in partnership with UK Deaf Sport and Sense. Combining the knowledge we have of our respective audiences will enable us to provide greater expertise to our partners and have an impact that will reach more people.”
Alissa Ayling, National Sports Manager at Sense commented: “Sense shares common goals and a shared remit to break down barriers to participation of sport and physical activity for people with complex disabilities. By collaborating with British Blind Sport and UK Deaf Sport, we hope to deliver activities so that people with complex disabilities can be active and healthy.”
Valerie Copenhagen, Head of Participation at UK Deaf Sport commented: “This is a great opportunity to work both with and alongside these two organisations to better understand the challenges and the experiences had by our audiences. We can also identify appropriate approaches on how we can support our partners and have a greater impact improving experiences for all those involved, supporting and participating within sport and physical activity.”
About Sense:
Sense is a national disability charity that supports people living with complex disabilities, including those who are deafblind, to communicate and experience the world. Sense supports children, young people and adults in their home and in the community, in their education and transition to adulthood and through its holidays, arts, sports and wellbeing programmes. In addition to practical support to families, Sense also offers information advice, short breaks and family events, and campaigns for the rights of people with complex disabilities to take part in life.
For more information please visit: www.sense.org.uk
British Blind Sport
At British Blind Sport (BBS), we help blind and partially sighted people to get active and play sport. We encourage people of all ages to participate in activities at all levels, from grassroots to the Paralympic Games. BBS are working with local and national partners to help to create more inclusive opportunities in sports and activity throughout the UK. Whilst contributing to the fight against isolation and loneliness which people with a visual impairment face every day, BBS is changing the lives of people living with sight loss through the power of sport.
UK Deaf Sport
We are the Nation-wide Deaf Sport Organisation with a vision that every Deaf person is active and inspired by sport and physical activity. UK Deaf Sport supports deaf children, young people and adults. We are committed to connecting Deaf organisations to sport and physical activity partners whilst also sharing best practice and raising the profile of deaf sports. We respond to the needs of deaf people and use our insight to ensure all of our work is reaching out across the sport and physical activity sector. We use the term ‘deaf’ to refer to all levels of hearing loss in children, young people and adults, including a partial or total loss of hearing. This includes those who may describe themselves as having a ‘hearing loss’, ‘hearing impairment’ or as ‘deaf’, and includes children who have glue ear.
