PRESS RELEASE: 16 APRIL 2014
£262,928 boost for disability sport in Oxfordshire with Active Body, Healthy Mind
People with Mental Health problems in Oxfordshire will have more opportunities to get involved in
sport after Oxfordshire Sports Partnership received £262,928 of funding from Sport England’s
Inclusive Sport fund.
The Active Body, Healthy Mind project is one of 44 across England that will benefit from £8.06
million of National Lottery investment from Sport England to open up more opportunities for
disabled people to play sport.
One in four people in the UK will experience a mental health problem during their life and at any one
time the figure is one in six people. In Oxfordshire that translates to 88,500 people. A significant
proportion of those people have a mental health condition that has an effect on their day-to-day
activity which lasts more than 12 months, which classes the condition as a disability.
The Oxfordshire Active Body, Healthy Mind project will help 1250 people with mental ill health take
up a wide range of sports through one to one mentoring and group support. The project is led by the
Oxfordshire Sports Partnership working with a consortium of mental health and other community
organisations.
Chris Freeman, Managing Director of the Oxfordshire Sports Partnership, said:
“Active Body, Healthy Mind is an example of the positive benefits we can bring to Oxfordshire with
partnership working. It’s a fantastic opportunity to engage individuals with mental ill health in sport
providing a wide range of sporting opportunities to increase participation in disability sport and
make a positive impact on people’s lives.”
Local mental health charity, Oxfordshire Mind, will be playing a leading role in the ‘Active Body,
Healthy Mind’ partnership and will be hosting a Sports Coordinator to manage the project. David
Agnew, Head of Community Services for Oxfordshire Mind, said:
“We’re delighted to be able to be part of this joint effort to help people improve their health, fitness
and wellbeing. Our Sports Co-ordinator will be working with local communities to help people access
new ways to exercise. With 1 in 4 people in Oxfordshire experiencing mental health problems,
making it easier for everyone to boost their physical and mental health is a great way to help people
get the support they need.”
Sport England Director of Insight, Lisa O’Keefe, said:
“We are delighted to be able to help the Oxfordshire Sports Partnership provide more opportunities
for disabled people to give sport a go. Record numbers of disabled people now play sport and it’s
thanks to projects like this that we can continue to improve opportunities and make a real difference
in communities.”
The number of disabled people playing sport regularly is on the rise. In December 2013, Sport
England’s Active People Survey - an annual, in-depth measure of the nation’s sporting habits –
revealed that a record number of disabled people in England now play sport each week. However,
non-disabled people are still twice as likely to play sport as disabled people (39.2 per cent compared
to 18.5 per cent) which is why Sport England continues to focus attention and investment to address
this imbalance.
Sport England’s Inclusive Sport Fund supports programmes that aim to increase the number of
disabled people playing sport. Since the fund launched, £17.1 million has been invested in 88
projects that make sport a viable lifestyle choice for disabled people.
As well as funding disability sport programmes, Sport England also funds equipment. In addition to
today's £8.06 million announcement, Sport England also recently awarded £1 million to 141 clubs
across England to help them buy equipment to open up sport to disabled people.
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Words: 596
PRESS ENQUIRIES:
Tristan Hale
[email protected]
01865 252 726
Notes to editor:
About Oxfordshire Sports Partnership
Oxfordshire Sports Partnership is the County Sport Partnership (CSP) for Oxfordshire. Our focus is to
work with partners and stakeholders to add value and increase participation in sport and physical
activity in Oxfordshire.
CSPs are networks of organisations working in sport and physical activity, including, Local
Authorities, National Governing Bodies of Sport, Schools, Colleges and Universities, Professional
Sports Clubs and Public Health.
Nationally, there are 49 established County Sports Partnerships in England. They are led by a core
team whose job it is to provide leadership and co-ordination of a network that is focused on sport
and active recreation.
Oxfordshire Sports Partnership represents and supports key partners in providing sport and active
recreation opportunities for Oxfordshire so that everyone can participate in sport and active
recreation and reach their full potential.
Oxfordshire Sports Partnership brings partners together to enable a greater impact upon increasing
participation in sport and physical activity by providing additional resources, boosting capacity,
sharing best practice, developing data insight and having a close relationship with Sport England
About Sport England
Sport England is focused on helping people and communities across the country create a sporting
habit for life. We will invest over £1 billion of National Lottery and Exchequer funding between 2012
and 2017 in organisations and projects that will:

Help more people have a sporting habit for life

Create more opportunities for young people to play sport

Nurture and develop talent

Provide the right facilities in the right places

Support local authorities and unlock local funding

Ensure real opportunities for communities.
The National Lottery has been changing lives for 18 years. Every week National Lottery players raise
over £30 million to help change people's lives across the UK.
About Oxfordshire Mind
Oxfordshire Mind was founded in 1967 and is an Oxfordshire based Charity and part of the network
of Mind associations working for better mental health across England and Wales. Oxfordshire Mind’s
aim is to promote good mental health through the provision of high quality services with active user
participation and lobbying and campaigning for positive change. Oxfordshire Mind's services are
quality assured through the Quality Management in Mind standards developed by National Mind.
Oxfordshire Mind is funded through individual donations, charitable trusts, Oxfordshire County
Council and the Oxfordshire Clinical Commissioning Group and services are provided by both paid
workers and trained volunteers.