The work of ColegauCymru and our member colleges in the development of Active Wellbeing and Sport would not be possible without the collaboration of our partners and stakeholders. These partnerships are the backbone of our initiatives, enabling us to achieve our goals and make a significant impact on our community.
Our ongoing partnership with Sport Wales is vital to the work we do. ColegauCymru is recognised as the national partner for further education by Sport Wales, working closely together to support colleges in delivering active wellbeing for the Further Education sector in Wales.
This collaboration is based on some key areas of work:
- Active Wellbeing By working together, we aim to increase opportunities for physical activity and promote a healthy lifestyle among learners.
- Partnership Working Our joint efforts have improved collaboration between colleges, young people, and external stakeholders, ensuring a cohesive approach to promoting sports and wellbeing.
- Peer-led Activities We recognize the importance of peer-led initiatives and have supported young leaders in sharing their experiences and motivating others.
The Active Wellbeing Project and partnership with Sport Wales has been supported by National Lottery funding since 2014, bringing significant benefits to college communities and learners. The National Lottery has been a cornerstone in supporting numerous projects across the country, and we are grateful for the ongoing funding supporting better physical and mental wellbeing among learners.
Partnership working also involves well established relationships with other Sport Wales National Partners.
We are proud to highlight our ongoing collaboration with Urdd Gobaith Cymru, an organisation dedicated to promoting the Welsh language and culture among young people.
One of the key initiatives we have worked on together is the upskilling of sports learners to be able to coach and officiate bilingually, supporting the work of the Urdd Sports Department. Partnership working has helped to refine this offer for colleges and seen a significant increase in learner opportunities while supporting community events.
More broadly ColegauCymru has also worked with the Urdd on the Peace and Goodwill Message 2025. This year, the message focuses on the pressing issue of poverty, shining a powerful light on the challenges faced by young people in Wales and around the world. The message, created by members of the Urdd and learners from Coleg y Cymoedd, calls for change and highlights the need for action to address child poverty.
StreetGames has been a key partner in our Active Wellbeing initiatives, particularly in use of their 1,000 Young Voices resource supporting colleges in engaging with young people.
Our joint efforts have focused on creating new ways for Active Wellbeing staff to engage and motivate learners to try new activity supported by insight and data from the research team at StreetGames.
Recent partnership work with the Youth Sport Trust has seen both organisations shape an updated Young Ambassadors programme for FE learners. This work has built on existing ambassadors programmes in FE, supports FE colleges as hosts for regional Young Ambassador training and has seen additional investment in FE for peer led activity.
Disability Sport Wales has supported ColegauCymru in providing new workforce pathways for sports learners in FE linked to the rapid growth of Active Wellbeing for young people with learning disability in Further Education. Ongoing work includes inclusive duathlons, boccia and football events with a wider range of partners involved including Welsh Triathlon and Beicio Cymru.
Partnership work with The Outdoor Partnership has included events promoting the benefit of outdoor activity to young people from underrepresented groups who may not normally have this type of opportunity. The ColegauCymru Outdoor Challenge and Her Eryri events provided a chance for colleges to try new activity in a safe environment and connect with new networks of outdoor organisations in the process.
CollegesWales Sport under the remit of ColegauCymru manages a wide range of competitions and sports events for FE colleges in Wales, this has seen mutually beneficial partnerships develop with a range of National Governing Bodies (NGBs), HE institutions and regional partners. This type of partnership has been central to providing a sustainable approach delivering events and supporting better links between sports and FE colleges.
Further Information
Rob Baynham, Active Wellbeing and Sport Project Manager
Robert.Baynham@ColegauCymru.ac.uk
