The year of 2019 has seen multiple successes in the Derby County Community Trust’s Disability department, with over 700 participants engaging in pan-disability and impairment specific sessions within communities and SEND schools, and today’s annual ‘EFL Day of Disabilities’ presents the perfect opportunity to highlight the excellent work taking place.
Pan-disability sessions provide opportunities for all to get involved in physical activity with a long-term aim of integration into mainstream sessions, exemplified by the Community Trust’s Ability County and Shooters teams who had another successful run in the FA People’s Cup this year.
Pan-disability sessions cater for those with any physical, mental or behavioural condition and aim to create a level playing field and characterise the ‘Every Player Counts’ values perfectly, with the sole aim of ensuring participation for all.
Impairment specific sessions include our Cerebral Palsy and Deaf Talent squads who train within the Community Trust’s FA Disability Hub, who have seen several England call-ups this year from Under-17 to Under-23 level. Younger participants have also been invited to regional training programmes as their potential has been recognised for the future.
The Community Trust’s popular DS Active team continue to train and play fixtures against other teams from across the EFL and were surprised by Derby County youngsters Louie Sibley and Jason Knight at a session recently.
The Community Trust team also work with 10 SEND schools and an additional 15 enhanced-resource units within mainstream to ensure that sport and physical activity is accessible to all.
This year also saw the launch of the Pride Park Stadium ‘Sensory Room’ which has allowed more families than ever before to access Derby County games and watch their team in action. Many participants and their families would not have been able to attend games before this and the feedback received so far has been exceptional.
Lauren Asquith, Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Manager at Derby County Community Trust said: “The EFL’s ‘Day of Disabilities’ is a brilliant chance to reflect on the success of our participants from across our sessions, but the news of the ‘Every Player Counts’ funding extension is hugely important in ensuring many opportunities remain available for all.”
To find out more about all the opportunities on offer at Derby County Community Trust please see derbycountycommunitytrust.com.