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AoC Sport Inclusion Hub Expansion

2nd November 2021

November 2021

AoC Sport is delighted to announce the expansion of the Inclusion Hub programme from 12 colleges to 15.

New City College Redbridge campus, Bridgwater & Taunton College and Natspec member National Star College will be the new hubs for the next academic year.

The hubs play a vital role in achieving AoC Sport’s vision of ‘every student active’ and are recognised in the sport, physical activity and further education sectors as being proactive in ensuring all disabled students have access to the same opportunities as their non-disabled peers.

The 15 inclusion hub colleges are:

College	Region
Milton Keynes College	East
Loughborough College	East Midlands
Sense College	East Midlands
New City College Redbridge campus	London
Newham College Orchard Hill College	London London
Sunderland College	North East
Preston’s College	North West
HSDC Bridgwater and Taunton College National Star College	South East South West South West
SGS College	South West
Royal National College for the Blind	West Midlands
Birmingham Metropolitan College	West Midlands
North Lindsey College	Yorkshire and Humber

Each hub is expected to engage 50 students in sport and physical activity as well as recruit eight Inclusive Ambassadors and host a local development opportunity for other colleges in their region. Alongside this, the hubs will form a national network to share best practice and ideas of how they have successfully engaged disabled students.

Shannon Howarth, AoC Sport Disability Development Officer, said: ‘We are delighted to be expanding the inclusion hub network for the second year of the programme. The pilot year has been very successful, and we have taken many learnings that we will work to disseminate across the further education network. I’m excited to see the value and knowledge that our three new hubs are able to offer to the network.’

Inaugural year success

The first year of the inclusion programme proved to be a huge success with the 12 colleges engaging 959 disabled students in sport and physical activity.

The Inclusion Hub programme helped Loughborough College see how exclusive they have been in the past and how limited their sport offer was.

It allowed them to reassess and think about how they could change the way they provide sport to ensure inclusion is at the heart of what they do. Inclusion is now always considered and, where needed, adaptations are provided to help promote to all students.

Find out more about this area of work and read our impact report on the disability page.