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Active Withernsea

Five years of place-based working

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Working to create a

Happier Healthier More Active

Withernsea

Why Withernsea?

Withernsea is described as the most isolated point of the East Riding. Health, jobs, the economy and daily living are all shaped by the coastal location. Withernsea is still a visitor destination but increasingly unable to compete with other seaside towns and destinations.

Withernsea is a unique place for Sport England due to being a small coastal and rural town with substantial community assets and a strong sense of community. It's small enough for people to know each other and generate community connections but large enough to have population impact across the town.

We set out to achieve a happier, healthier, more active Withernsea by:

Increasing levels of physical activity
Creating a health promoting community
Building a community trust
Supporting community champions
Reducing inequalities
Raising aspirations
Building a sense of community pride
Making better use of local assets
Improving local services

Why should I learn to read? I'm only going to end up in prison like my dad.
Young person at primary school

Withernsea's Deep Themes

A committed period of listening and engagement led to four ‘Deep Themes’ being identified as reoccurring underlying elements that have a strong influence on whether change can happen in the town. Active Withernsea is conscious of the Deep Themes throughout all of our work.

Perceptions

How those who have moved to the town, those from outside of the town and those had always lived there see the place.

Aspirations

Some residents expressed that there was a lack of aspiration and confidence in Withernsea with little sense of possibility beyond those already held in immediate families or groups.

Life Skills

It was recognised that there are people in Withernsea that find it difficult to organise finances, housing, cooking, travel, talk to others, ask questions etc. Wider and social determinants have an impact on an individual's ability and opportunity to be active.

Communication / Connections

Messages and information do not easily make their way to all corners of the town. Despite there being a number of different communication channels, many people are still not aware of what's going on.

Timeline

Key milestones across 5 years of place based working.

November 2018

Investment announced. Team recruited. Engagement with the community started. Baseline data collected.
October 2019

Listening to Withernsea started - "what matters to you?". Social club, adapted bikes and skatepark projects start to emerge.
April 2020

Deep themes emerge. Covid hits. Covid community response starts.
October 2020

Covid support hubs established. People coming together around physical activity ideas such as cycling and social prescribing.
April 2021

Pathfinder plan confirmed - activities for young people, open spaces, get going grants, walking and cycling, community capacity building opportunities.
October 2021

Active Withernsea shop opens. Partnership projects happening - Active Kirkfield and sea sports. Grants being awarded to community groups. System changes identified.
April 2022

PACE future governance structure visioned. Long term community ownership of projects such as adapted bikes.
October 2022

Active Growth grant launched. Active Withernsea, Withernsea High School and School Sports Partnership join resources to recruit a 'Hybrid Teacher'. Physical Activity and Community Engagement (PACE) network launched. Mass participation events such as the Blue Light Weekend led by community partners.
April 2023

Regular PACE workshops and development of focus subgroups. New sport clubs for young people and new young leaders trained. Local people and groups continue to lead and develop physical activity projects.
October 2023

PACE priorities confirmed. PACE governance structure in development. Skatepark capital refurbishment plans confirmed. Active Withernsea sharing their learning regionally and nationally. Active Withernsea and Active Humber first joint physical activity conference.
April 2024

Skatepark complete. PACE governance structure confirmed and distributed leadership within network begins. Progress Deepening in Withernsea and Expansion for East Riding.

How we are testing & evidencing change

Participatory Theory of Change
Kumu
Process Chats
Explanatory Framework / Accounts
System Change Conversations
Maturity Matrix
Ripple Effect Mapping
Active Lives Survey
Social Value Engine
Case Studies

A snapshot of our impact to date

Increased Activity & Reducing Inactivity

Our 2024 localised and representative Activity Lives survey results indicate sustained behaviour change from when Active Withernsea started with activity levels increasing and inactivity decreasing.

Established organisations have ambitions to grow

The Active Growth Fund was launched in recognition of established local organisations that aspired to diversify and grow.

Local people developing their own projects

As awareness of physical has grown across the town, local people have come forward with their own visions for physical activity.

Mass participation events

Events are a great way to improve the perceptions of physical activity in a fun and participatory way. Many events in the town now have an element of physical activity embedded or wholly focus on enabling more people to be active.

Growth of East Riding Leisure Withernsea

In December 2023, East Riding Leisure Withernsea was awarded the Most Improved Leisure Centre at the National Association of Public Service Excellence (APSE) Awards.

Local groups accessing funding and support for the first time

17 'Get Going' small grants have been awarded to local new ideas, totalling £39,000. Grant recipients can access continued support such as funding, training and opportunities to connect. One grant recipient has successfully secured more than £55,000 in grants after attending the training.

Tackling Inequalities

Our 2024 localised and representative Active Lives survey results highlight that physical activity for those with a disability has seen the greatest increase. There have also been positive changes for those that are more disadvantaged.

Cycling through barriers

Local organisations Victoria Day Centre and Cascade have joined forces to enable people that wouldn't ordinarily have the opportunity to ride a bike, to experience the joy of cycling by using adapted bikes.

Collaborating with other partners in the town has enabled more than 200 people to use the bikes. Victoria Day Centre has since connected with partners and groups to become an 'inclusion hub' for the Withernsea community.

Positive Experiences for Children and Young People

Through the initial engagement work that Active Withernsea undertook, young people expressed a real lack of opportunities to be active in the town. There were very few opportunities for young people to participate in physical activity, try new sports or develop their own leadership skills. The town is now united on the importance of supporting young people to more active and much work has been done to enable young people to be in the lead and to be active in the ways that they want.

Transforming spaces & equipping children to be active

Opening School Facilities Fund

£25,000 was secured through the Opening School Facilities Fund to refurbish the out-dated school fitness suite.

Withernsea Primary School

Withernsea Primary School has transformed their old car park into a fun active play space which has been designed by the children, to reflect how they would like to play.

Withernsea skate park

Withernsea skate park has benefited from Sport England capital funding to enable a full redesign and refurbishment of the much loved, but no longer fit for purpose facility.

Engagement with local people

Engagement with local people in the Kirkfield area of the town established a need for access to sports equipment, particularly to use the skatepark. An ‘All Wheelz’ equipment loan bank has been created which enables local people to use equipment for free.

StreetGames

A collaboration with StreetGames to deliver a Doorstep Sport project in the town has led to eight young people being trained as Multi-Sports Level 2 coaches, who have subsequently led and delivered a successful sports festival for local young people.

Multi Use Games Area

A run-down Multi Use Games Area is currently undergoing a review to reimagine the space as a community facility suitable for all, enabling informal play, small sided games and a facility for clubs. Local engagement will lead to a vision and design for the future.

Putting Physical Activity Firmly On the agenda

A one-of-a-kind joint appointment of a ‘hybrid’ teacher between Withernsea High School, Active Withernsea and the School Sports Partnership has been a huge success.

Previous tenuous links with the community are now stronger. The community can look into the school now. I didn't think it would happen quite as quickly.
School Head Teacher

Withernsea leading into the future - PACE

A forward-thinking approach to the future governance of Active Withernsea led to the establishment of the Physical Activity and Community Engagement (PACE) Network. Launched in summer 2022, the purpose of the network is to champion physical activity, connect us together and collectively tackle the barriers to being active.

I've seen PACE go from strength to strength, it's exactly what Withernsea needs for the future.
A community partner talking about PACE

PACE subgroup prioritises inclusion

The PACE network has identified disability, accessibility, and inclusion as priority areas for the network to collaborate on.

Access to open spaces

A sub-group of residents, groups and partners has explored the need for better access to open spaces in the town and a funding application has since been submitted by Withernsea Town Council to improve ramp access to the gardens.

Empowering girls to be active

Active Humber worked in partnership with Withernsea High School to deliver a girls carousel programme, for students with low confidence and self-esteem, who don't take part in PE at school.

Proud to have worked with organisations in our community

The local system is changing to enable the town to be more active

Over the course of a year, 31 instances of systems change across the town and wider East Riding were identified. Examples include;

Changes in perceptions

The value of the skatepark for physical activity, recreation and the economy led to capital investment to reimagine and futureproof the facility.
Expanding boundaries

The PACE network has created opportunities for people to become involved and lead a shared agenda. There is more openness and collaborative working.
East Riding changes

Active Humber and Active Withernsea are collaborating to lead joint place-based conferences, centred around place-based working and hearing from local people that are leading the change.
Building connections

Groups and partners working together to deliver events that were previously solo managed led to more diverse activities, including more physical activity.
East Riding changes

Partners within the East Riding system are learning from Active Withernsea - A Public Health Lead said “Withernsea’s efforts (successes and failures) have allowed us to be braver and to see how we can work differently”.
East Riding changes

The Health and Wellbeing Group has developed and implemented a Duty Officers Leadership Programme to promote skills development, recruitment and retention. The course includes a module on ‘Community Links’ born out of the learning from the Active Communities Team and insight from Active Withernsea around engaging local people.
Expanding boundaries

Withernsea Carnival has recruited new activity leads, are seeking diverse funding, and expanding their activities and venues.
East Riding changes

Tools and methods are being used and developed to better understand the East Riding system – Kumu to map connections and a Public Health systems toolkit.
Building connections

Withernsea High School lacked the facilities and trained staff to deliver golf activities. By connecting with the Golf Club, they are developing projects together.

Our top 10 takeaways from our journey to date

01
Focus on creating a culture that scaffolds development and has a clear vision that is understandable and communicated to all without ‘gatekeeping’.
02
Help people to do the work themselves rather than parachuting in services. It may seem quicker to ‘do to’ rather than take time to develop relationships when there are pressures and people are expecting to ‘see’ things happening.
03
Don’t fall into old ways of working or apologise for constantly pushing boundaries. Working in a new and different way will feel challenging. Change is central and adaptability is therefore essential.
04
Be conscious of mission drift when working in a complex system – be prepared to constantly reframe and bring physical activity back into the line of sight.
05
Working in a ‘small’ place means ‘hiding’ or ‘moving on’ is not a viable option; the discomfort must be worked through, issues raised, acknowledged and resolved.
06
Word of mouth can be both positive and negative – build trust by being honest, transparent, delivering what’s agreed and not overpromising.
07
Talking directly about physical activity is likely in the first instance to put people off, but as trust grows it becomes more accepted and lands better.
08
Go at the pace of the community – better understanding the place and system, gives a clearer appreciation of the readiness for new ideas and processes.
09
Be accepting that some things won’t work and take the opportunity to learn from them – but given time, revisit them and they might work.
10
This way of working is challenging and requires a skilled workforce made up of people from within the place alongside new faces with different skills. Achieving balance can be challenging.

What does the future look like for Active Withernsea?

Find out more