In 2012 The National Centre for Sports and Exercise Medicine, Sheffield launched Move More, a city wide strategy for physical activity - to improve the health and wellbeing, and quality of life of people in Sheffield. In December 2017, Sport England announced 12 Local Delivery Pilots to truly understand local identities and structures to deliver sustainable levels of activity. At the heart of these initiatives lies a new way of working, adopting a ‘whole systems approach’ to physical activity. These projects involve collaborative working across sectors and communities, and local areas. They require systems leadership and the nurturing of a learning culture and environment. This session will explore these projects focusing on transferable lessons for implementation of system wide approaches to activating the nation.
Chaired by Justine Blomeley.
Sport England
After qualifying as a teacher, Justine spent 10 years teaching secondary Physical Education with a leading role in Health and as an Assistant Head of House.
Following a move to Children’s Services within the Local Authority in Blackpool, Justine worked as the PE and School Sport Adviser with an overview of all 40 schools across the Local Authority: including primary, secondary and special schools. In this role Justine developed strong links working with Leisure Services and starting to work towards preventative methods in tackling health inequalities through a broad range of relationships, initiatives and projects, over a 10 year period.
In July 2013 Justine joined Sport England as the Relationship Manager for Local Government covering the North West of England. In this role she has worked with Greater Manchester, Merseyside, Cheshire and Lancashire to better position Sport and Physical Activity.
Justine has worked closely in the development and realisation of a Memorandum of Understanding between the Greater Manchester Combined Authority, the Greater Manchester Health and Social Care Partnership and Sport England and as such holds the relationship with Greater Manchester.
In 2017 Justine became a Strategic Lead Local Delivery to form part of the Local Delivery Directorate Leadership Team and lead on the Local Delivery Pilot work.
Most recently in February 2022 Justine has been promoted to the role of Interim Director for the Place Directorate.
Life Leisure
I studied Applied Sports Science at Salford University, followed by studying for a Master’s degree in Exercise and Nutrition Science. Following multi-sport coaching experience and volunteering in communities in Manchester, I moved on to work for the Manchester City Council for three years and worked for the national governing body of Dodgeball, British Dodgeball, tutoring Level 2 courses and contributing to development of the sport in Greater Manchester.
My passion for physical activity and health continued when I setup my own business for weight management programmes and this led to taking up a role at Life Leisure in Stockport. For the last eight years my role has evolved from managing a Sport England funded project called I Wish I’d Tried, to creating a new concept and initiative called SMILE. For the last two years I have managed the Active Communities team at Life Leisure and lead on the locality work in Stockport for the Local Pilot. Over the last ten years I have played Dodgeball competitively both nationally and internationally including representing Scotland and GB Dodgeball.
PE, Sport & Physical Activity
A former international athlete representing both England and Great Britain, Russ studied at Leeds Beckett University (Carnegie) and Loughborough University. He was a teacher of Physical Education for 14 years, including as Head of Department in two large secondary schools. In 2005, he moved into the School Improvement Service at Stockport Council as the Physical Education Consultant. He continues to provide physical education and school sport advice, support and guidance to schools; is leading on Stockport’s Active Communities Strategy and is a member of the Public Health Senior Management Team as strategic lead for both physical activity and healthy weight. He also sits on the North Western Counties Physical Education Association Research and Professional Development Committee and is a school governor at a local primary school.
Your Trust
Andy King is the CEO of Your Trust in Rochdale and Chair of GM Active that consists of a collaboration of twelve operators across Greater Manchester. Before joining Your Trust Andy was the northern Regional Director for GLL after merging his previous Trust, Carlisle Leisure Ltd into GLL. He has also been a Director with Serco Leisure and worked in the private sector with Virgin and Fitness First. GM Active was originally formed in response to the devolution of the health budget to the region in 2015 and has really come into its own in a number of ways during the pandemic.
GM Active have responded to the pandemic and what has happened since on their mission to link with health effectively. GM Active have created an Academy to ‘pivot’ to wellness across GM and have created a new ‘Transformational Leadership’ programme that is upskilling managers across GM in how they can play a part locally in working more effectively using collaborative and system leadership to really support those in the community that need it most. In addition they also have an award winning Prehab4Cancer programme that supports people across Greater Manchester newly diagnosed with cancer and as a result is now commissioned by GM Cancer to the tune of £1/2m per annum.
Greater Manchester Moving
I have been leading Greater Manchester Moving since April 2017 and from February 2020, I have combined this with a dual role as CEO role at GreaterSport. For 25 years, I have played a leadership role in physical activity, sport, policy and community development, and remain a committed community volunteer where I live, which keeps it all very real.
I have always believed in the power of an active life for health, happiness, friendship and community. I am a passionate advocate of this agenda in my culture change, system change, behaviour change work in Greater Manchester.
Leading in local government, charity, private and social enterprise sectors, I have developed my understanding of complex systems, from the community perspective and a strategic one. This is hugely valuable in my current role in GM, where we take a whole system approach to everything we do from homelessness to health, to transport.
As the Exec lead for GM Moving, my work is located in the devolved and integrated system. Greater Manchester is Doing things Differently. It’s an exciting place to be. Together, leaders from across sectors wrote and launched the GM Moving Plan in 2017. As CEO of GreaterSport, I lead this amazing charity, enabling it to play its full part in the leadership and delivery of the system wide GM Moving Plan.
We have big ambitions, and committed people. We seek to engage everyone from people and communities through to senior leaders who influence policy locally and nationally. The GM Moving Executive Group and GreaterSport Board brings together passionate leaders across the VCSE, NHS, local government, transport, physical activity and sport sectors.
I am convinced that a whole system approach to enabling active lives is the only way we will succeed in designing moving back into everyday life. I believe in sharing openly and honestly as we go, and working with others to learn in GM and beyond. I do this partly by writing, sharing my reflections and inviting others to join in the conversation which helps to move us all forward together. Last year we also published the GM Moving Journey and Learning.
This is challenging work for all of us. Resilience is important. I unwind and make sense of it all whilst out in the Peak District where I live. Walking, running, wild swimming and having adventures with friends and family is how I have fun, restore and refresh my mind, body and spirit!