Leisure

Hertfordshire is ready for action

Leisure enriches the quality of individuals’ lives and communities. Contributing to the economic, social, health and wellbeing of residents, it can benefit the environment and is believed to help reduce crime¹. Its importance is recognised in the government’s new strategy for culture and in its new national indicators. The county is capitalising on this, through its Local Area Agreement² and the 2012 Olympics, by improving our facilities and making them more accessible.

In March 2008 the Department for Culture, Media and Sport¹, jointly published with the Local Government Association, the national strategy ‘A Passion for Excellence: an Improvement Strategy for Culture’. The strategy is aimed at improving the quality of life for people and their communities with outcomes monitored against 7 of the new National Indicators. These indicators replace Best Value Performance Indicators that produced the indicator L1 reported last year, but these are not yet available.

The Active People Survey

The Active People Survey is Europe’s largest sport and active recreation survey. It provides reliable statistics on adult participation, variations between social classes, genders, ages, ethnicity, household structure and disability. A key performance indicator is ‘participating for 30 minutes in moderate intensity sport/active recreation 3 times a week.’ The survey also measures the percentage of adults volunteering in sport, club membership, involvement in organised sport/competition, receipt of tuition or coaching and overall satisfaction with levels of sporting provision in the local community. The survey was conducted in 2005-6 and is being repeated in 2008-9. The yearly national target is a 1% increase year on year.

Hertfordshire's participation & volunteering in Sport and Recreation

Source: The Active People Survey October 2008. Survey conducted in 2005-6.
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Active People Survey Issues for Hertfordshire

Lower than expected levels of participation Taking socio-demographic information into account, there were lower levels of participation than expected in 7 out of the 10 districts/boroughs.
High levels of inactivity across the county 46.2% of the county’s population did not take part in any sport or recreational activity. 3 out of 10 of the county’s residents aged 16-34 reported no participation in sport and recreational activity – rising to 6 out of 10 in the over 55s.
High female inactivity and substantial variations between males and females 50.3% of females reported no participation in sport or active recreation, as opposed to 41.7% in males.
Substantial differences in participation by socioeconomic classification³ 16.2% of NS SEC 5-8 regularly took part in sport compared with 23.8% of NS SEC 1-4. Deprivation also plays a significant role. Deprived areas⁴ report higher inactivity and lower participation. Read about the survey at: www.sportengland.org/ index/get_resources/research/active_people.htm

Hertfordshire projects to raise activity levels

Further upgrading to existing leisure centres including Watford and Three Rivers districts
Building a new leisure centre in Royston
New activities including Nordic Walking, the 45+ Games and East Herts work-based programmes.
Free swimming government funding applications submitted so that 60 years+ residents and under 16 year olds can swim free of charge in 2009–11.

It is important all ages stay active for health, wellbeing and learning.
This is recognised in Hertfordshire’s Community Strategies.

It is important all ages stay active for health, wellbeing and learning. This is recognised in Hertfordshire’s Community Strategies.

Children’s Play

Play enhances a child’s quality of life by enabling it to develop psychologically, physically, socially, cognitively, intellectually, culturally and emotionally. Helping children to become healthier, learning safely to take risks and make decisions, Hertfordshire’s councils continue to invest in play experiences, including forming a County Play Partnership and investing in its play workforce. Following allocation of funds by central government to improve opportunities for children, Hertfordshire made a successful application for £1m Playbuilder funding to develop 22 outdoor play facilities.

Access for All

Hertfordshire is developing programmes to enable targeted groups to participate in the arts and cultural activities of their choice, two of which include UV Club Nights and the World Arts Platform.

UV Club Nights

The first of their kind in Hertfordshire, these nights offer young people with and without disabilities a safe, accessible nightclub environment in which to socialise. They are designed to create an informal and inclusive club where 13-19 year olds with different backgrounds and needs can meet. Funded from the Big Lottery Fund and strongly supported by the county’s councils, a unique feature of the project is that young people are actively involved in planning events at the outset. They work with others on the concept, content and branding of each event, learning to respect their differences and appreciate each other’s contributions. The project also draws attention to the accessibility at venues, an issue commonly overlooked. The UV team also works closely with venue managers to introduce staff to an inclusive atmosphere.

Piloted in Hertford with subsequent nights being held in Cheshunt, St Albans, Rickmansworth, Watford and Stevenage, the nights have proved extremely popular, particularly with the disabled. In 2009, a further two nights are planned.

Hertfordshire’s UV Clubs offer teenagers an inclusive environment

World Arts Platform (WAP)

This new two year diversity arts project, between the county’s local authority Arts Officers, Music Service and the Arts Council England East, is based around 12 annual events. With community participation at its core, it is managed by Parrabbola, arts practitioners who specialise in Community Arts projects.

Hertfordshire is Ready for Winners and 2012

The county will host the White Water Canoe Slalom Centre Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2012 and 17 pre-games training sites. The East of England Development Agency predicts that the Games will generate over £100 million for the county. To maximise on these opportunities key organisations formed the Ready for Winners Partnership. With a focus on sports development, culture, leisure, tourism, education, skills, employment, volunteering, business and regeneration, it also aims to use the Games as a springboard to create positive changes for its people including:

More participation in sport and volunteering
Healthier and closer communities
Better sports facilities
More opportunities for young people
A countywide Talented Young Athletes scheme
A world class White Water Canoe Slalom Centre open to everyone with ongoing business use
A high quality business sector with inward investment that encourages more visitors to the county.

Hertfordshire’s Ready for Winners Campaign is engaging
businesses and residents to take part in the 2012 Olympics

Hertfordshire’s Ready for Winners Campaign is engaging businesses and residents to take part in the 2012 Olympics

Hertfordshire Library Services

Hertfordshire delivers cultural activities through its library, archives and local studies services. These encourage reading for pleasure, develop digital citizenship, provide access to information and support both formal and informal education.

Hertfordshire Library Services support over 300 reading groups, attract over 14,000 people in the Summer Reading Challenge, provide story reading in every library, free internet access for the public and deliver 2,000+ computer taster sessions for those with little or no experience. In addition, an extensive performance arts resource is available for groups and individuals at the Central Resources Library in Hatfield. These services are offered to all Hertfordshire’s residents, adding value to communities by offering a trusted and neutral environment. The service is delivered through a network of 46 buildings and mobile fleet of 13 libraries. As part of an ongoing investment strategy called “Libraries for the 21st Century”, opening hours were extended in 2007, buildings refurbished and replaced which has significantly increased library use.

Indicator L2 Hertfordshire Libraries

Usage Comparison 2006-07 & 2007-08 - Growth in Library Visits

Source: Hertfordshire Libraries Service, October 2008
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Usage Comparison - Issues & Renewals growth 2006-07 & 2007-08

Source: Hertfordshire Libraries Service, October 2008
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Hertfordshire Archives & Local Studies (HALS)

Hertfordshire Archives Centre at County Hall is a specialist history resource. Attracting researchers from across the globe, it provides access to maps, documents, illustrations, books and pamphlets from 1060 to the present day. Accredited as a public record deposit facility, it plays a vital role preserving archives for future generations. The services help to stimulate community involvement, active citizenship, cohesion and enhance health and wellbeing. This is achieved by promoting a sense of belonging as people learn more about their locality and gain a better understanding of other people’s heritage.

HALS regularly hosts events, such as talks on research methods and tours, to raise awareness of its facilities. ‘Making Memories’ is a project that established Hertfordshire Community Archives Network. With a gateway site and eight local sites run by volunteers, it captures the living memories of the county’s diverse communities, creating a virtual archive with photographs, documents, sound, film and other media. This will develop a sense of pride amongst people of all ages, abilities and ethnicity. Through participation in recording, interpreting and reflecting on their local heritage, people will also learn new skills and gain confidence in using technology.

Hertfordshire Museums Partnership

The county has 44 museums; 24 are accredited by the Museums Libraries and Archives Council, the sector’s quality standard. Supported by the County Council and 9 districts, 2006/07 benchmarking data for 24 of these museums show there were:

276,815 museum visits
49,578 schoolchildren involved in learning events
22,812 young people involved in outreach events
8,926 museum adult group visits
7,155 people participated in outreach events
19,725 public research enquires dealt with
40,644 hours & £270,689 of volunteer time given
490 special and 19 temporary off-site events.

1 MORI research 2002 & 2004. Read the Strategy A Passion for Excellence at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport website: www.culture.gov.uk
2 See page 12 and our website for more on Local Area Agreements
3 Multiple Deprivation Index 2004
4 For social classifications see www.ons.gov.uk