Cardiff and Vale College and Colegau Cymru welcomed the Senedd Health and Social Care Committee last week on a visit to see the role of Active Wellbeing in Further Education.
The visit to CAVC’s City Centre Campus took in the College’s sport and wellbeing facilities, and gave an opportunity to meet with staff and learners, observe activity in practice and see first-hand the benefits of investment on facilities on learning, wellbeing and community engagement.
The committee also visited the indoor Sports Dome at City Centre Campus to chat with learners and watch some of the activities available. They met CAVC Junior Apprentices, Construction and Engineering learners and learners on Independent Living Skills courses.
The visit formed part of the Health and Social Care Committee’s wider inquiry into the Prevention of Ill Health – Obesity.
Cardiff and Vale College Principal Sharon James-Evans said: "It was great to welcome the Senedd Health and Social Care Committee to our City Centre Campus and have the opportunity to showcase our Active Wellbeing programme in action.
“At CAVC, we strongly believe in the benefits of exercise and activity and what it can do for a young person’s physical and mental wellbeing. Our Active Wellbeing
programme engages with thousands of learners from those harder to reach all the way through to those competing at a national level through our Sports Academies.
“As well as focusing on creating skilled and employable people, we’re passionate about ensuring our young people create healthy habits that they can take forward into their future. Our Active Wellbeing programme engages with learners that might otherwise not be physically active and provides them with facilities and opportunities to integrate activity into their lives."
ColegauCymru Active Wellbeing and Sport Project Manager, Rob Baynham, said: “Today was a great opportunity for Committee members to see Active Wellbeing in action. Cardiff and Vale College has been sector leading in developing its Active Wellbeing provision, particularly since the development of new facilities at its City Centre campus. The college has taken a proactive approach to embedding activity into the daily timetable of learners allowing them to make the most of the facilities available.”
At a national level, the ColegauCymru Active Wellbeing Project works with 11 FE colleges and engages with over 5,000 FE learners per year. Typically, the project works with those learners not already engaged in physical activity or sport, with a focus on female learners and other groups with protected characteristics (Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic communities, learning disability, social background) that may lead to barriers to participation.