Case studies

To make this happen, a proposal was taken through the Council’s chief officer and key member groups and all Departmental Management Teams, for health considerations to be routinely embedded in key council decision-making processes.

Recognising that there is a relationship with the wider determinants, and that the council has control or a strong influence over these and related service areas, the City Council sought to apply a Health in All Policies (HiAP) approach to a new cross-council Tobacco, Alcohol and Drugs strategy, to optimise efficiency, effectiveness and outcomes.  

The pandemic followed shortly after. The public health team worked with housing colleagues during this period, keeping people experiencing homelessness safe, and enabling their health and wider needs to be met. This included developing support to enable people to access skills development, apprenticeships and work and providing outreach dental care.

A mother was referred to the Physical Activity Social Prescribing service in her area by her GP for back pain. She was six months pregnant, solo parenting her toddler and living on the top floor of her block of flats. Life was physically tough, and she also felt very isolated. A Physical Activity Link Worker contacted the mother, and helped to put in place solutions.

For Muslim women exercising around men is often discouraged due to modesty and practicalities of clothing. Palmer Park Leisure Centre had an underutilised space which has been transformed into a programmable gym space, with designated female only hours

Building on the success of the national “This Girl Can Campaign” from Sport England, Tower Hamlets developed a local digital campaign to inspire women and girls to participate in sports and physical activity, and to promote the range of activities available to them in the borough.

Featherstone Rovers Foundation combined culture and heritage with increasing movement with a collaborative approach

This case study explores the impact of community engagement with women and girls as a platform to address barriers to sport and physical activity and offer practical approaches to engagement and participation.

Us Girls is an award-winning initiative designed to increase and sustain young women’s participation in sport and physical activity in low-income communities across the UK. Underpinned by the principles of Doorstep Sport, it is an evidence-based methodology that enables young women to take part in sport and physical activity in a way that suits them.

Following a consultation with local groups, football sessions were formed which have evolved into Frickley Ath FC Team which has seen great success.