First Steps -British Blind Sport

First Steps is a project conceived by British Blind Sport to empower and encourage children with a visual impairment between the ages of 3 – 11 years old to develop their early developmental movement skills and to become physically active.

While many schools offer PE to encourage children to engage in the recommended daily 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous intensity physical activity, we know that many children with a visual impairment have additional challenges to overcome. We are uniquely placed in the disability and sport sectors to solve this problem.

We have designed an innovative pack to give to families which contains all the tools their children need to take their first steps towards leading a more active life, build confidence, develop skills, and most importantly, have fun.

The First Steps pack is completely free to those that register and is delivered straight to the child’s door.

The pack includes:

• Audible ball: A bright and bouncy ball called Jangles with ball-bearings inside to allow the child to hear the ball.
• Activity booklet: Simple and enjoyable games that encourage the entire family to play together and learn new skills.
• Progress poster: Tracking each child’s achievements to encourage habitual behaviour with a fun sticker chart

In addition to receiving the pack, the young person and their family will receive ongoing support from the First Steps officer and will be invited to family days (depending on current Covid-19 situation) organised by BBS, that will not only bring the young people together, but introduce them to new activities and signpost those interested to inclusive community clubs.

All we ask from families is that they commit to the 1-1 support offered and provide us with feedback about their child’s activity journey, through a series of short online surveys.

Due to the current pandemic, we have been organising family activities via Zoom or teams. Furthermore, we have uploaded on to USB sticks (which will be added to the packs), some audio-guided VI inclusive videos of dance, yoga, and Goalball skills/fitness workouts, that families can take part in at home. The USB will also contain an audio version of the Jangles booklet.

For more information about First Steps please click here to visit the British Blind Sport website.

Families can register their interest in the project by visiting https://britishblindsport.org.uk/firststeps/ and then BBS will directly contact them.