The Equality Act (2010) sets out the legal requirements that every private, public, or voluntary organisation must adhere to, to ensure that people are treated equally and not discriminated against because of a particular characteristic.
The Act is in place to ensure equal opportunities for all, including those who participate or work and/or volunteer in a sport or physical activity setting.
The Act encourages community organisations to recognise the challenges faced by people with different protected characteristics (features or attributes of a person which should not be used to treat them less favourably), in order to develop a more inclusive and accessible organisation.
Community organisations by law are required to make adjustments to practices, policies and procedures so that everyone can access their offer.
Under the Act, discrimination, or unfair treatment of someone because of a particular characteristic is against the law. There are nine protected characteristics, which are:
It is the duty of community organisations to consider how they can make their offer, services and any facilities as accessible as possible to every individual regardless of these nine characteristics.
It’s important to understand the different types of discrimination, and be aware of what to look out for, when addressing instances of discrimination and adhering to the laws set out within the Act.
There are multiple forms of discrimination, including:
It's important for all community organisations, regardless of their size, to understand and apply the Act in their practices.
There are a number of practices that an organisation could implement to help them avoid discriminating against a person from a protected characteristic group, including:
Women are more likely to volunteer within sport than men, but they are less likely to participate themselves.
Many people with disabilities or long-term health conditions (LTHCs) want to be more active.
People over the age of 55 are much more likely to be inactive compared to younger adults.
Just over half of children and young people in England don’t meet the recommended exercise levels for their age group.
The fear of being bullied or of not being accepted can be a factor for LGBT+ people that choose not to ‘come out’ within the sports club or group they are part of.
One third of adults on low incomes are inactive.
People from diverse ethnic groups are less active than those from White or mixed groups.
The videos below explore why inclusivity is important, what it means to individuals and how clubs and groups can champion this.
The video starts with a black screen which fades in to show a girl holding a white card with the Buddle logo towards the top centre of the card, with the words ‘‘Include Me’ Video’ underneath in dark blue text. She is standing on a running track, with buildings and trees in the background. Other young people are visible behind her on the running track, talking to each other. Some ambient noise, including young people talking in the background of the shot, can be heard alongside the music. The backing track is quite slow and slightly downbeat. On the narrated version of the video, the words on each card are read out by a female voice.
The shot changes to a boy holding a card that says ‘Did you know?’. He is also standing on the running track with other young people, buildings and trees in the background.
The shot changes to a young man holding a card that says ‘29% of boys are part of sports clubs outside school, compared to 17% of girls.’. He is also standing on the running track with other young people, buildings and trees in the background. 29% and 17% are both in bold and underlined on the card.
The shot changes to a man holding a card that says ‘Low income families spend just £3.21 a week in total on active sport.’. He is also standing on the running track with young people, buildings and trees in the background. £3.21 is in bold and underlined on the card.
The shot changes to a boy holding a card that says ‘27% of people without a disability are sports club members….’. He is also standing on the running track with young people, buildings and trees in the background. 27% is in bold and underlined on the card.
The shot changes to a young man holding a card that says ‘…compared to only 15% of people with a disability.’. He is standing on the running track with young people, buildings and trees in the background. 15% is in bold and underlined on the card.
The shot changes to a girl holding a card that says ’13 million women and girls in England say they want to play more sport.’. She is standing on the running track with young people, buildings and trees in the background. 13 million is in bold and underlined on the card. The girl looks down at the card then looks back up at the camera.
The shot changes to a man holding a card that says ‘Almost half of LGBT+ people find the culture around sport intimidating or unwelcoming.’. He is also standing on the running track with young people, buildings and trees in the background. The words ‘intimidating’ and ‘unwelcoming’ are both in bold and underlined on the card.
The shot changes to a boy holding a card that says ‘A high proportion of people from ethnically diverse communities…’. He is standing on the running track with young people, buildings and trees in the background.
The shot changes to a girl holding a card that says ‘…have experienced discrimination in sport.’. She is also standing on the running track with young people, buildings and trees in the background. The word ‘discrimination’ is in bold and underlined on the card. She looks down at the card and then back at the camera.
The shot changes to a boy holding a card that says ‘If I joined a sports club or group, I might worry that…’. He is standing on a sports pitch, with some line markings visible. Behind him, a group of young people are talking to each other, playing games and running around. There are trees, a goal and floodlights in the background.
The shot changes to another boy holding a card that says ‘I won’t be accepted for who I am…’. He is also standing on the pitch with other young people, a goal, trees and floodlights visible in the background.
The shot changes to another boy holding a card that says ‘…or because I am different to other people there.’. He is also standing on the pitch with other young people, a goal, trees and floodlights visible in the background.
The shot changes to another boy holding a card that says ‘I won’t fit in’. He is also standing on the pitch with other young people, a goal, trees and floodlights visible in the background.
The shot changes to a girl, who is standing on a sports pitch, she looks to her left as a group of young people walk past behind her. She looks back to the camera and holds up a card that says ‘I’ll be judged.’. The other young people, a goal, trees and floodlights visible in the background.
The shot changes to a man holding a card that says ‘I might not be good enough…’. He is also standing on the sports pitch with young people, a goal, trees and floodlights visible in the background.
The shot changes to a boy holding a card that says ‘…or other people will be better than me’. He is also standing on the sports pitch with other young people, a goal, trees and floodlights visible in the background.
The shot changes to a girl holding a card that says ‘Nobody will want me on their team.’ She is also standing on the sports pitch with other young people, a goal, trees and floodlights visible in the background.
The shot changes to a boy holding a card that says ‘I might get singled out if I mess up.’. He is also standing on the sports pitch with other young people, a goal, trees and floodlights visible in the background.
The shot changes to a young man holding a card that says ‘People might laugh at me.’. He is also standing on the sports pitch with other young people, a goal, trees and floodlights visible in the background.
The shot changes to another boy, who is standing on the sports pitch. The card he is holding slips through his fingers on one side as he lifts it up and he catches it. The card says ‘I’m not athletic’. Other young people, a goal, trees and floodlights visible in the background.
The shot changes to a girl holding a card that says ‘I might be the only girl.’. She is standing on the sports pitch with a group of young people, a goal, trees and floodlights visible in the background.
The shot changes to a man holding a card that says ‘The club might be too competitive.’. He is also standing on the sports pitch with young people, a goal, trees and floodlights visible in the background.
The shot changes to a young man, also on the sports pitch, who brings his card up and holds it. The card says ‘They might not make an effort to welcome me…’. Trees and floodlights can be seen in the background.
The shot changes to a girl holding a card that says ‘…or I might be ignored or left out’. She is standing on the sports pitch with some young people sitting in a group behind her. Trees, a goal post and floodlights are visible. The screen fades out to black. The backing track and ambient noise also fade out with the screen.
The screen is black and there is no audio for a few seconds, before a new track begins. The ambient noise resumes and the screen fades in to show a boy standing on an outdoor basketball court with other young people, basketball goals and trees in the background. The boy is smiling and holding a card that says ‘When I am included…I feel safe.’. The new music track is happier and more upbeat than the previous track.
The shot changes to another boy who is smiling and holding a card that says ‘I feel happy and excited.’. He is also standing on an outdoor basketball court with other young people, basketball goals and trees in the background.
The shot changes to a girl who is smiling and holding a card that says ‘I enjoy myself and have fun.’. She is also standing on an outdoor basketball court with other young people, basketball goals and trees in the background.
The shot changes to a man who is smiling and holding a card that says ‘I gain confidence and can be the best version of me.’. He is also standing on an outdoor basketball court with r young people, basketball goals and trees in the background.
The shot changes to a boy who is smiling and holding a card that says ‘I feel like people support me and care about me.’. He is also standing on an outdoor basketball court with other young people, basketball goals and trees in the background.
The shot changes to a girl who is smiling and holding a card that says ‘I get a sense of belonging...’. She is also standing on an outdoor basketball court with other young people, basketball goals and trees in the background.
The shot changes to a man who is smiling and holding a card that says ‘…and I feel like part of a community.’. He is also standing on an outdoor basketball court with young people, basketball goals and trees in the background.
The shot changes to a girl who is standing in an activity studio, which has a mirrored wall on the right. She is smiling and holding a card that says ‘Inclusion matters to me because…’.
The shot changes to a boy who is smiling and holding a card that says ‘It means people feel safe and supported.’ He is also standing in the activity studio.
The shot changes to a girl who is smiling and holding a card that says ‘It means nobody gets left out.’ She is also standing in the activity studio.
The shot changes to a man who is smiling and holding a card that says ‘It means you can meet people from different backgrounds.’ He is also standing in the activity studio.
The shot changes to a boy who is smiling and holding a card that says ‘It means everyone can be part of a team.’ He is also standing in the activity studio.
The shot changes to a girl who is smiling and holding a card that says ‘It means people can feel comfortable, no matter what.’ She is also standing in the activity studio.
The shot changes to a boy who is smiling and holding a card that says ‘It means sport is available for all….’ He is also standing in the activity studio.
The shot changes to another boy who is smiling and holding a card that says ‘…because we are all equal.’ He is also standing in the activity studio.
The shot changes to a girl standing on an outdoor basketball court surrounded by trees. She is smiling and holding a card that says ‘To help me feel included, clubs and groups should…’.
The shot changes to a boy who is smiling. He is also standing on the outdoor basketball court, and holds up a card that says ‘Find ways to reach me.’. The words ‘reach me’ are in bold and underlined.
The shot changes to a man who is also standing on the outdoor basketball court. He is smiling and holding up a card that says ‘Make sure they hear me.’. The words ‘hear me’ are in bold and underlined.
The shot changes to a girl who is also on the outdoor basketball court. She is smiling and holding up a card that says ‘Welcome me and help me find my place.’. The words ‘Welcome me’ are in bold and underlined.
The shot changes to a man who is also on the outdoor basketball court. He is smiling and holding up a card that says ‘Work to support me.’. The words ‘support me’ are in bold and underlined.
The shot changes to a young man who is also on the outdoor basketball court. He is smiling and holding up a card that says ‘Show me the value me.’. The words ‘value me’ are in bold and underlined.
The shot changes to a boy who is also standing on the outdoor basketball court. He is smiling and holding up a card that says ‘Think about how they can keep me.’. The words ‘keep me’ are in bold and underlined.
The shot changes to a young man who is also on the outdoor basketball court. He is smiling and holding up a card that says ‘Let’s work together to make this better.’. The word ‘together’ is in bold and underlined.
The screen changes to white and the Buddle logo appears in the top centre of the screen. At the bottom of the screen, the Sport England and National Lottery logos appear. In between, the text ‘For more information, visit’ appears with links to the Buddle website (www.buddle.co) and Sport England website (www.sportengland.org) underneath. The music fades out as the video ends.
The video begins with a white screen. The Buddle logo appears centrally. The logo shrinks and moves up towards the top centre, with a ‘Supported by Sport England’ logo sitting below it. The name of the video, ‘Inclusive Organisations’ appears in black text in the bottom centre of the frame. An upbeat backing track begins and continues throughout the video.
The screen fades to show blue sky, a path surrounded by greenery, and a clubhouse with the word ‘welcome’ displayed on its roof. Different characters from a diverse range of groups appear around the clubhouse and on the path. Subtitles appear at the bottom of the screen throughout, accompanying the voiceover. The voiceover begins.
Voiceover: Inclusive organisations put people at the heart of everything they do.
The screen zooms in through the door of the clubhouse with two characters standing at the door welcoming us in. The screen then changes to a blue background with a woman, and two men, one of the men is using a wheelchair.
Voiceover: They are positive environments where everyone feels invited, welcome, accepted, safe and valued. They create a feeling of belonging and offer great experiences.
The characters lift their arms up and smile. White speech bubbles appear around them to show the words ‘Invited’, ‘Welcome’, ‘Accepted’, ‘Safe’ and ‘Valued’. The screen changes to show the word ‘Benefits’ in bold in the center.
Voiceover: Being inclusive has lots of benefits. It can help you to attract and retain more people, increase your income, widen your talent pool, build stronger links with your local community, and enhance your reputation.
The screen shows the title benefits. Below, each of the benefits are listed. ‘Attract and retain more people’ appears on the screen with a hexagon containing a hand supporting three people inside it. ‘Increase your income’ then appears on the screen with a hexagon containing a bar graph showing positive financial growth’. ‘Widen your talent pool’ then appears on screen alongside 3 hexagons containing people. ‘Build stronger links with your local community’ then appears on the screen, the three hexagons containing people are then linked together. ‘Enhance your reputation’ appears on screen, at the same time, a trophy and two stars appear in the middle hexagon.
The screen then changes to show a heart with ‘INCLUSION’ at the center of it. Six coloured triangle pieces then form together around the heart to create a hexagon.
Voiceover: Inclusive organisations share six key characteristics. Let’s explore them. One: Values. They have inclusive values which are people-focused. Values like community, listening, fairness, respect, diversity, inclusion and teamwork are at the heart of everything they do.
The number ‘1’ and text ‘Values’ appear in the first triangle of the hexagon. The shot then zooms in to show ‘Values’ in bold in the middle of the screen. This then moves to the top of the screen. Words appear one by one beside a series of icons. These words are ‘Community’, ‘Listening’, ‘Fairness’, ‘Respect’, ‘Diversity’, ‘Inclusion’ and ‘Teamwork’. The icons include a silhouette of three figures for community, an ear for listening, scales of justice for fairness, two hands in a handshake for respect, a globe for diversity, five heads and raised arms for inclusion, and four people holding arms for teamwork.
Voiceover: They are representative of the communities they serve and are driven by desire to give everyone a warm welcome and a great experience.
As the voiceover starts, the shot changes to show a silhouette of a range of diverse characters, including women, men, children above a pair of hands. One of the men is a wheelchair user. The words ‘Representative of their communities’ comes up on to the screen. The screen then fades to show the image of the heart inside the hexagon once again.
Voiceover: Two: Attitudes and behaviours. They have inclusive attitudes and behaviours. Inclusion is everyone’s business but creating an inclusive culture starts at the top and filters down. Their leaders, staff and volunteers are passionate about inclusion.
The screen zooms in to the next hexagon piece showing the number ‘2’ and reads ‘Attitudes and behaviours’. The screen changes to show an orange background with the words ‘Inclusive attitudes and behaviours’ appearing in bold in the middle of the screen. The text then moves to the top of the screen. Three characters appear, two are female, one is male, and they are all from different ethnic groups. The text disappears and the three characters are placed at the top of a pyramid structure with more characters appearing in two layers below them. An arrow pointing downwards appears to the right of the pyramid. Text appears to the left of the structure, representing the three different levels of the pyramid: ‘Leaders’, ‘Staff’ and ‘Volunteers’.
Voiceover: They set the right example and create a positive culture based on inclusive attitudes, behaviours, and practices.
The shot changes to show a man standing in front of three children. Two of the children are standing together and one stands alone. The man signals to the children to join together and they move to stand next to each other. The shot then zooms into the man pointing at the text on his right which reads ‘Attitudes’, ‘Behaviours’, ‘Practices’. This image then fades back to the hexagon.
Voiceover: Three: Communication. They clearly communicate their commitment to being inclusive and make inclusion visible in all aspects of their decision-making, operations, policies and procedures and in the conversations they have.
Inside the third hexagon piece, the number ‘3’ and text ‘Communication’ appears. The shot zooms into this and the screen changes to show a pink background. The words ‘Communicate their commitment’ appear below icons of a head and a speaker. The words ‘Make inclusion visible’ then appears below. The screen moves and ‘Make inclusion visible’ appears as the title at the top of the screen. A list consisting of ‘Decision-making’, ‘Operations’, ‘Policies and procedures’ and ‘Conversations’ then appears. As the words appear on screen, icons which briefly appear on the right to represent each one. These include a head and a light bulb for decision-making, a series of three connecting cogs for operations, two pieces of paper headed policies and procedures and two speech bubbles for conversations.
Voiceover: This is also obvious in their marketing and communications materials, making sure they use inclusive imagery and language.
The screen changes to show a computer screen. The words ‘Our website’ are shown in bold text on the screen. Underneath this are the words ‘Inclusion’, ‘Everyone’s welcome!’, ‘Accessible sessions!’ and ‘Come and talk to us’. The right-hand side of the screen includes icons and images representing different groups including a progress flag, four people’s hands and a circle of people with their arms raised. Photographs of the club house and two men are shown at the bottom of the screen. The screen then fades to show the hexagon and heart again.
Voiceover: Four: Understanding and responsive. They work proactively to understand and respond to people’s needs. They take time to discuss people’s barriers and motivations and make sure everyone feels listened to, understood, and accepted.
Inside the next hexagon piece, text appears to show the number ‘4’ and the words ‘Understanding and responsive’. The screen zooms to show a blue background. The text ‘Understand and respond to people’s needs’ appearing in bold in the middle of the screen. This disappears and a range of diverse characters appear. A female character in a Hijab stands next to a whiteboard which has the text, ‘Barriers’ and ‘Motivations’ on it. The female points at the whiteboard as the rest of the characters smile and raise their arms. Speech bubbles appear above them. This shot transitions to show three hexagons, two of the hexagons contain a woman, one is wearing a hijab. The third hexagon contains two men. Above each hexagon, text appears reading ‘Listened to’, ‘Understood’ and ‘Accepted’.
Voiceover: They constantly seek feedback to ensure people and partners feel comfortable in sharing their views.
The screen shows a table and a voting box on top of it. Three characters walk into the shot (two men and one woman) and towards the box. They are holding sheets of paper with the word ‘Feedback’ on them and lines symbolising writing, they post them into the box. The image fades to show the hexagon and heart again.
Voiceover: Five: Action. They take action and are solution-focused to help overcome barriers and meet people’s needs.
Within the next hexagon piece, the number ‘5’ and text ‘Action’ appears. As the shot zooms in, the screen is split into three seemingly identical images. The first section shows a male who is a wheelchair user, a young boy and a woman. They are behind a wall. The height of the wall prevents the man and the boy from seeing the athletics track on the other side. The next section shows the addition of a ramp for the man using the wheelchair and a step for the young boy so that each are fully able to see the track. The final section shows the man in the wheelchair and the young boy being able to see the track perfectly as the wall has been removed by a crane. Beyond the wall, the track, some greenery and tall buildings remain throughout.
Voiceover: They don’t tolerate any form of discrimination or bullying and actively challenge negative attitudes and behaviours. This lets people know they are welcome, safe, and accepted in the organisation and creates a sense of belonging.
The shot transitions to show a white screen showing the words ‘Discrimination’ and ‘Bullying’. The words are then crossed out by a big red cross. Five different coloured hands appear and point at the words.
The shot changes to a blue heart with pink and purple borders. The screen then goes blue and shows a group of people from different groups including two men, one is using a wheelchair, and two women, one is using a walking stick. To the right, words appear reading ‘Welcome’, ‘Safe’ and ‘Accepted’. The group raise their arms in celebration. The shot changes to show a diverse group of children holding hands with one another in a line across the screen. The screen fades back to the hexagon.
Voiceover: Six: Collaborative. They work collaboratively with local networks, partners and organisations that are trusted by the audiences they want to reach. They regularly and proactively engage with them to find new ideas and solutions that drive inclusivity.
The screen zooms in to the final hexagon piece which fills up with the number ‘6’ and reads ‘Collaboration’. The shot changes to show a high street with several buildings including a community centre, charity, business centre, and a car garage. Outside the buildings there are several characters from different groups who wave and greet three characters, who are moving down the street including two men, and a woman. One man is using a wheelchair.
Voiceover: For more information explore our website section on ‘creating an inclusive environment’
The shot changes to show a woman sitting in a chair on her computer. It zooms in on the computer screen which shows the title ‘Creating an inclusive environment’. Below this is the ‘Buddle’ logo to the right and the hexagon and heart with numbers listed through 1 to 6 on the left. This is shown below a heading which reads ‘INCLUSION’. There is a cursor which hovers over the screen before moving towards the ‘INCLUSION’ heading and clicking it.
This then changes to show a white background with the Buddle logo. Supported by Sport England appears below this. The national lottery appears centrally. At the bottom of the frame, the text ‘www.buddle.co’ and ‘www.sportengland.org’ appears. The music stops. The video ends.
Being welcoming and inclusive is a feature of many successful community sports clubs, groups and organisations.
Offering a positive experience for all participants and volunteers regardless of ethnicity, religion, age, gender, sexual orientation, financial situation or ability benefits both your organisation and the people involved with it.
When referring to organisation we mean any community club, group or organisation that is involved in the delivery of physical activity or sport.
Promoting inclusivity and celebrating diversity throughout your organisation can support growth and sustainability by maximising your membership base and volunteer workforce.
Creating and promoting an inclusive environment can help you to attract new people, as well as encourage existing participants and volunteers to stay with your organisation for longer.
People may also become more likely to recommend your organisation to others.
Research has shown that some groups are less likely than others to be participate and volunteer in sport and physical activity.
The below section gives an overview of different groups with some helpful links, as well as advice on how you can find out more about the community your organisation is part of.
There is wide mix of ethnic groups in England. However, it’s really important to remember that there is no ‘one size fits all’ approach to getting people from different backgrounds participating or volunteering in sport and activity.
Read moreLots of different factors can impact this, including cultural norms and experiences of racism.
HideOrganisations can play a role in building positive attitudes towards sport and physical activity for children and young people (CYP).
Read moreWhile motivations for taking part in sport and activity can change for young people in their teens, inequalities within this group exist – girls and CYP from low income families are less likely to be active.
HideThere are approximately 11.5 million people with a disability in England, and not all disabilities are visible.
Read moreResearch by the Activity Alliance shows that four out of five would like to do more sport and activity and are often motivated by looking after their health.
However, only 32% feel that sport is ‘for someone like them’.
HideOne fifth of the population has a long-term health condition.
Read moreThis can make it difficult to be active, but 69% of this group would like to do more.
HideSport England’s yearly Active Lives Survey shows that people on lower incomes and people from lower income families are more likely to be inactive.
Read more HideA key part of being inclusive is ensuring everybody feels safe and comfortable to be themselves.
Read moreNegative attitudes towards LGBT+ people are sadly still present in society and sport.
However your organisation can work to ensure that nobody has to hide a part of themselves by emphasising inclusivity through every aspect of your operations.
HideAcross almost every age group, females are less likely to do sport and physical activity than males.
Read moreWomen and girls have different motivations and challenges when it comes to taking part in sport and physical activity.
Younger girls, for example, are influenced a lot by their families getting involved, whereas teenage girls are often motivated to join sports organisations for social reasons.
HideResearch shows that our population is an ageing one, with the Office for National Statistics predicting that 20m people will be aged 60 or over by 2030.
Read moreResearch from Sport England also shows that you are more likely to become inactive as you get older.
This can be for a range of reasons, some linked to health but also to increased work or caring commitments.
Hide
Here are some ways to help you get cash for your club.
How to benefit from diversity and provide for the different groups of people that want to get active. Which is, well, everyone!
Find out more about creating welcoming and inclusive environments, connecting with your community and diversifying your offer.
Consider whether you already understand the make-up of your people regarding their demographic group, financial situation and background.
If not, this is a good place to start as it will help you identify any gaps in your offer or groups that might currently be under-represented.
To do this you can review existing membership or joining documentation to help you collect this information, or send out a survey for people to fill in.
If you choose to do this, remember that it's important to use sensitive and appropriate language, and have secure data handling procedures in place.
Review your existing activities, communications and facilities to understand how inclusive and accessible your organisation is currently.
Do the images you use in your marketing favour any particular groups? Do you celebrate diversity-related events, like Pride or Black History Month?
Accessibility can also encompass physical considerations, like wheelchair access to facilities or the size of text used in marketing, as well as financial accessibility.
All of this can contribute to whether someone feels like your organisation is accessible for them and can meet their needs.
Find out more about the things that are most important for different groups.
You can use the next section of this page as a starting point and explore the helpful links we’ve included.
You can also invite participants and volunteers to share their views and needs – here's some guidance on understanding your people.
This will help you address the needs of your organisation’s existing people, as well as inform how you might become more inclusive for others in future.
Review any information and feedback you have been able to collect and use this to guide your next steps towards a more inclusive environment.
It might be valuable to develop an Action Plan to help you track changes, actions, outcomes, progress and responsibilities.
This can help ensure your committee and wider volunteer workforce are aware of and part of the organisation’s commitment to inclusivity.
Sharing this with your members and participants will also help to showcase your intentions and may also help you recruit extra people to help drive this forward.
Reviewing your practices and key documents can help to ensure inclusivity is central to how you run your organisation.
This should extend from your committee across your activities, communications, and any documentation such as membership forms.
It should also be reflected in how your organisation encourages and celebrates diversity, as well as challenges negative behaviour.
Some organisations in the sector offer training courses on inclusivity.
Courses might explore core principles of inclusivity, or focus on understanding and addressing the needs of specific groups, such as disability awareness courses.
By supporting your workforce to complete such training, you can better prepare your organisation to champion diversity, accessibility and inclusivity effectively.
You could track this learning and development within your Action Plan, if you choose to use one.
Where possible, find ways to encourage and recruit people from different age groups and backgrounds to get involved in the running of your organisation.
This helps to encourage diversity of thought, by having people with different views and life experiences working together.
It also supports the development of a more representative workforce and committee, allowing people to see others ‘like them’ in volunteering positions, contributing to a positive experience.
Use positive, inclusive language, messaging and imagery in all your external or internal marketing and comms.
Ensuring that people can see others like them reflected in messaging and images can make your organisation feel more relatable and accessible.
Additionally, if you decide to review diversity and inclusivity at your organisation, why not share the results in your communications to make people aware of the steps you’re taking?
You should also think about accessibility in terms of the platforms and formats you use to promote your organisation, so you can reach people effectively.
Some organisations have very specific audiences or purposes, which might mean they are less accessible to some groups.
For example, not all organisations are able to offer junior sections.
If this is the case, make sure you are as open, helpful and friendly as possible with those who might be interested in joining but aren’t able to.
If you can’t cater for a certain group, try to signpost people to other clubs or groups that do, or to organisations that might know more.
We've put together the below information to help organisations understand some of the small changes they can make to help ensure their offer is as inclusive as possible.
Reasonable adjustments refer to changes, modifications or accommodations that an organisation should make to ensure that opportunities to participate, volunteer or spectate are accessible to all, particularly those with different needs.
Making adjustments will help to eliminate barriers and provide equal opportunities, helping to create inclusive and accessible organisations.
Sport England’s Uniting the Movement strategy recognises the importance of creating inclusive opportunities to ensure that everyone can access sport and physical activity, and the benefits involvement can bring.
Making reasonable adjustments is not only desirable for member satisfaction and engagement, but also a legal requirement under the Equality Act 2010.
The Act requires organisations to make reasonable adjustments to the services and activities that they offer so that everyone, including those from protected characteristic groups, can access them.
Reasonable adjustments can include making alterations to a facility or the equipment provided, but also the policies, procedures, training of volunteers and communication methods used.
In line with the Act, an organisation shouldn’t just respond to issues, challenges, or barriers as they arise, but be proactive and plan in advance to make any adjustments to the offer which has the potential to impact on a person’s ability to engage in any capacity.
Hosting discussions with the organisation’s intended audience is a positive approach in ensuring their needs can be met from the outset. This will also offer the opportunity to introduce an organisation to new people and promote an inclusive and welcoming message.
Determining what is reasonable isn’t defined within the Equalities Act 2010, and determining what is reasonable will vary depending on a number of things including: the size of an organisation, the resources available, and the impact that making a change will have on an individual’s ability to access opportunities.
It’s important that any adjustments are made on an individual basis and consider the specific needs and preferences of each person.
This approach will help to provide equal opportunities whilst respecting the independence and dignity of individuals.
The aim of making these adjustments is to identify and implement changes that are effective in removing barriers.
It’s equally important to ensure that spectating is accessible and inclusive for family or friends who may want to support a participant.
When planning what adjustments are reasonable and should be made, organisations are strongly encouraged consult and get the perspective of the individuals that will benefit.
Individuals can also request that adjustments are made, to ensure that opportunities available are as close to the standard which people are usually offered.
Reasonable adjustments can take various forms, depending on individual needs and the existing provision of an organisation. Examples of reasonable adjustments may include:
Everyone deserves to have a fulfilling, enjoyable experience, free from discrimination, abuse and other negative behaviours when taking part in sport and physical activity.
We know that this isn’t always the case: many people face barriers to being active or experience discriminatory behaviour that leaves them feeling isolated, or less inclined to get and stay active.
Volunteers and participants across the sector work hard to develop safe, inclusive spaces underpinned by strong values and cultures, but it can still be challenging to know how to deal with discriminatory behaviour or understand what could prevent it from happening in the first place.
Here you’ll find some advice and guidance to help volunteers prevent, recognise and act appropriately if instances of discrimination occur.
Discrimination is treating someone negatively or unfairly because of a particular characteristic. The Equality Act 2010 exists to legally protect people from discrimination.
The list of protected characteristics and different types of discrimination are set out in our 'Understanding the Equality Act (2010)' guidance.
An example of discrimination is racism. Racism is where an individual or group of people are treated differently or unfairly because of their skin colour, nationality, citizenship or ethnic or national origin. Racism can be direct or indirect but is always harmful.
Understanding how discrimination can present itself will help ensure you and your people create and maintain safe and inclusive environments for everyone.
If you’ve experienced discriminatory abuse or a hate crime, or need immediate help, please contact the police on 101 (non-emergency) or 999 (emergency).
If you experience discrimination of any form, be sure to tell someone in your organisation and explore the relevant policies and procedures so you understand the steps to take and know what support you can expect.
Many organisations and individuals will consider themselves to be inclusive by having an open-door policy or attitude, by including people from different demographics in their teams or groups and by having an inclusion policy.
While these are great starting points, it’s often not enough. To be truly inclusive, your organisation needs to be able to effectively prevent discriminatory behaviour and work proactively by educating people and building anti-discrimination practices into your culture and daily operations.
You can be proactive by:
Overlooking discriminatory behaviours sends a message that it’s okay. It’s everyone’s responsibility to call out discrimination.
For volunteers and leaders in club and community settings it’s essential that policies and procedures are in place to ensure there’s an appropriate response to discriminatory behaviour. Be sure to frequently update these to meet the needs of your communities.
When dealing with indirect discrimination, like microaggressions or biases, education is key. The more people in your organisation who know about these and how they might present, the better.
It enables everybody, when safe to do so, to challenge discriminatory comments, actions or decisions so they don’t lead to further displays of discrimination.
When dealing with discrimination, be sensitive to the victim’s feelings and committed to helping resolve the issue. If you’re in this position, you could:
When acting, assess the situation to ensure you’re not putting yourself, or others, at risk. Keep in mind that some of the suggestions above may not always be a safe solution in the moment or may not be your role to undertake if you’re not trained or prepared.
Following one, or more of the actions above, next steps might include further support for the victim, a disciplinary for the person who displayed discriminatory behaviour, or more training opportunities for your organisation.
Ensure details of the incident and actions taken are only shared with those who need to know; the safety of those involved is paramount, so confidentiality and sensitivity is key.
An active bystander is anyone who witnesses an incident and gets involved to support the victim.
That involvement doesn’t have to be immediate if it’s unsafe to intervene: it can also be supporting them and reporting the event afterwards.
The Buddle team have collaborated with the Yorkshire and Humber Anti-Racism in Sport Group to discuss what discrimination feels like, what clubs and community organisations can do to support their members and volunteers, and what it means to be an active bystander.
The video begins in an indoor bowls centre. The centre has a green carpeted floor, and scoreboards attached to a white wall can be seen. A man (later identified as Mo Hussain) enters the scene, wearing a blue tracksuit, he sits down on a chair and faces the camera. A backing track begins and plays throughout the video.
The scene changes to a gymnastics centre. A blue sprung floor, white and blue walls and safety mats can be seen. A woman (later identified as Measha Harris) wearing a grey blazer, white top and black trousers, is sat facing the camera.
The scene changes to show an indoor swimming centre, a large swimming pool can be seen in the background. A woman (later identified as Nicola Holmes) wearing a blue t-shirt and jeans is sat facing the camera in front of the swimming pool.
The scene changes to show an indoor gym. Weights, kettlebells and other gym equipment is visible in the background. A woman (later identified as Louise Walker) wearing a leopard print jacket, black top and black trousers is sat facing the camera.
The scene changes to show an outdoor stadium with rows of blue seats. A man (later identified as Douglas Blackwood) wearing a grey quarter zip jumper and black trousers is sat on one of the stadium seats facing the camera.
The scene changes to show an outdoor athletics track, with the track and part of the centre field visible. A woman (later identified as Laura Harris) wearing a blue gilet over a white t-shirt and black shorts is sat on a chair on the athletics track.
The scene changes to show another indoor gym where weights, benches and a squat rack are visible in the background. A woman (later identified as Halima Khan) wearing a red jumper is sat facing the camera.
The scene changes one final time to show a football pitch, with a portable goal and a building visible in the background. A man (later identified as Wayne Niles) wearing a navy suit, white shirt and navy tie is sat on a chair on the football pitch.
The scene clears to reveal a trio of logos displayed on a white screen, with a Buddle themed border. The Buddle logo is shown at the top of the screen, followed by ‘supported by Sport England’ and The National Lottery logo beneath. The name of the video, Active bystanders, appears beneath in dark blue text.
The frame transitions with a horizontal Buddle branded colour swipe, reverting to the scene showing Mo Hussain. Subtitles appear at the bottom of the screen and continue throughout the video. Mo speaks directly to the camera and says: “My name is Mo Hussain.” The camera angle changes to show a side profile of Mo, who continues “I’m a dad. I’m a coach.”. A lower third banner appears at the bottom left of the screen showing the Buddle logo and the text Mo Hussain, Equality Diversity and Inclusion Manager, Yorkshire County Cricket Club. The camera angle changes to show Mo facing the camera and he continues: “I’m a representative of my faith.”
The shot changes to the scene showing Measha Harris who is speaking directly to the camera and says: “My name is Measha Harris.” A lower third banner appears at the bottom left of the screen showing the Buddle logo and the text Measha Harris, Sport Welfare Officer, Yorkshire Sport Foundation. Measha continues: “I am a daughter. I’m a sister.”
The shot changes to the scene showing Louise Walker. Speaking directly to camera Louise says ”My name is Louise Walker.” A lower third banner appears at the bottom left of the screen showing the Buddle logo and the text Louise Walker, Development officer, Active Leeds. Louise continues: ”I’m a mother. I’m an aunty.”.
The scene moves on to Douglas Blackwood who can be heard saying: ”My name is Douglas Blackwood.” The camera angle changes with Douglas now facing the camera, he continues: “I’m a brother. I’m a partner.” As he speaks to the camera, a lower third banner appears at the bottom left of the screen showing the Buddle logo and the text Douglas Blackwood, Sport Welfare Officer, Yorkshire Sport Foundation.
The shot changes to show Halima Khan, who can be heard saying: ”My name is Halima Khan.” A lower third banner appears at the bottom left of the screen showing the Buddle logo and the text Halima Khan, Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Consultant. The camera angle changes to show Halima facing the camera, she continues: ”I’m a friend. I’m a colleague.”
The scene changes to a close up of Wayne Niles who can be heard saying: ”Wayne Niles.” A lower third banner appears at the bottom left of the screen showing the Buddle logo and the text Wayne Niles, Computer Science and Business Teacher, Leeds City Academy. Wayne continues: ”I’m a referee. I’m an uncle and most of all, I’m a black man.”
The shot returns to show Mo speaking to the camera who says: ”I remember playing sports as a junior and thinking, you know, will I ever get a go? Will I ever get picked?” The camera angle changes to show a close-up, side profile of Mo, as he continues: ”People of colour or people who look like me are just not present.”. The shot returns to show Mo facing the camera and he says: ”As a child, you know, not going to sports games because of, the culture of certain sports, it has had an impact.” Mo is visibly upset, he looks directly at the camera.
The scene moves on to Laura Harris on screen. Laura says: ”Recently, a club changed how they were structuring club sessions and it meant a lot of women were excluded, including myself, and raising that at the club, it wasn’t taken very seriously, and we were dismissed.” As she speaks, a lower third banner appears at the bottom left of the screen showing the Buddle logo and the text Laura Harris, Sport Welfare Manager, North Yorkshire Sport.
The shot returns to Wayne facing the camera who continues: ”The first person they see is a black man and in a referee’s uniform.” The shot changes to a side view of Wayne as he continues: ”So there’s a lot of prejudgements and preconceptions in whether I’m going to be good enough or whether I’m going to make the right decisions.” The scene changes back to show Wayne looking at the camera, he continues: ”Because I already see that judgement, I have to run twice as fast or try twice as hard and try and ensure that I don’t get many decisions incorrect because of the impact that it would have.”
Measha appears on screen, talking directly to the camera saying: “One of my first experiences of experiencing any sort of discrimination was when I was quite young in an athletics club. We’d just done a relay and unfortunately, we lost, which was quite gutting, but I was actually the one that was blamed and a couple of the teammates went even further to say to me, ‘Oh you’re black you’re supposed to be able to run fast’.”
The scene returns to show Louise facing the camera saying: ”I definitely feel that as a women of colour, it has an impact, but a lot of the times it’s an undertone. So it isn’t blatant a lot of the time. So sometimes I feel that I can’t quite put my finger on it but when I leave the situation and reflect and I know that there’s been even an undertone of racism or otherism or some form of bias involved.”
The shot returns to Wayne talking directly to the camera saying “Discrimination has played a massive part in my life, I’d say. From a young boy to a grown adult. They see the colour of my skin. They don’t see my qualifications, they don’t see my knowledge, they don’t see my skills, my experience, or the history that I bring.”
The scene reverts to Louise. As she is talking the scene changes to a front facing view, Louise says: “If someone’s being a passive bystander and not intervening when they think that something’s been said that’s inappropriate or that someone else is feeling hurt or upset by what’s being said, it makes me feel unsupported. It makes me feel that they might think the same as what’s being said or the behaviours.”
The scene changes to a close up shot of Halima, she’s speaking directly to the camera and says: “It kind of makes you feel quite deflated.”
The scene returns to show Measha talking directly to the camera: ”Yeah, so I think betrayal, feeling isolated and just quite sad really, in environments where I should have been really having a good time or feeling supported or that sense of teamwork and, sort of togetherness.”
The frame transitions with a horizontal Buddle brand colour swipe, to reveal a white screen with orange text which reads What can an active bystander do?
The frame transitions again with a horizontal Buddle brand colour swipe to show Nicola Holmes talking directly to the camera, as Nicola is speaking a lower third banner appears at the bottom left of the screen showing the Buddle logo and the text Nicola Holmes, Senior Sport Welfare Officer, Yorkshire Sport Foundation. Nicola says: ”If you are in a situation, you witness a situation happening and you choose to do something about it you then become an active bystander.”
The scene returns to Measha talking to the camera, as she is speaking the shot zooms in, she says: “I think if people witnessed things, especially maybe friends or colleagues or teammates, it’s around sometimes maybe just checking in on someone afterwards, reporting something that you’ve seen.” The scene then returns to a wide angle of Measha as she continues: “So being an active bystander can make a huge difference.”
The frame returns to shows Mo, who is speaking directly to the camera. ”If people do speak out when they see injustice it gives you that hope and belief that actually having any ally it kind of almost vindicates your, kind of journey, I guess.”
The scene returns to show Halima speaking directly to the camera, the shot moves to her side profile as she is speaking, she says: “It gives you that confidence. It gives that sense that actually what just happened here, it isn’t something that should be happening to me.”
The scene reverts to Louise, speaking directly to the camera, she says: “It takes one person to speak up, and then others will then think before they speak in other environments. It makes people who are a minority, or feel less than, feel like they’re no longer a minority because they’re being supported.”
The frame changes to show a side view of Halima talking to the camera, as she speaks the camera angle changes so she is talking directly to the camera. Halima says: “It’s really important to be an active bystander because it gives you an opportunity and the confidence to be able to articulate and say, I’m not willing to be part of a club or be part of a society or be part of an organisation when nobody’s speaking up, because that could be my aunty, my mum, my brother, my niece, my nephew and I would, in them situations, want somebody to be able to speak up and stick up for them if they were experiencing discrimination.”
The scene changes back to show Nicola who is facing the camera and says: “There are a number of different ways that you can safely intervene in situations.” The frame transitions with a horizontal Buddle brand colour swipe, to reveal a white screen with orange text with the words; Direct, Distract, Delegate, Document, Delayed appearing on screen. As the words appear Nicola continues: “There’s direct. There’s distract. You could delegate, document things that are happening, and then there’s also the delayed approach.”
The frame transitions with a horizontal Buddle brand colour swipe, to show Douglas speaking directly to the camera: “An active bystander might directly confront the perpetrator”. The shot becomes a close-up as Douglas continues speaking: “Engage the people around them to stand up and say, ‘that’s not okay’.” The shot returns to a wide view as Douglas continues: “Make sure that the victim of that abuse is okay and offer them the support following that.”
The scene returns to Laura. As Laura is speaking the camera angle changes from a side view to a front facing view: “A lot of people think that is always directly doing something at the time, but actually it can mean a whole host of different things and to me it’s just taking some sort of action against behaviour that is not acceptable.”
The frame changes to show a side view of Douglas, who says: “At its simplest level, nobody deserves any form of abuse.”
The scene moves back to Wayne speaking directly to camera. As Wayne speaks the camera angle changes to a side profile. Wayne says: “The underlining factor is wrong is wrong. And you can’t be wrong and strong, and we need to be, you know, if it doesn’t feel right, and it doesn’t look right, it’s not right.”
The frame transitions with a horizontal Buddle brand colour swipe, to reveal a white screen with orange text reading What can clubs and community organisations do? The frame transitions again with a horizontal Buddle brand colour swipe again to show Measha, talking directly to the camera, she says: “Clubs and community activity providers can ensure that they’ve got robust policies in place that all of the club community are aware of, not just treating this as sort of a tick box exercise. It’s part of the club culture that we treat each other with respect.”
The scene returns to Mo talking to the camera, as he is speaking the camera angle changes to a side profile of Mo, he says: “Having more representative members who reflect the local communities. Looking at the active bystander training, that can help.”
The shot moves back to Halima. As Halima is speaking the camera angle changes from a side profile to a front facing shot, she says: “I think we have to go away from, or move away from, the tokenistic gestures. There are courses out there, they could put that on for their volunteers, for their staff.”
The scene changes to show Laura. As Laura is speaking the camera angle changes from a front facing shot to her side profile, she says: “Being an active bystander can help the whole of society, be a kinder, nicer place.”
The scene changes to show Wayne, who is speaking directly to camera, he says: “So the next time you witness discrimination…”
The scene changes to show Measha speaking directly to the camera, she says: “What will you do?”
The scene changes to show Nicola speaking directly to the camera, she says: “What will you do?”
The scene changes to show Halima speaking directly to the camera, she says: “What will you do?”
The scene changes to show Wayne speaking directly to the camera, he says: “What will you do?”
The scene changes to show Mo speaking directly to the camera, he says: “What will you do?”
The frame transitions with a horizontal Buddle brand colour swipe, to reveal a white screen with a Buddle themed border. The Buddle logo appears centrally at the top, underneath it the Sport England, National Lottery, and Yorkshire and Humber Anti-Racism in Sport Group logos appear. Beneath this reads www.buddle.co and www.sportengland.org. The music stops and the video ends.
Tackling discrimination can be challenging and you may require additional support. The Moving to Inclusion Framework is designed to share information and support about equality, diversity and inclusion, including creating policies.
If you’re unsure of who you’d report incidents of discrimination to, speak to your organisation’s welfare officer, your national governing body or active partnership. Stop Hate UK also has a direct reporting line.
Further resources on anti-racism can be found on the Red Card Hub dashboard, through the RFU’s active bystander information, or Sporting Equals' race discrimination support service, which includes free legal advice to victims of racial abuse in sport and physical activity.
Community clubs and groups delivering sport and physical activity thrive when everyone has a positive experience, is treated fairly and is supported or protected from negative behaviour.
Allies can play an important role in this, by promoting inclusive practices, celebrating diversity and creating a supportive and welcoming environment for everyone.
An ally is someone who supports others and educates themselves to advocate for different groups, without being part of them.
They take positive action to promote inclusion and equality and help to ensure everyone feels valued, safe and included regardless of their background or beliefs.
Often, allies support groups that are marginalised or discriminated against; this may include women and girls, ethnically diverse communities, disabled people, the LGBTQ+ community, faith groups or lower socio-economic groups.
Sometimes, people might feel nervous about supporting communities when they’re not a part of them themselves.
But being an ally isn’t about completely understanding another person’s experience or being part of their community; it’s about ensuring that everyone’s experiences are equally valued, listened to and supported.
Allyship is an important way to demonstrate support and respect for others. In club or community group settings this can:
Anyone can be an ally. There are lots of different ways you, and other people within your organisation, can be allies, including:
Part of being an ally is actively learning about and understanding how you can support different people and communities.
There are lots of resources you and your organisation can go to, to learn more. We’ve listed some below.
Read moreFind out how Chelsea Handball Club has been able to develop an inclusive culture by rethinking their approach and identifying shared values.
Discover how United Judo aspires to create an environment where everyone can be involved and feel welcome, safe and supported.
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