SALFORD LEISURE INSTRUCTORS ARE THE FIRST TO COMPLETE DISABLED-FRIENDLY TRAINING IN CITY

The two organisations have teamed up to provide leisure centre staff with training in how to work effectively with disabled people through the Empower You programme.

Three Salford Community Leisure team members are the first to qualify and were awarded their certificates at a ceremony at Eccles Leisure Centre recently.

James Byrne, Mike Hilton and Ian Thompson were accompanied by disabled gym users and put through an intensive week-long Empower You training programme that included undertaking exercises blindfolded, learning how to describe moves and sensations in depth and finding out more about various health conditions and impairments in relation to physical activities

Following the course, Ian Thompson (40), a fitness instructor at Swinton Leisure Centre, said:

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“I found the training very interesting and incredibly useful. It has given me much more insight into how disabled people feel, what they experience and what they can and can’t do. Most of all it has given me the knowledge and confidence to talk to disabled users about their gym experience and what they want to achieve.”

James Byrne (44), a fitness instructor at Eccles Leisure Centre, said:

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“I now feel much better equipped for when disabled people come to the gym. I feel very lucky to be one of the first to qualify and look forward to putting my training to use.”

One of the assessors was 51-year-old Kay Burgin from Kersal in Salford. Kay has spina bifida and has always incorporated physical activity into her life including swimming and gym classes, but it has not always been easy. Said Kay:

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“I found being involved in the fitness instructor training very interesting. I worked with James and I felt that we communicated very well and for me, this is one of the biggest considerations; being able to better communicate with staff in leisure centres and other sport settings. It is important to find the right trainer who understands”.

Mark Chew, Director of Sport and Leisure at Salford Community Leisure, said:

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“Currently Salford Community Leisure venues are accessible and do host dedicated activities for those with additional needs. This new partnership with Unlimited Potential will benefit anyone with additional needs in Salford looking to be more active. We want all of our centres and services to be even more accessible to local people of all abilities.”

Created by Ben Andrews of Unlimited Potential, Empower You is a short-term programme that supports disabled people to overcome barriers and to lead more active lifestyles.

Local people who start with Empower You can move on to do activity in mainstream places. Said Ben:

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"It is not right that disabled people are less active because of a lack of accessible facilities and opportunities. We want to change that and we thank staff at Salford Community Leisure for joining us on this important mission.”

Empower You has been funded by NHS Salford Clinical Commissioning Group through its Innovation Fund, and supported by the University of Salford. It has been recognised nationally, with Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson, Chair of UKactive, saying “The rest of the country still needs to catch up [with Salford].”