WORCS GIRLS CAN I N R E D D I T C H & B R O M S G R O V E C A M P A I G N R E P O R T M A R C H 2 0 1 9 About Worcs Girls Can W H A T I S T H E 'Worcs Girls Can' is a localised version of C A M P A I G N ? the national 'This Girl Can' campaign and is designed to get women and girls moving, regardless of shape, size or ability. Working with schools, leisure providers and sporting organisations across Worcestershire, Sports Partnership Herefordshire and Worcestershire delivered an energetic, vibrant and engaging campaign, addressing mental health and changing the perception of sport and physical activity among females. 0 1 Project Description Worcs Girls Can is a vibrant In 2019 we worked with 8 lead celebration of active schools across Worcestershire females. The campaign to help us engage even more directly tackles the fear of girls in sport and physical judgement that, according to activity: -North Bromsgrove High School research, stops so many - The Chantry School women and girls from - Trinity High School participating in sport and - Tudor Grange Academy Worcester - Blessed Edward Oldcorne Catholic physical activity. College - The De Montford School - Bowbrook House School - The Bewdley School What we did The campaign was launched through female-only assemblies for years 7-11, raising awareness of the issues surrounding girls' PE, insight around female participation as well as the association between physical activity and positive mental health. In January we hosted a TGC conference, inviting student champions and PE leads involved in the campaign. This gave students a taster of the campaign, encouraged them as leaders, as well as explored issues surrounding female participation in their school. Lead and support schools were invited to a Worcestershire Touch Rugby tournament, hosted by the Worcester Warriors, to begin the campaign week, before non-traditional mass-participation sessions took place in each of their schools. Activities included: zumba, clubbercise, shabam, yoga, dance, self-defence, bounce and body combat. Leisure providers and sporting organisations also supported the campaign, offering free access to their activities through the 'Peach Pass' scheme. Across Worcestershire, we engaged over 6,100 women and girls in the campaign. 0 2 Bromsgrove & Redditch Highlights We received a grant from The Oakland Foundation to support the campaign in Redditch and Bromsgrove 1,117 girls engaged within Trinity High School and North Bromsgrove High School Our Lead Schools were interviewed by BBC Hereford & Worcester and Free Radio 'Behind the Scenes with Sky Sports' tour took place, including a keynote from Jodie Gibson (Commonwealth medallist) and tickets to the Severn Stars game at the University of Worcester Arena. 9 local schools were involved in the campaign across Redditch and Bromsgrove Trinity High School welcomed a visit from their local MP 0 3 Our Campaign Aims A C C O R D I N G T O S P O R T E N G L A N D O N L Y 3 1 . 6 % O F W O M E N P L A Y S P O R T A T L E A S T O N C E A W E E K C O M P A R E D T O 4 1 . 7 % O F M E N . N A T I O N A L L Y , 1 3 M I L L I O N W O M E N A N D G I R L S S A I D T H E Y W A N T E D T O P L A Y M O R E S P O R T , O F W H O M , N E A R L Y H A L F A R E C U R R E N T L Y I N A C T I V E . - Gain an understanding of females' motivations and barriers for physical activity participation - Change the perception of sport and physical activity among females and schools - Increase awareness of the national 'This Girl Can' campaign messaging - Facilitate the discovery and improve the accessibility of physical activity opportunities across Worcestershire - Promote positive mental health through association with physical activity - Enable and promote positive experiences of sport and physical activity 0 4 Redditch & Bromsgrove ACTIVITY 29 % LEVELS Active 29% of girls in Redditch and Bromsgrove are meeting the CMO 71 % guidelines for physical activity. 71% of females in the area are not meeting Inactive/Fairly this recommendation, however, 50% of Acitve females have increased their activity levels since 2018. 100 75 50 25 0 y t t h fi d d i d lt t o o e o a e o o n o e g l g l g o m h e e d y e to e e s m b t f f y n e e a th to a lw i t w m m a w n I s s s a ke ke ve lp w a a I' e I M M H Many of our females were motivated to Our insight suggests that different participate in sport and physical activity kit and more information around to try something new, or because their healthy lifestyles may encourage friends were taking part. girls to participate in PE and extra-curricular activity. Teachers also agreed that they would like to include more varied activities. 0 4 Barriers to Participation T H E R E A R E A N U M B E R O F R E A S O N S T H A T P R E V E N T G I R L S F R O M P A R T I C I P A T I N G I N S P O R T A N D P H Y S I C A L A C T I V I T Y , F R O M T H E F E A R O F J U D G E M E N T T O N O T W A N T I N G T O P A R T I C I P A T E W I T H O U T F R I E N D S . 60 40 20 0 t it s h e n u g g e o io u a m d c o e s s n im g d n e y d n o d d ju ie -c e o f fr lf t b o y e a t r s iv u a m o t o e f o o b F o T m a e t s n o u o N o N i sc n o C Among active, fairly active and inactive audiences, fear of judgement was the greatest barrier to sport and physical activity, aligning with national insight. However, 38% of students reported that the best element of Worcs Girls Can was the non-judgemental environment. Females reported that they would enjoy PE more if they could participate with their friends rather than their class and if a different kit was considered. 0 5 Making a Difference through Worcs Girls Can Before participating in Worcs Girls 4 Can, girls rated their feelings towards sport and physical activity. As a result of the campaign, girls reported an 3 increase in positivity towards physical activity and sport. 2 Following the campaign, girls were asked whether they felt more confident about taking part in sport and physical 1 activity. Girls reported an increase in confidence as a result of the campaign and said they wanted to start taking 0 part more often. 40% of females taking part in Worcs Girls Can reported an increased awareness of local physical activity opportunities. 51% of females in Redditch and Bromsgrove reported a greater awareness for the contribution that physical activity can make to positive mental health. 0 6 @WorcsGirlsCan.