The Active Best Practice Network

In this podcast we hear from Beky Williams, Managing Director of Stride Active, Dan Thomas, Head of PE and Business at Kingstone High School and Lucy Finch, Teacher of PE at Kingstone High School.  

The group discusses projects which have been involved in, that have proved instrumental in gaining feedback from girls within the Herefordshire region, taking action to create space for open conversations to hear from girls on how to reduce barriers to physical activity.  

The activities and collaborative events are underpinned by key design principles; aimed at empowering girls to gain knowledge and confidence to increase girls' participation in sport and physical activity within Herefordshire.  

The ‘Here Girls Can’ project is the locally adapted offer of the national This Girl Can campaign, commissioned through Sport England and funded by the National Lottery. In 2025, This Girl Can celebrated its 10 year-anniversary. 

Insight and data: If you are interested in this work, some impact reports for consideration: PE & School Sport: The Annual Report 2024 - Youth Sport Trust  which highlights some national challenges in youths accessing physical activity.  

Earlier this year, Stride Active released the 'Here Girls Can 2024 Impact Report'. The report quotes 85% of girls recording an increase in confidence after attending an event. You can access the full report via the links below.  

Kingstone High School received the Youth Sport Trust ‘Girls Active Report’ for 2024, exploring girls' motivations, barriers and overall engagement in physical activity. The responses given for key barriers to engaging in sport, physical activity and PE at school were on average more positive for girls at Kingstone High School compared to the national average.  In the report, 79% of girls at Kingstone High School enjoyed taking part in physical activity.

This was reflected in many areas, relating to some of the issues and actions referenced in this podcast.  

Links related to this episode:  

Here Girls Can - Stride Active  

This Girl Can | Active Herefordshire & Worcestershire  

Youth Sport Trust - Youth Sport Trust  

In this episode, Christine Price, Chief Officer of Healthwatch Herefordshire and Esther Passingham, VCSE Strategic Lead for Worcestershire VCSE Alliance discuss the Voluntary, Community Social Enterprise (VCSE) network collaborating with the Integrated Care System (ICS).  

The discussion highlights the aims of partnership work for the ICS to work in conjunction with the VCSE sector; sharing community voice with healthcare commissioning services to ensure health and care decision-makers hear the views of communities which experience the greatest health inequalities.   

This episode highlights experiences across the two counties, challenges, best practice projects and development opportunities for the VCSE alliance members. 

In this episode we hear from Toni Martin, Physical Activity Clinical Champion (PACC) for the Advanced Wellbeing Research Centre (AWRC) at Sheffield Hallam University and an Associate Lecturer of Midwifery, teaching at BSc and MSC level at the University of Worcester. 

For further information regarding the benefits of PACC training, access the PACC section of the Moving Medicine website or express an interest directly by emailing Sheffield Hallum University who currently lead on the national project funded by Sport England.  

Disclaimer: Projects are subject to funding which may be liable to change after the release date of December 2024.

Links related to this episode:   

We are providing some information relating to some of the external projects and support mentioned in this episode. 

Active Hospitals - Moving Medicine 

Why Active Conversations? - Moving Medicine 

In part one of this episode, we speak to Nigel Gould from Evesham Bowling Club and Don McAll from Ledbury RFC. 

Nigel and Don discuss the impact of flooding on their sports clubs, the learnings gained from increases in flood occurrences and successful funding applications to minimise the damage of sport-related assets.  

Links related to this episode:  

• Home - Active Herefordshire & Worcestershire 

In part two of this episode, Denise Ludlam, Strategic Lead for Environmental Sustainability at Sport England and Stephen Brewster, Chief Executive Officer at Active Herefordshire and Worcestershire, discuss Sport England Every Move strategy, and its commitment to supporting clubs and organisations with measures to address climate change issues. 

Part two also reflects on some of the valuable insight raised by Nigel Gould and Don McAll in part one.  

Links related to this episode:  

• Home - Active Herefordshire & Worcestershire 

Links related to this episode:  

Active Herefordshire and Worcestershire | Healthy Ageing  

Activity Finder - Active Herefordshire & Worcestershire (activehw.co.uk)  

Find Walking Sports Activities in your location   

Age UK Worcester, Malvern Hills & Hereford Localities  

Age UK | Bromsgrove, Redditch & Wyre Forest Localities 

Age UK | National Support and Services  

Alzheimer's Society | Find Dementia Services and Support Near You

Ageing Better | Tackling Inequalities in Ageing 

In this episode, Rich Hurst speaks with the Health and Wellbeing Team from Tenbury Surgery (Taurus Healthcare), in Tenbury Wells. In line with the national campaign of ‘Know your Numbers Week’ (2nd to 8th September 2024), the podcast delves into collective experiences working as a Senior Social Prescriber and Health and Wellbeing Coach, addressing community health needs by setting up a hypertension (high blood pressure) group.  Throughout the podcast, the practitioners highlight successes and learnings, as the group sessions evolved. 

Key Definitions: 

Hypertension relates to high blood pressure.  Persistent high blood pressure can lead to serious problems like heart attacks or strokes. But lifestyle changes and blood pressure medicines can help people experiencing this stay healthy. 

Social prescribing is a key component of Universal Personalised Care. It is an approach that connects people to activities, groups, and services in their community to meet the practical, social and emotional needs that affect their health and wellbeing. 

Project background and successes: 

The hypertension group has been running for over 12 months. With three cohorts progressing through the six-week lifestyle intervention that has now become a core service offered in their locality.  

Links related to this episode: 

Blood Pressure UK  

What is social prescribing? | Healthwatch 

In this episode Rich Hurst speaks with Lucy Bird and Lucy Chick about their experiences in working with communities, highlighting the importance of both listening to, and empowering communities to set up needs-based community projects, based on the assets available to them and ‘going where the energy is’.  

Lucy Bird is a Community Builder at Droitwich CVS and has worked within community development for over 12 years. With knowledge of local services and opportunities, Lucy manages and supports residents to develop their offers. Lucy recognises the role of individuals within communities and the need for them to feel connected. 

Links related to this episode: 

https://www.activehw.co.uk/our-community-can 

https://www.droitwichcvs.org.uk/ 

https://insights.worcestershire.gov.uk/ 

https://www.nurturedevelopment.org/asset-based-community-development/  

https://www.abcdinleeds.com/  

Welcome to the Active Best Practice Network presented by Active Herefordshire and Worcestershire, hosted by Rich Hurst of GiftedGab Productions.

Within this podcast series, our aim is to connect with listeners on this journey of sharing best practices; aimed at professionals, communities and those who are interested in supporting and sustaining change in the health, voluntary and community sectors. There is a special emphasis on the advantages of physical activity and movement.