At the heart of Fit for the Future; our 10-year strategy for sport and physical activity in Essex, is a fundamental belief that we need to involve big systems, in order to create true impact at scale. The sport and physical activity sector cannot do it alone, but what do I mean by big systems?
Children’s services, adult social care, transport, health and criminal justice, to name a few, are examples of systems and sectors Active Essex currently work with, whose core business is to help support our key target audiences across the county.
My team strive to build strong relationships with these systems, and influence them to utilise the benefits physical activity and sport can bring, to achieve their outcomes. I constantly use the phrase ‘hardwiring physical activity into the system’, to emphasise that this is not short term and transactional, but a long term and sustainable way of working. Our Local Delivery Pilot has achieved great success in testing new ways to work with non-sport and physical activity systems over the past 6 years, especially with adult social care and transport, to help create positive change as well as strengthen and shape future work.
To expand our reach and resources, we founded The Active Essex Foundation almost 10 years ago, which has provided us with an excellent vehicle to carry out additional work and create important links with the criminal justice system and community sports organisations. Together they’re rewriting the narrative for at-risk youth across Essex.
In 2021, the Foundation secured significant funding to influence and change the way our criminal justice system works in Essex, using sport as a successful tool to divert young people away from crime. Through this network, they’ve established seamless referral pathways, extending a lifeline to young individuals teetering on the edge of anti-social behaviour. Incredibly, the progress and impact are exceeding all expectations.
The project has secured the support of the Essex Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner, and the Head of the Youth Policy Unit for the Ministry of Justice, and secured buy-in from a number of criminal justice system agencies including Essex Violence and Vulnerability Unit, Essex Police and Fire, and Essex Probation and Youth Offending Service.
The small but dedicated team at The Active Essex Foundation, have not only managed to hardwire sport into the priorities and budgets of the criminal justice system, but also created new partnerships with the Essex community sport sector. This system change and collaboration is having a positive impact on the lives of thousands of young people in Essex, by diverting them away from criminal behaviour.
I find that the term ‘system change’ can often be met with some challenges, but this approach has proven to have huge rewards, if we are courageous enough to collaborate together.
If you’d like to read more about the Sport and Youth Crime Prevention project, and explore their 2023-24 Impact Report, click here: https://www.activeessexfoundation.org/projects/essex-sport-and-youth-crime-prevention-project
