On thursday morning I met up with a new friend in Eastbourne. She suggested a cafe on the beach and it was glorious. The sun was shining, the sea was calm and the coffee was great. We had a lovely time talking about physio (she is also a physio), being a Mum and about what's on offer for children with special needs and of their families. We decided that the word 'special' doesn't really work, but that there probably isn't one word that would be right. We decided that there definitely was not enough going on for children and then we talked for ages about what could be on offer. During our discussion we mused about what clubs were available for children with a disability to join. How many football, gymnastic, dance or swimming groups are able to include children who can't move in the same way as a non-disabled child? How about choirs, drama clubs, Brownies, Scouts and other organisations? Do parents look for clubs, find out they are few and far between (they are sparse, I searched) and give up? Or do they have such hectic lives that the thought of doing something else is just too much? Or are there many families who's children, regardless of ability, who don't go to clubs and am I in the minority?
All this thinking about sport is rather timely as all schools are having their Sports Days at the moment, now thats an interesting subject....
I heard on the news earlier that the man in charge of OFSTED, Sir Michael Wilshaw, has commented that there the majority of our elite athletes come from private education and that more should be done in state schools to increase the amount of sports and opportunities available to these students. And he is reported saying that being active helps academic learning. You'd think he'd discovered something new, evidence for all thats been around for years. Maybe there should be a bit more investment into local clubs and amenities and increase awareness for parents of what's out there for them rather than asking schools to squeeze even more into their day. I think I'm going to see if Boris can throw a bit of weight around on this subject (I'm going to e-mail him). Important people need reminding that someone sold off school playing fields and outdoor spaces not that long ago and therefore there's less space for the children to run around at playtime let alone in PE. I'm sure being a politician is very difficult but I do hate the way they blame the front line staff, teachers, healthcare professionals, for the affects that came about as a direct result of decisions made by them or their predecessors. I'm climbing down off my soap box now, back to physical activities for less able children.
Exercise is so important for all of us. Its not just about being the best at a sport its about understanding that our bodies work better when we are fit. In our society today we get in the car to go everywhere, very few people walk far or cycle to places regularly. I suppose its mainly to do with the pressures of time and the fact that you take your life in your hands if you dare cycle on the roads these days. I used to cycle every where and I grew up in London, not now, there's too many cars etc. How often do we all drive somewhere to go for a walk or a bike ride? Crazy eh? And the other thing that really doesn't help our fitness is the convenience and easy access to calorie stuffed food, we are all going to end up like those people in the film WALL•E...
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So my friend and I are hatching a plan to increase movement and exercise opportunities for children with disabilities in our area, with a therapeutic emphasis of course. And I'm off to give some more parental verbal encouragement (some people say I can be quite loud, me?) to my children in their various sports this week, not to mention being a taxi and also coach (I have had my hockey stick out and revived my throwing and catching skills this last week alone!).
To do
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