SeakAid & Future Youth Zone: Inclusive Sport Partnership Day

Sunday 19 April was one of those days that reminds us exactly why SeakAid exists.

Building on the inclusive sport work we’ve been delivering across London and beyond — from West Youth Zone, to the Croydon Multi-Sport SEND Festival, to our pop-up engagement sessions focused on making sport work for neurodivergent young people — we were proud to be at Future Youth Zone (Barking & Dagenham) for a partnership event centred on access, wellbeing, and belonging.

A youth space that feels like the future

Future Youth Zone is a brilliant example of what happens when a community invests in young people properly: safe spaces, consistent sessions, positive role models, and activities that meet young people where they are.

Future is open to young people aged 8–19, and up to 25 for those with a disability — and offers everything from sport and fitness to creative activities and social spaces. It’s the kind of environment where young people can build confidence, find their people, and simply enjoy being themselves.

Kit donations made possible with MJM support

A huge part of SeakAid’s mission is making sure that cost and access barriers don’t stop young people from getting involved in sport.

With the support of MJM Sports and Heather Schofield, we were able to donate kit and equipment to support Future’s sessions and young people. Having the right kit available doesn’t just improve performance — it reduces anxiety, removes stigma, and helps young people feel included from the moment they arrive.

It was a brilliant day, and we’re genuinely grateful to everyone who helped make it happen.

Listening properly: participation and support forms

Alongside the activities, we also completed a small set of participation and support forms. For us, this is a key part of doing inclusive sport well — because the right support starts with listening.

These forms are received by SeakAid and help us understand what young people need in order to take part confidently, comfortably, and safely. They also help us work with partners to tailor reasonable adjustments, improve session design, and strengthen the evidence needed to keep inclusive provision funded and available.

This helps us plan the right adjustments before sessions, not after a young person has already struggled.

If you’d like to complete them (or share them with a parent/carer or professional supporting a young person), you can find them here:

Support Needs Questionnaire: https://bit.ly/3Oliyww

Sport Form – Participation Support Questionnaire: https://bit.ly/4qA3ZTn

Special thanks

We want to give a very special thank you to the people who made the day run so smoothly and created such a welcoming environment:

Sereena Lewis, Inclusion Manager at Future Youth Zone Barking, and her wonderful team. Audrey Adeyemi, Child & Adolescent Therapist, Croydon Drop In Center

Your commitment to inclusion and wellbeing is exactly the kind of partnership we love — practical, people-first, and focused on real outcomes for young people.

Why this matters (and what’s next)

Across our recent work, one message keeps coming through clearly: inclusive sport isn’t a “nice to have” — it’s essential. When young people have access to the right environments, the right support, and the right equipment, sport becomes more than activity. It becomes connection, confidence, emotional regulation, and community.

We’re excited to keep building partnerships like this — and to keep showing what’s possible when we work together.

If you’d like to support SeakAid through kit donations, volunteering, or partnership opportunities, we’d love to hear from you.

Thank you for being part of this journey with us.