St. Helens RC Junior School Pupils Lead The Way When It Comes To Disability Sport

St Helens RC Junior School in Barry recently became the first school in the Vale of Glamorgan to undertake Mini Disability Inclusion Training (Mini DIT). ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

All 176 pupils at the school spent a lesson learning about how to include disabled people in sporting activities, and how to adapt games to include everyone. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

Mini DIT was created by Disability Sport Wales in order to raise the awareness of disability sport, and to demonstrate how disabled friends can be included in the activities pupils take part in during school and outside of school. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

St Helens RC Junior School embraced the training by making sure all 176 pupils in the school had the chance to complete the course. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

The training dealt with the perceptions of disabled people in sport, what terminology is correct and appropriate, and what adaptations can be made to improve inclusion. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

Mini DIT links to the Sport Wales Physical Literacy programme, which states that everyone should have a catalogue of skills, along with confidence and motivation, when it comes to taking part in sport and physical activity. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

The training was led by the Vale of Glamorgan Council’s Disability Sport Wales Development Officer, Simon Jones, who said: “I was very impressed with how the school embraced the idea of disability inclusion training for their pupils, and how keen the pupils were to embed the knowledge they gained into their everyday lives.” ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

Councillor Gwyn John, Cabinet Member for Visible, Leisure and Regulatory Services, added: “We have a great history of providing initiatives that increase participation in sport across the Vale, and it is pleasing to hear that a local junior school is on board to promote disability sport. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

“I hope this training session, and future training sessions, raises the awareness of disability sport, and enables more disabled residents to participate in sport.” ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

The course is going to be offered to a number of Primary schools throughout the Vale of Glamorgan from April onwards. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​