Disability - Diversity and Belonging

We approach our activities via the ‘social model of disability'. This includes an underlying belief that social barriers such as the environment, attitudes and organisations are what prevent people from participating, not their impairment. For example, with the right consideration a Deaf participant is able to fully access our club environment via trained volunteers, supportive teammates and the introduction of a light system to ensure they understand when officials/ coaches use their whistles.

Doing so enables us to identify barriers to our sport and provides us with the control and responsibility to remove them.

In 2014 Activity Alliance (formerly the English Federation of Disability Sport) released their ‘Talk to Me’ report. This provided 10 core principles to help deliverers ensure that their activities were inclusive to disabled people. These can be applied to all activities including playing and volunteering.

Whilst we encourage this broad view of inclusivity, we have included impairment and role-specific resources below that will enable you to effectively identify barriers and support disabled people to access netball.

Neurodiverse Sport information on neurodiversity in sport
Neurodiversity Fact Sheets
Engaging people with Autistic in Sport

Rosie, a participant from Netball East talking about how autism impacts her experience within netball. Footage is taken from an inclusive event in the East region and shared with permission of Sport for Confidence.

Click on the roadmap above to find a range of resources to map out your volunteer journey, and ensure it is inclusive and accessible for everyone.

The resources feature key learnings and insight from Activity Alliance's Get Out Get Active (GOGA) programme on supporting disabled volunteers and how to create an inclusive volunteering programme.

Jo, a volunteer and player from Netball East talking about her experiences since she became a wheelchair user in 2012. Footage is taken from an inclusive event in the East region and shared with permission of Sport for Confidence.

Supporting Disabled Teenage Girls to be Active
Disabled teenage girls’ enjoyment of and positive attitudes towards sport continue to be lower than their non-disabled counterparts, but, in contrast, we know that 67% of those that responded to Women in Sport’s survey want to be more active.

Supporting Deaf Girls to Stay Active
Deaf teenage girls are at increased risk of dropping out of sport and face additional barriers to participation than hearing girls.

Women in Sport’s report in partnership with UK Deaf Sport, looks at the difficulties that some teenage girls face to taking part in sport.