Belgravia Foundation and AAA Sports Ballarat evaluate the impact of inclusive programs on participants, their families and volunteers

Belgravia Foundation is proudly providing support and expertise to Access All Abilities (AAA) Sports Ballarat, a not-for-profit, grass roots organisation that provides introductory sporting opportunities for children with a disability.

Despite a population of over 100,000 people, prior to the inception of AAA Sports Ballarat few community sporting opportunities were available for children with a disability in the Ballarat region. This situation deprived these children of the critically important developmental outcomes that can be gained through participation in sport.

Led by Kellie Tait who brought the inspiration and energy to create the program, it has grown from offering Australian Rules Football at an Auskick Centre, to now including three other sports – cricket, netball and football (soccer) – which are enjoyed by 30 participants.

AAA Sports Ballarat strives to provide a tailored sport experience for participants that promotes fun, friendship, a sense of belonging, and team membership – key developmental experiences which help children gain a sense of achievement, improve their social and communication skills, and learn sports skills that can be enjoyed at home, in the community and at school.

A unique part of the program involves school student volunteers from Ballarat Grammar, who provide personalised coaching to participants.

Anecdotal reports, reinforced by plenty of photos of participants, families and student volunteers smiling and happy, suggest the AAA Sports Ballarat is having an important impact on participants and student volunteers, and it is expected that benefits may also be occurring for the families of participants.

Belgravia Foundation reached out to Kellie to offer help in developing a suite of online surveys to systematically gather responses from families of participants about their views on the impact that has been occurring for participants, as well as any impact occurring for the adult family members.  A third online survey has been designed to gather feedback from student volunteers.

Belgravia Foundation CEO, Dr Jeff Walkley, has overseen the creation of the surveys. Dr Walkley said, “Importantly, these surveys have been designed using appropriate research procedures to ensure the intended outcomes for participants, families and student volunteers are what is measured.

“Using online approaches aid ease of completion, reduce workload, and allow for survey information to be easily accessed and reported. With information from the surveys, AAA Sports Ballarat will have at its fingertips information to share with existing and prospective participant families, contributors, sponsors and funding bodies,” Dr Walkley said.

When asked about the online surveys, Kellie Tait, founder of AAA Sports Ballarat said “We have seen the happy faces of participants, their families and volunteers during the program.  We have lots, heaps, of compliments. We have won some awards, but we have not been able to get information about the impact and outcomes of the program.  The help from Belgravia Foundation has been great, as we now have a way to easily collect and use the data. This will be a  big help, we will use the information for others thinking about joining or helping the program – it’s just great to get help like this!”

For further information on AAA Sports Ballarat, click here to visit their website.

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