HSP Hosts Inspiring Event for Care Experienced Young People

Last week, 80 Care Experienced young people gathered at the University of Hertfordshire for an empowering Sport & Wellbeing Festival which focused on participation, employment, and education in the sport and physical activity sector. 

Hertfordshire became a signatory of the National Care Leaver Covenant last year and the festival formed part of the county’s commitment to work with partners, businesses and the community in order to improve the lives of local Care Experienced Young People. Organised by Herts Sport & Physical Activity Partnership (HSP), the Active Partnership for Hertfordshire, and the Hertfordshire County Council Participation Team, attendees were encouraged to get active by trying new sports, explore different career pathways, and learn about various educational opportunities available to them. 

On the day, attendees heard keynotes from Annie Brewster JP, High Sheriff of Hertfordshire and Hertfordshire Constabulary’s Prevention and Diversion Team. Following this, participants set off to the activities, including Street Dance, Gentle Stretch and Exercise and boxercise. The Hertfordshire Sports Village Climbing Wall proved to be a very popular activity on the day, with many people eager to see how high they could climb.

The employment and education themes of the day were delivered via lunch and learn workshops including a CV Writing Skills session, a Career Marketplace and a Sports Industry talk from Saracens Foundation. 

Cllr Fiona Thompson, Deputy Leader of Hertfordshire County Council and Cabinet Member Children, Young People and Families commented: 

‘It was an absolute pleasure to be there and wonderful to see so many young people attend (specifically on a Monday morning), and fantastic to see them enjoying the wide range of taster sessions and skills sessions on offer. Huge thank you to HSP team for an excellent partnership day with the Participation team.” 

The day ended with the young people receiving a goodie bag, filled with leaflets about additional opportunities within the sport sector as well as items donated by Goods for Good, a local charity who take donations of unsold essential goods from British industry, and work with the Partnership to distribute to vulnerable communities around the county. 

John O’Callaghan, Herts Sport & Physical Activity Partnership Director said: 

“The event was the embodiment of the Partnership addressing inequality and disadvantage head on and targeting those furthest from the action. It was an inspiring event which made me feel very proud of what we can achieve with our partners, and a timely reminder of the great gift of being able to use sport and physical activity as an opportunity to positively impact young lives.”  

Overall, the festival was a huge success, with both the young people and staff taking something away from the event. Both HSP and the HCC Participation Team are now exploring other ways to partner up and keep supporting Care Experienced young people in Hertfordshire.