Riverside Ice and Leisure aims to meet the needs of the local community by providing access for all to a wide range of its facilities and services. To promote these services, Riverside Ice and Leisure with support from the Sports Development Unit host an annual Disability Sports Day.

The next Disability Sports Day will take place on Sunday 17 June 2012 from 1pm to 5pm, at Riverside Ice and Leisure Centre in Chelmsford.

There will be a focus on taster sessions for activities which attendees can go on to take part in on a regular basis, for example activities delivered by local sports clubs. They will also offer old favourites such as Trampolining.

Watch the website for more updates or call Neil Potter on 01245 615069. You can follow Riverside on Twitter: @riversideLC.

Volunteering Opportunities

Year on year the Disability Sports Day has been largely supported by volunteers from various backgrounds. If you would like to volunteer your time to help out on the day, there are a number of roles including: Meet and Greet, Chaperones, Registration/information Point, and Sports helpers.

The time you volunteer could count to hours you may need to do for CSLA or HSLA courses or you may just want to volunteer and add this experience to your CV.

To find out more please contact Neil Potter using the details above. 

£509,124 has been awarded to Disabled People’s User Led Organisations since the Strengthening DPULO Programme was launched in July 2011, has been announced today by the Minister for Disabled People, Maria Miller MP.

These User Led Organisations run by and for disabled people, often provide support and services alongside those provided by the public sector. Drawing on their own first hand experiences of a disability, they have clear ideas about what works and what doesn’t.

61 applications for funding have been received from DPULOs across England, 41 of which have been successful. As well as offering financial support, the Strengthening DPULOs Programme’s provides DPULOs with support and advice on how to strengthen and make their organisations more sustainable through its Ambassadors.

Examples of how the Strengthening DPULO programme is strengthening and building DPULOs, as well as making a difference to the lives of disabled people in the local community include:

• A DPULO in Hillingdon is supporting disabled people in the local community by setting up a ‘one stop shop’ service. This will enabling disabled people who are being assessed for equipment by an Occupational Therapist to have their prescription redeemed a few doors down the corridor in the organisations office.

• A Sheffield DPULO is using funding to develop a range of services for disabled people to purchase using their personal budgets. This will enable local disabled people with specific impairments such as mental health conditions, or learning difficulties, as well as those in particular communities, including BME communities, to influence the type of support and personal care they receive. This will result in a service more tailored to individuals needs.

• A DPULO is developing apps for a Smartphone which will provide emergency remote help if a blind traveller is lost, or in difficulty, as well as providing a GPS and speech function to inform the traveller of their location. The app will explain where to get off public transport and when they arrive at their destination. This will support blind people Nationwide to travel safely outside their home.

Minister for Disabled People, Maria Miller MP, said:

I am delighted the Strengthening DPULO programme is successfully promoting the growth and improving sustainability of Disabled People’s User-Led Organisations, as well as making practical real improvements to the lives of disabled people and their communities.

Whilst it is good the Facilitation Fund has awarded £509,124, a large amount of the £3 million funding remains, so I would encourage DPULOs to apply: In particular bids would be welcomed from the Midlands, and East of England.

With just 100 days to go to the London Paralympic Games, the British Paralympic Association (BPA) yesterday launched its Strategic Plan for 2012 – 2017.

The plan sets out a new vision for the organisation that highlights the power of sport to inspire change in people’s lives. It outlines how it will harness the momentum from a home Games to drive and support progress across Paralympic sport to Sochi 2014, Rio 2016 and beyond.

Called ‘Maximising Momentum’, the plan also states what impact the BPA thinks London can have on disability sport more widely, what outcomes should be targeted as a result, and what role the BPA should play with partners in assisting their deliver.

It follows six months of detailed consultation with the membership of the BPA, other stakeholders and sponsors of the Paralympic Games.

Speaking at the Plan’s launch prior to the start of the 2012 BT Paralympic World Cup in Manchester, Chief Executive Tim Hollingsworth said:

This new Strategic Plan is the BPA’s statement of intent for the post London era. While as an organisation we are ruthlessly focused on our preparations for 2012, we must also be ready to maximise the opportunities that will flow from the Games and to work with others to achieve our goals.  

The Paralympics is first and foremost about the sporting achievements of the athletes. But its power reaches beyond that. The excellence of the sport, and the inspirational impact it creates, has the ability to shift perceptions of disability and break down barriers in society.

London 2012 is a tremendous catalyst for such change. That is why I don’t believe we should be talking now about legacy from the Paralympics in London – that suggests maintaining what we already have. Instead we should talk about momentum, about what more can be done than previously on the back of it. This plan is the basis of that momentum, and seeks to demonstrate to all of our partners how we see our role and responsibilities going forward.

In the Strategic Plan, the stated new Vision for the BPA is: ‘Through sport, inspire a better world for disabled people’.

Meanwhile the organisation’s Mission remains: ‘To make the UK the Leading Nation in Paralympic Sport’. This ambition is held on the field of play and in support of athletes, but also in wider promotion and advocacy of the Paralympic Movement, and in the BPA’s responsibilities as the National Paralympic Committee.

Explaining these, BPA Chairman Tim Reddish, added:

We recognise that the Paralympic movement, and specifically the Paralympic brand, can be a powerful agent for change. Our Vision seeks to create a clear link therefore between our core responsibilities and the wider impact we can have.

Our primary purpose is fundamental: supporting sports and athletes at Games time to ensure outstanding performances. We are however uniquely positioned to use that success to drive positive action, influence and delivery more widely than ever before. Our role as the National Paralympic Committee, our responsibilities on both the national and international stage and our broader purposes as a charitable trust, mean that we have legitimate interest in all areas of development for disability sport.  We will work closely with all our partners across the sporting landscape to maximise this.

Alongside the Vision and Mission, the plan outlines five strategic priorities, the values that the organisation will embrace and the partnership approach that will be key to maximising the momentum.

The plan was launched to stakeholders at a reception at the BPA’s headquarters today.

Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson, BPA Patron and one of our most successful ever Paralympians, gave her support for the Strategy:

I am passionate about London 2012 and the positive impact it can have not just for our elite athletes but at every level of disability sport. The BPA has the chance to play a lead role in ensuring we make the most of this once in a lifetime opportunity and I am delighted to support the approach they are taking. It brings real clarity to their role and more than ever before shows how the ‘stardust’ of our athletes can have impact and inspire real change.

Chris Holmes, Patron of the BPA and Director of Paralympic Integration at LOCOG, commented:

Everything we are doing at LOCOG is geared towards making this the greatest Paralympic Games in history. It is therefore absolutely right of the BPA to be thinking now about how the positive impact of London can be used to maximum effect and its role in ensuring that. I am delighted that this plan not only exists, but also gives so much clarity and focus to what will be a crucial period not just for the BPA but for the Paralympic movement as a whole.

The BPA Strategic Plan for 2012-2017 is available to download on their website, or to read below.

Please feel free to share your thoughts on this strategy with ecdp by commenting below, writing on our Facebook page or tweeting us, @ecdp.

Laura Brook - the pen name of a real patient - writes her first blog today on the NEPFT website. Real patients talking about real experiences will help more people understand what mental health services are really like.

Laura has experienced severe issues for many years and has agreed to blog monthly on her treatments, her views about it and to comment on topics that take her fancy. People can comment or join in.

To read the blog and post your comments, please visit: www.nepft.nhs.uk/media/the-mental-way-blog/

Andrew Geldard, Chief Executive, said,

This is a brave move by Laura but I am completely in favour of it. The pen name reminds us of the dangers of stigma and discrimination - especially as Laura has a job - but there is also a stigma around treatments, which in fact are very effective. Real experiences will help public understanding of what really happens here. Well done Laura.

If you are interested in writing a blog, please contact mike.waddington@nepft.nhs.uk

Today marks 100 days to go until the start of the Paralympic Games, with the event being marked by a projection of a giant Agitos (the symbol of the Paralympics) on the White Cliffs of Dover - see photo above.

Over one million of the remaining tickets for the Paralympic Games also go on sale at 11 am today (21 May) to mark this milestone. This follows an unprecedented one million ticket sales last year when the tickets were first released.

Tickets will be available on 21 May from 11am at www.tickets.london2012.com or via telephone on 0844 847 2012.

The organising committee have announced that Coldplay will be playing the closing ceremony of the games. More information about the various celebrations taking place are available on the Paralympics website.

If you would like to share your thoughts about the Paralympic Games, please use the comment box below or tweet @ecdp and using the #100daystogo hashtag.