Sheffield Children’s Summer Spectacular success

From boccia and football, to dancing and walking, we’ve been getting active during the summer holidays!

Throughout July and August, our Ryegate Physiotherapy Team have run a Summer Spectacular with a range of fun, fully accessible activities for children and young people with physical and learning disabilities.

Sports included football, dance and boccia – an inclusive target ball sport which tests both muscle control and accuracy.

The Team also held a bootcamp to help increase strength and fitness, as well as a walking group for a casual yet fun way to be active. The sessions gave children and parents the opportunity to chat, connect and make friends.

The Summer Spectacular was organised by Reece Goodwin, Exercise and Physical Activity Therapist at our Ryegate Children’s Centre.

Reece said: “We ran Summer Spectacular as families can struggle to find accessible activities for their children during the school holidays. Children and young people should be taking part in at least 60 minutes of physical activity a day, but we tend to see a decline in the activity levels during summer, so we wanted to try and keep them active during this time. We have also provided opportunities for families to join sports clubs so they can continue their physical activity journey after the holidays.”

The boccia sessions were brilliantly led by local club, the Sheffield Smashers, and Spotlight Dance School got the children – and staff! – moving and grooving.

The walking group was also attended by some very special guests – therapy dogs Quita and Teddy from Pets as Therapy!

The Summer Spectacular, which was sponsored by Move More, proved to be a great success with lots of positive feedback from parents.

One parent said: “The dance sessions were great – it is difficult to find structured activities for children with additional needs over the summer holiday, so these sessions were very welcome.”

Another parent said: “Walking group had a fun atmosphere – my son had good opportunities to chat to people he didn’t know which is great for his communication. The walk was just the right length and the therapy dogs added extra entertainment; therefore he had a good workout without feeling it was a big effort. Thank you so much for organising these events.”

Thank you to Reece and our Physiotherapy Team for your work in helping to keep children and young people active this summer!