Youngsters from Out & About were celebrating today after winning the prestigious Suffolk Acre Probert Award for community achievement. The young people, whose ages range from 14 to 20, won the award for their groundbreaking research on inclusion in leisure activities for disabled young people.

The project was supported by Out & About, the charity that includes disabled children in local leisure activities throughout the east of England. Young people involved in the project visited a number of leisure activities to assess how inclusive they were; rating each one on their helpfulness, friendliness and their understanding of disability issues.

Jared Longhurst, 20, uses a wheelchair and has sometimes felt that people make a first impression based on this, before they get to know him properly. Jared feels the research highlights these issues,

"Receiving the Probert Award sends the right message that this research is important and feels like a reward for the work we all put into it - I feel really proud to have been involved in the project."

Since completing the project, the young people have been to Suffolk County Council HQ to present their findings to commissioners who make decisions about children’s services and Out & About’s chief executive, Steve Allman, thinks there is still more to be done,

"Winning the Suffolk Acre Probert Award is a fantastic achievement for the young people involved and recognises all their hard work. It also recognises that inclusion is still a real issue for disabled children in Suffolk and we’re fortunate to know young people like this who have the drive and determination to change things for the better."

The full report "Are We Nearly There Yet?" can be downloaded from the "5 Golden Eggs" page in the What We Do section.