Sporting Draper: Together Through Sport and Fitness

Sporting Draper: Together Through Sport and Fitness is a year-round programme designed with the help of local residents for children aged 5 to 12 living in the Elephant & Castle area, most of which come from BAME groups and experience economic difficulties in their homes, as well as social isolation. It provides children with the opportunity to practise a number of team sports for free, on their doorstep, once a week after school time. The overall aims of the project are to promote friendships and build a sense of community among the youngest residents of our local area, outside of the school environment, and to provide children from disadvantaged backgrounds and at risk of being involved in gang culture and knife crime with an educational and healthy activity in their local area. By practising team sports, children will learn movement and body awareness, problem-solving skills, communication and relationship-building skills, and discipline that will help them for adulthood in time to come. By educating them on the psychological and physical benefits of regular exercise, they will gain awareness on how to maintain a healthy lifestyle, which will help decrease health risks linked to diabetes and obesity.