SML core principles are;

Include

Improve

Innovate

To get more disabled people into sports and further lower the challenges they face with becoming physically active and enjoying doing so.

Have physical activity instructors better able to support individuals with disabilities in physically active settings.

Gather data from participants to help with the research people are doing in this area. To help modernise and develop the support of disabled people in sports.

SML Staff

Founder

Lawrie Stothard

Qualifications

BSc Sports Coaching. Edge Hill University

MSc Sport, Physical Activity, and Mental Health. Edge Hill univeristy

RFU rugby coaching award

1st4sport multiskills sports coaching level 2

Mental health first aid

Portfolio

During my BSc and MSc studies, I specifically investigated how prepared sports coaches, PE teachers and other physical activity leaders felt to support disabled people in physically active environments. A particular area of interest was mainstream settings, where instructors are often working with disabled participants without having specialised training or working within specialist environments such as Special Educational Needs schools.

This is particularly relevant for volunteer community sports coaches, who give their time alongside employment and other commitments. Although there are many CPD opportunities available, lengthy or broadly focused courses may not always be practical, relevant or engaging for instructors who need targeted information that they can apply directly to their sessions.

Through my research with adult physical activity leaders across educational, professional and community sport settings, I identified a need for more accessible and tailored CPD that focuses specifically on the challenges instructors may encounter when supporting disabled participants.

This research provided the foundation for the development of these programmes. I have taken the findings from my and other people's academic work and used them to design practical, focused CPD that aims to give physical activity leaders the knowledge and confidence they need to create more inclusive and supportive environments.

Vulunteer community rugby union coach to boys aged u16 until the progressed to senior and a senior womens rugby union team.

I have worked as a teaching assistant in high schools and ran the after school rugby club.

I have been a summer camp activity leader both in the UK and Canada

Experience

Current Climate

01. Introduction

02. Sport England

03. Active Alliance

04. Sources

In this section you will be told a summary of the findings of the results from the survey's and research done by Sports England and Active Alliance. Both of which provide valuable data to use and inform you on the current statistics of disabled people in England. They show some investigation into their results, which prove instructors need more help with supporting disabled athletes.

Sports England (SE) is a government backed public body responsible for grassroots sports development. They invest in community programs and provide researchers with insight into why people are active or inactive. SE defines an active adult as exercising 150+ minutes per week, while fairly active is 30-149 minutes, and inactive is less than 30 minutes. For a child to be classed as active they must exercise 60+ minutes a day, fairly active is 30-59 minutes a day, and inactive for 30 minutes or less a day. The reason why it isn't the same criteria is because adults have more obligations which limit their time to be active (work). Children go to school and have PE lessons and may go to play areas during lunch and break. On the weekend they can also go to the local park and have a game of football with their friends more easily than an adult can.

Recent surveys show a significant activity gap. In 2024-2025, 69.8% of non-disabled adults were active compared to 49.1% of those with long-term health conditions or disabilities. Participants with disabilities were notably more likely to disagree with statements regarding having the ability, opportunity, or inclusive environments to be active.

For children, while active numbers initially appear comparable, progress is slow. The percentage of active disabled children has risen by only 2% over 5 years (from 47% in 2019 to 49% in 2024).

The image below is from SE’s physical literacy consensus statement, developed with John Moores University. It helps recognize that relationships with sport, physical activity and movement are unique and complex.

Active Alliance is national charity for disabled people in sport. They also do research into disablilitiies in sport and they found that the main reasons why disabled people are inactive are stigma and the impairment they have when trying to exercise. In 2024 they found that disabled people primarily go to medical professionals for advice on how to be more active compared to instrucotrs like community sports coaches and PE teachers. This continues with their 2025-2026 survey findings with how sports and physical activity instructors are still very low on the list of advisors on how to be more physically active.

The results they found in their workshops were a "gap in training and awareness among fitness instructors, which participants felt could limit how inclusive or safe 'maintsteeam' provision is in practice." Active Alliance also stated that many sports organisations state they are 'inclusive' but don't follow through with what they say. Resulting in some disabled people thinking they only say it to improve their public image and do not value or commit to this principle. They also state in the 2025-2026 survey that "participation is shaped less by personal motivation and more by the conditions surrounding the activity. Environments that are affordable, adaptable, accessible, and consistently welcoming and inclusive in practice are crucial to increasing participation and improving well being". Meaning if sports and physical activity instructors are better prepared, more adaptable, and prioritise inclusion, are more capable to support disabled people in their sessions.

- ACTIVITY ALLIANCE. Annual disability and activity survey: 2025-26. Disabled people's perceptions and experiences of sport and activity. Full report 2026

- ACTIVITY ALLIANCE. Annual disability and activity survey 2025-26. Disabled people's perceptions and experiences of sport and activity. Full report. 2026

- SPORT ENGLAND. Active lives children and young people survey. Academic year 2024-25. Published December 2025

- SPORT ENGLAND. Active lives adult survey November 2024-25 report. Published April 2026

Personal Relationship: Shows if a person finds meaning, enjoyment, and value in activity. Does they have a personal objective? Do they feel the positive impact on their lives?

Movement and activity: Focuses on the moment of participation, social developments, cognitive effects like attention and processing speed, and whether the movement is effective.

Throughout life: Explains how physical literacy varies based on welcoming communities, accessible facilities, and personal circumstances.

In all sections, disabled children show a large negative result compared to non-disabled peers, often due to lack of inclusive environments or poor public transport to clubs.