In celebration of Autistic Pride Day this month, we’re highlighting the positive impact of ongoing SEND initiatives by British Fencing (BF) and our partners, promoting inclusivity in the sport and transforming lives.
A major objective of BF is to introduce fencing to as many people as possible, subverting the sport’s stereotype of being elitist and associated with the upper class. This goal was cemented in our recently published Diversity Inclusion Action Plan (DIAP) – available to read here – about which BF Chair, Sara Pantuliano, says:
“Our aim is to celebrate and increase diversity in our sport, ensuring fencing represents the wider community across the UK. Our Diversity Inclusion Action Plan aims to encourage more people to get involved, from the boardroom to the clubs to the piste, making fencing a sport where everyone can be welcomed.”
BF has, over the years, heard about the positive impact of fencing on SEND (children with special educational needs and disabilities) communities.
Virginia Bailey, BF Participation Director, notes:
“We have received so many positive stories from parents of children and young people with autism who have been fortunate to get the opportunity to engage with fencing.”
Our partnership with The Change Foundation
In order to bring further opportunities to these children, BF partnered with The Change Foundation, an award-winning charity that uses sport to change the lives of marginalised young people. The organisation has delivered award-winning sports intervention programmes to vulnerable young people living in the UK and abroad.
In 2021, BF and The Change Foundation launched a pilot project. We worked with the University of Hertfordshire to conduct initial research through various methods, including activity questionnaires, testing physiological reaction times, motion capture and interviews with coaches across four schools in London.
The pilot’s findings concluded that the fencing delivered by coaches from The Change Foundation resulted in improvements within core physiological aspects of children with autism, and positively impacts their everyday physical literacy skills. Using a creative coaching methodology, the project aims to develop motor skills, encourage social integration and provide a unique experience for young people, who would otherwise never access fencing and don’t engage with mainstream sports.
Evolution of the project: “Fencing For Change”
The pilot has since evolved into the full-fledged “Fencing For Change” programme, delivered by coach mentors from The Change Foundation, all with lived experience. Fencing For Change sessions provide an inclusive and accessible environment, ensuring that all young people feel welcome and comfortable – a known barrier when trying a new sport.
BF continues to offer support to the existing coaches through coach development training days, where new ideas are tested and coaching skills enhanced.
The initiative was bolstered by the findings of BF’s Equality Survey, launched in 2023, which allowed us to gain a greater insight into the people in our community. Over a quarter (28%) of respondents indicated that they were neurodiverse, showing the unique appeal of fencing to this audience.
Later that year, Daniel Mynott, Insight and Impact Manager at The Change Foundation, and Rick Rodgers, BF Inclusion Manager (Disability), hosted a session titled ‘Championing Inclusivity’ in order to share their findings from the project. The full recording of the session can be watched on our YouTube channel here.
The session was one of many held during BF Learning Week, an annual campaign in which BF staff, community members and external speakers host informative and developmental sessions, sharing their insights on topics ranging from coaching to community development. With BF’s recent work in the para and wheelchair fencing spaces, such as the exciting introduction of the SwordSeat™, this year’s Learning Week will focus on accessibility and disability inclusion.
More recently, also in partnership with The Change Foundation, we launched the Coaching Neurodiversity CPD, allowing coaches to learn about neurodiversity and how to create an inclusive environment in their clubs.
In May 2024, The Change Foundation ran their first inter-school fencing competition at the Leon Paul Fencing Centre. The schools that took part were some of the specialist autism support schools that have been experiencing fencing activities by The Change Foundation-trained coaches.
The most recent competition was held last month. Attended by 30 children and with guest appearances by GBR fencers David Sosnov and Amelie Tsang, the event was a huge success.
James Wischhusen, Senior Coach Mentor at The Change Foundation, said:
“The day is going really well. It’s very competitive, everyone’s having fun and meeting new people from different schools. Fencing is still quite new to us, it’s our second year now delivering the programme. We’ve had one school here today, and their students don’t participate in any other sport, so for them to be here is quite a big thing.”
Looking to the future
As part of our newly-published DIAP, promoting inclusion and diversity continues to form a central part of our work at BF. With fencing having a unique appeal to SEND audiences, we want to continue our initiatives in this space to allow more people to experience the sport’s positive impacts.
Currently, we’re hoping to secure further funding to grow the Fencing For Change programme outside of London. We are also looking to host more opportunities for learning about disability inclusion, during BF Learning Week 2025 and beyond.
Much like Fencing For Change, We Are Forging Futures – BF’s visual identity representing our work in the educational sector – uses fencing as a way of connecting with neurodiverse audiences. By partnering with SEND schools, We Are Forging Futures encourages more young people to get active and to develop confidence, with the aim of making sport more inclusive.
As BF continues to make waves in this area through our different initiatives, we’re excited to see what the future holds.
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