Halton Access to Sport Forum

Thursday 13th May 2004

At Chestnut Lodge, Widnes

 

Present

Ralph Owen – Family Link (Scope), Kath Parkes - HVA, Paula Parle – HBC (sports), Peter Wyman – Merseyside sport, Ian Rigby, Ian Johnston – SS Peter & Paul, Ciaran Shanahan – HAFS, Sue Lancaster – Chestnut Lodge School, Karen Turner – Brookfields School, Julie Tinsley – Fairfield High School,

 

Apologies

George Ross – Halton Disability Services, Stephen Brinkley – Greenbank, Kevin Fairbanks – Ashley School

 

1.               Minutes of previous meeting

Amendment to minutes.  Accessibility to Fairfield is not a problem and Ian asked that the minutes be amended to record this.  Minutes were accepted as a true and proper record

 

2.               Feedback from Launch

The original launch had an excellent turnout from the youngsters.  There was a mix up with the buffet and it did not arrive.  To compensate for this an Easter party was arranged and this was a great success.  Prior to the launch attendance was about 6 per week and this has now risen to 36.  There are a considerable number of Ashley children accessing the club now but it has been necessary to split the club.  The children now have 1 hour on the Astroturf and 1 hour in the gym.  A Sunday morning club 11-12 noon has also been introduced to offer football.  The aim will be to introduce these football sessions in Widnes as well.

 

3.               Storage

Sue reported that permission was refused for the storage container because it was in sight of the road.  Sue is waiting for the school container to be moved but this would not leave any space for an additional container.  This is however, no longer a problem as storage is being provided at Fairfield and Steve and Ian are collecting the equipment when it is required.

 

4.               Publicity

The original bid included publicity material and the group are conscious that this has not yet been done although it was agreed that it is probably for the best as there have been so many changes.  Ian raised concerns that there is not much capacity left for increasing numbers and volunteers are required for the Runcorn site.  The brochure/flyer should therefore only advertise the club rather than request new members.  It was agreed that a reply slip should be included for anyone requiring further information.  Ian Rigby agreed to contact Printel to begin discussions about the leaflet.  Kath will send details.

 

The question of volunteers was discussed in depth with regard to training and insurance.  The Merseyside Sports Partnership has issued a Disability Coach Education Programme and the group agreed that any volunteers wishing to get involved would be allowed to follow the training required.  Kath will approach HVA Volunteer Bureau staff for assistance.  The volunteers would be required on Tues and Thurs evening from 6.30-8.30pm.  Although the use of Media (especially Radio Merseyside) was discussed it was agreed that this may not be the best method of recruitment at the moment but sports students at college or Duke of Edinburgh participants could possibly be approached.

 

5.               Employment  

Clarification regarding employment status for the Widnes club needs input from George so this will be added to the agenda for the next meeting.

 

6.               Insurance

Ian Rigby submitted information from George relating to the group being an arm of Halton Disability and therefore being covered under their insurance.  It was confirmed that independent insurance companies can now offer the insurance so Ian agreed to contact both Mike Fry and the Youth Federation for quotes.

 

7.               Strategy

A proposal has been submitted by George that the forum could be affiliated to Halton Disability Alliance and that this could be the umbrella organisation for the group.  Concerns were raised regarding the legal status of the group and whether they could remain independent.  In view of the fact that only 18 months remains of the funding, sustainability for the group needs to be looked at and what would be the best format for the group to access future funding.  This may be to register as a charity and it was noted that this discussion had taken place at previous meetings.

 

A lot of decisions are difficult to make without a copy of the original constitution which cannot be located.  Ian Rigby will contact Sports England to request a copy on the basis that staff are absent or have left and the copy cannot be located.  He will also contact Phil Marchant to discuss possible format for the group and options available.  Ciaran agreed to contact the Charity Commission to clarify the legal position of existing under an umbrella organisation.

 

8.               AOB       

·               Sports England are carrying out a mapping/monitoring exercise to determine partnerships/inter agency working.  George asked the group to grant permission to submit the individual group details and this permission was agreed.

 

·               Merseyside Sport are running events each term during school time.  Currently there is only Ashley school taking part.  Brookfields and Chestnut Lodge representatives both asked for details as they do not have them.

 

·               In addition to the term time activities, Merseyside Sport are encouraging participation by children into weekend club events with an aim to involve them in squads.  Ian is too committed at the moment to participate in this but in November he is hoping to look at swimming events so it may be an option for next year.  If the children make the squads it gives them the opportunity to go on to National events.  Pete agreed to send the event programme to Ian.  If the club does participate the group will need to consider insurance and transport.  It may be possible to access extra funding if this was not a regular event.

 

·               A weekend away has been discussed but concerns were raised that seeing children for a couple of hours does not give an insight into their behaviour over a 24 hour period.

 

·               Equipment – George had requested a list of equipment to be drawn up.  Ian confirmed that this consists of a duplication of the current list as 2 sets are required.  It was noted that a cage is required for Widnes.

 

·               Ian asked for a Halton Together update to be added to the agenda for future meetings.  Kath gave an update regarding training possibilities and the website sub group who are now actively updating the site.  The group agreed that they would like the minutes to be posted and Sue agreed to send previous minutes to Kath by email.

 

·               Meeting times – Ian asked if it would be possible to set a specific time within the month to hold meetings so that it would make it easier to schedule.  The group agreed that the third Thursday in the month on a bimonthly basis should be set.

 

Date/Time/Venue next meeting   Thursday 15th July 04 at HVA