At Variety the Children’s Charity, we believe every child should have the chance to play, move and feel included. We’re proud to support Making Fitness Accessible a community interest company, CIC, through our Voices for Change campaign, which helps transform how children with disabilities experience physical activity.

Making Fitness Accessible CIC creates opportunities for children to become active through inclusive and accessible physical activity. Thanks to support from Variety, they are hosting Fun Fit Club sessions for children with disabilities.

These inclusive, sensory-friendly fitness sessions are designed to promote inclusion and create joyful experiences where every child can thrive.

We recently visited a Fun Fit Club session at The Angel Centre, Colchester, an accessible and inclusive space with dedicated therapy gym and sensory gym areas to see the impact first-hand. Watch the video below to see how your support is helping children move, play and thrive.

These sessions are about far more than exercise. They create a safe, welcoming space where children can build confidence, develop physical skills and importantly, have fun alongside their peers.

When you’ve got a child with additional needs, it’s not always possible to get out and about, but something like this with a limited session really, really helps.”

One parent said, “Thank you for putting it on. It’s amazing to have something like this here, especially in the holidays where everywhere is so busy. When you’ve got a child with additional needs, it’s not always possible to get out and about, but something like this with a limited session really, really helps.”

For many families, the sense of community and connecting with other families in similar situations is just as important. A parent explained, “It’s a really good place to meet people who are having similar challenges…It’s really rare as a parent to get that opportunity, but for the kids it’s a great time out and a really good place to be amongst the community.”

The inclusive design of Fun Fit Club sessions means children can take part in ways that suit them best. One family highlighted how meaningful this is: “It’s amazing. It’s able to cater for a lot of children. It’s nice to know that Grace can come here as a wheelchair user, but we’ve seen children running and jumping around and getting their sensory inputs that way as well.”

Confidence and inclusivity are just some of the major benefits of the sessions. “I just want her to feel like she can be herself wherever she is and it will not be viewed as strange. She seems really happy…Noticing her traits in other children and thinking ‘Oh, look, there are other people like me.’”

I just want her to feel like she can be herself wherever she is.”

Parents of children with differing abilities also value the chance to spend time together as a whole family, something that isn’t always easy to find.

“It’s really nice to have an event put on by Variety and get the whole family here together, so thank you very much. It’s quite often we’re divided; there’s things that one child can do unlike the other. Having that split in the family is really tricky, so we’re always looking for things to do together.”

Sarah Philips, Variety’s Partnerships and Events Manager, commented: “Partnerships like this sit at the heart of Voices for Change. By funding grassroots organisations like Making Fitness Accessible CIC, Variety helps ensure that children with disabilities are not left on the sidelines but are given genuine opportunities to participate.”

Variety is proud to stand alongside Making Fitness Accessible CIC and we look forward to seeing more children benefit from Fun Fit Club sessions.