Kirsty Worthington
Kirsty Worthington, Ken Martin Leisure Centre
Active Nottingham’s Ken Martin Leisure Centre has become the first to achieve the Quest Tackling Inequalities in Leisure Standard
The centre was recognised for ensuring all demographics are welcomed and find it accessible. Getting to this stage has meant partnering with trusted local organisations, such as housing associations, primary care networks, social prescribing teams and mental health services.
The sport and physical activity team have also been working with the community to remove barriers to access through campaigns such as Get Out Get Active, This Girl Can and the Disability Sport Insight and Participation project, which invited people living with a disability to try the facility for free in exchange for honest feedback.
As well as proactively researching the demographics of our area so we can anticipate our community’s needs, we take a holistic and individualistic approach to their requirements by working with partners, such as My Sight Notts, Disability Direct and the Women’s Centre and local projects, including community-based sports groups, to directly engage with local people.
The area has some of the highest levels of deprivation in the UK, with people experiencing health challenges. Added to this, it has mixed ethnicities, a large proportion of single parent families and older people and we offer programmes and activities that truly cater for everyone.
Some of the activities include Swim for Health, a 50+ morning and line dancing classes, which attracts a diverse audience and low-intensity mental health mindfulness classes that enable customers to learn mindfulness meditation practices to help relax, reduce stress, slow down and live in the present.
We invited people living with a disability to try the centre for free in exchange for honest feedback