My initiative is designed for and delivered in London
Yes
I am 18 years of age or above, by the application deadline.
Yes
My organisation is a registered UK entity and has a London-based address.
Yes
My organisation is a non-profit (e.g. school, university, or local authority) — not a for-profit, which can only join as a partner.
Yes
If there is a for-profit organisation as a partner in my initiative, they work on a cost-recovery basis only.
Yes
My solution is implemented at scale, or if not, I have a clear business plan, a minimum viable solution (prototype, pilot, or proof of concept), evidence of access to a lease for the space you are leveraging, and evidence of work or impact in London within your coalition.
Yes
I am aware that, if I am submitting more than one application to a Challenge run by Ashoka and Go! London, only one of them is able to progress through the stages.
Yes
Are you an employee (and their children and grandchildren) of Ashoka or any of its respective affiliates and participating advertising and promotion agencies?
No
I have read and accepted the Challenge Terms & Conditions.
Yes
First Name
Michael
Last Name
Wood
Pronouns
He/Him
Email address
I would like to receive notifications and updates about Go London!, Ashoka, Ashoka Changemakers, and other Ashoka opportunities.
1
Are you an Ashoka Fellow?
No
Are you applying from an organization founded by an Ashoka Fellow?
No
If you are applying from an organization founded by an Ashoka Fellow, please specify the name and organisation of the fellow below.
Lead Organisation Name
Wandsworth Borough Council
Year that you started/ registered your organisation
1965
Initiative Title
George Shearing Active Inclusion Hub
My initiative is designed for and delivered in London
1
Website URL(s) or Social Media Handles
https://www.wandsworth.gov.uk , https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/wandsworth-borough-council , https://www.instagram.com/wandsworth_council/ , http://www.facebook.com/wandsworth.council , https://twitter.com/wandbc
Initiative Stage
Growth (You’ve moved past the very first activities; working towards the next level of expansion.)
Sectors/Themes: What topic does your project most directly relate to?
Children & Youth
Initiative Summary: Describe your initiative in one sentence
We will reimagine a neglected and underutilised council owned building into an Active Inclusion Hub that will be designed, led and managed by young people with a disability, providing inclusive sports and play, life skills, and support for disabled young people and their families.
The Problem: What problem are you helping to solve and who will benefit the most from your solution? How close are you to the problem and/or community impacted?
There are over 3000 children and young people (0-18 years old) who are on the disability childrens register in Wandsworth and they encounter a complex range of barriers that impedes their participation in physical activity, social engagement, and skill development. Many public and community sport, leisure and physical activity spaces in Wandsworth remain inappropriate and inaccessible to the needs of the disability community. This exclusion is compounded by environments that are not designed with disability, neurodiversity or sensory processing needs in mind, resulting in a lack of truly inclusive spaces for sport and play. We have also identified a lack of specialist, lived-experience-led coaching. There is a shortage of coaches and activity leaders in the borough with both the professional expertise and lived experience necessary to create genuinely inclusive, responsive programming. Generic provision often fails to address the particular needs, aspirations, and cultural barriers experienced by young people with a disability, leading to disengagement and underrepresentation in activities. Young people with a disability in Wandsworth are at increased risk of social isolation, reduced physical activity, heightened anxiety, and limited opportunities for the development of life skills and independence. This project is committed to providing a safe, welcoming and inclusive space in the borough that can truly meet their needs. This will ensure we can take a proactive approach to providing purpose built facilities, spaces and services that improve the physical, mental and social wellbeing of children and young people with a disability in Wandsworth. I want to put the future and ownership of the facility into their hands so they can make it into whatever they want it to be.
Your approach: How are you/ will you addressing the problem outlined above? How does your solution unlock or reimagine access to spaces for sport and physical activity? What role do landowners, local authorities, or other decision-making stakeholders play in your approach? We'd love to know about the origin of your idea, and what was your "aha" moment" that led you to take action?
We propose a partnership with the George Shearing Centre, upgrading it from a dated, not fit for purpose community centre, into a co produced Active Inclusion Hub, prioritising young people with a disability in the design of the environment, programmes, and governance. We will retrofit the centre to become Wandsworth’s first disabled designed, disabled led sport and wellbeing hub, shifting power to those historically excluded from physical activity, by transforming an unsuitable building into an accessible, sensory adapted, disability designed physical activity hub. The space will be designed to provide activity programmes identified by the users, sensory integrated movement and play opportunities, life skills programmes to support independent living, respite spaces to support mental wellbeing, and a café to enable social bonding and bridging. Wandsworth Council will provide the building (George Shearing Centre) via SLA, enabling the community to lead service delivery; while remaining a partner in compliance, maintenance standards, and strategic alignment. Partner Agencies will use space for disability specific services, inclusive coaching clinics, and community development. The “aha moment” emerged from recognising that current leisure and youth spaces in Wandsworth do not meet the sensory, emotional, cultural, or physical needs of disabled young people, and that disabled residents themselves hold the expertise to fix this. If disabled people designed and governed the space, the barriers would finally come down and a space that had previously been undervalued and underused will be unlocked into a vibrant, inclusive hub of activity that meets the needs of the community. This shift from passive care recipients to active creators became the foundation of the project.
Collaboration with young people and the community: In what ways does your initiative engage young people and community members closest to the problem? What role do they play in building the solution you deliver?
Our initiative is built with children and young people with a disability and their families, placing those closest to the problem at the heart of shaping, delivering and governing the solution. Young people are actively involved from the outset through Youth Design Sprints and Accessibility Hackathons, where they assess the George Shearing Centre, identify barriers, and co-design accessible and sensory adapted spaces based on lived experience. Their insights directly inform how the building is retrofitted and how activities are delivered. Young people also co-create the programmes and offer within the Hub, shaping adapted activity programmes, sensory integrated movement sessions and social spaces so provision reflects what genuinely works for them. Through a Young Leaders Committee Programme, young people gain experiences and qualifications in sports leadership, independent living and facility management, enabling them to move from participants to leaders and role models. Power and ownership is shared through disabled-led governance, with a management committee made up of at least 51% young people with lived experience of disability. Independent Living Training will provide mentoring support to members of the management committee as well as additional training to all young people, learning important skills for independent living and future employment. This ensures young people and families influence strategic decisions, priorities and long term sustainability. Families and carers are embedded through surveys, coffee mornings and co-design sessions, shaping respite, peer support and family services around real community needs. Schools, SEND settings and local partners support referrals, co-develop programmes and use the Hub as a shared community asset.
Potential for/Evidence of Impact: How do you imagine your initiative will make a difference in unlocking spaces for and access to physical activity and sport so far? If you have already implemented it, what difference have you made so far? What is the impact your initiative has had , and or what impact do you envision having in the future?
The Active Inclusion Hub will unlock access to PA and Sport by transforming the George Shearing Centre into Wandsworth’s first disabled led, disability designed sport and wellbeing hub. By addressing physical, sensory, cultural and financial barriers, the Hub opens up a space that is currently unsuitable for many children and young people with a disability and reimagines it as welcoming, safe and usable facility. In the short term, the project will retrofit the building into an accessible, sensory adapted environment co designed with disabled young people. Alongside this, a mobile to hub delivery phase enables early engagement, testing and evidence gathering, allowing impact to begin before full capital works are complete and accelerating speed of delivery. Once operational, the Hub is expected to: Engage 300+ disabled children and young people each year in adapted sport, movement and play. Support 100+ families annually through respite, peer support and community connection. Enable 50+ young people to gain sports leadership and life skills qualifications. Impact will be evidenced through attendance data, progression tracking, qualifications achieved and family feedback, demonstrating both scale and depth over time. At an individual level, participation will increase physical activity, improve emotional regulation and reduce anxiety through sensory integrated movement. Social connection, confidence and independence will grow as young people move from participants to leaders. Families benefit from reduced isolation and stronger peer networks. By empowering local people with disabilities to lead and impact theirs and their peers futures, it will improve their long-term engagement and ownership for sustainable impact.
Innovation: What is different about your initiative compared to other solutions that are already out there? How is your approach original and innovative?
The Active Inclusion Hub is innovative because it does not adapt mainstream PA/Play spaces to fit disabled people, it redesigns the system itself, putting young people in control of space, power and decision making. Unlike most “inclusive” provision, which is often added onto existing leisure centres or delivered as short term programmes, this project reimagines a physical asset from the ground up. The George Shearing Centre becomes Wandsworth’s first disabled designed and disabled led sport and wellbeing hub, where accessibility, sensory design and emotional safety are embedded from the start. The initiative is structurally innovative in how it shifts power. Governance sits with a management committee that is at least 51% young people with lived experience of disability, moving from service users to decision makers. This challenges traditional top down delivery models and creates long term accountability to the community most affected by exclusion. Our approach applies co production in new ways. Through Youth Design Sprints and Accessibility Hackathons, disabled young people directly assess the building, redesign spaces and shape programmes. The Hub operates as a “living lab” for inclusive design, generating learning that can be replicated across other council assets. The project tackles the root causes of inactivity levels of children and young people with a disability; inaccessible spaces, unsuitable environments and lack of representation, rather than simply increasing activity sessions. By combining imaginative reuse of space, disability led governance and leadership pathways for young people, the Hub shifts standard models around who physical activity spaces are for, and who gets to lead them. There is currently no other example of this model existing.
Viability and Scalability: How are you setting your initiative up for success, and what is your plan to ensure operational sustainability of your solution and its impact? What are your ideas for scaling your initiative to the next level?
The Active Inclusion Hub is designed for long term sustainability by combining strong governance, diversified income and phased delivery. Operationally, the Hub will be managed through a disability led management committee who, along with partners, are supported by clearly defined roles covering safeguarding, facilities, finance and delivery. This ensures regulatory compliance, strong financial oversight and consistent service quality, while keeping accountability rooted in lived experience. Financial viability is built on a mixed income model. A peppercorn, full repairing and insuring SLA with Wandsworth Council allows maximum reinvestment into services, while revenue is generated through a combination of grant funding, commissioned services, partnerships with local agencies, and room hire for aligned activity. The project is delivered in phases to reduce risk. A mobile to hub approach allows early delivery, learning and evidence gathering before full capital works are complete, ensuring demand is proven and programmes are refined prior to scale up. The Hub is designed as a replicable model rather than a one off facility. Learning from co design, delivery and evaluation will be captured, enabling the approach to be applied to other underused council assets across Wandsworth. Future growth opportunities include developing partnerships with local disability service providers, commissioned delivery through health and social care, social prescribing partnerships, and expansion of leadership pathways for young people with a disability. By combining community ownership, diversified funding and a test and learn approach, the Active Inclusion Hub is positioned to sustain impact locally while scaling influence borough wide and beyond.
Roles and Responsibilities: Describe how responsibilities are shared among your team or partners.
The Management Committee provides governance, strategic direction and accountability, ensuring the Hub remains shaped by lived experience. Impact is shown through lived experience representation in decision making and delivery aligned to community priorities. We want the facility to be led by expertise through experience. Representation will be by a majority young person with a disability, identified through current service users, partner organisation service users, promotion through Secondary schools and wider youth opportunities. They will undertake roles that will require learning and skills in representing their views, organising/running meetings, budgeting, programming services, administration, facility management, IT, marketing/promotion and a host of others to build life and employability skills for their future. Other roles on the committee filled by partner organisations will not only provide additional expertise but also mentoring support and training to the other members of the committee. Other Committee Members/ Stakeholders Wandsworth Council Childrens Services provides the George Shearing Centre and strategic oversight, ensuring safeguarding, compliance and alignment with the SEND Local Offer and Wandsworth Moves Together. Ruils is a user-led charity supporting Disabled children and adults and people with long term health and mental health conditions to live independently, be part of their community and to live life to the full. They will provide training, information, advice, advocacy, befriending and activities. Generate have worked alongside people with a Learning Disability and Neurodivergent people to break down the barriers to meaningful community involvement for over 50 years. They will support accessing employment, building friendships, keeping active, accessing healthcare, and being part of the community. Disability Sports Coach delivers inclusive coaching and workforce development. Their contribution increases participation and local coaching capacity, measured through session attendance, repeat engagement and coaches supported. Baked Bean Charity provide outstanding services for people with learning disabilities. Providing projects and groups based around theatre, drama and the arts to promote social inclusion, build confidence and gain new skills, helping to integrate into society. Other Partner organisations AFC Wimbledon Foundation delivers inclusive sport sessions and community engagement, increasing physical activity and progression into regular participation. Fulham FC Foundation provides inclusive coaching expertise and mentoring, improving delivery quality. Enable Leisure & Culture supports inclusive physical activity delivery and access expertise. Places Leisure Inclusive Activity Coordinators manage day to day delivery, supporting increased activity, wellbeing and social connection. The Accessibility & Inclusion Working Group brings together council officers and delivery partners to coordinate services and reduce barriers.
Upcoming Milestones: Please provide an overview of the milestones that are required for your initiative to come to fruition/to grow.
The Active Inclusion Hub will be delivered through a phased, test and learn approach that builds momentum early, reduces risk and ensures outcomes are achieved and sustained. Phase 1: Set up and Co Design (Months 1–3) The project begins with establishing governance and delivery foundations. A disabled led management committee is formalised, delivery partners are confirmed, and safeguarding and operational processes are put in place. During this phase, young people and families take part in co design activity, including youth design sessions and accessibility reviews, to shape the physical space, programme offer and priorities. This ensures the Hub is designed around real needs from the outset. Phase 2: Early Delivery – Mobile to Hub (Months 3–6) While capital improvements are progressed, partners begin delivering adapted sport, movement and play sessions through a mobile and pop up model. This allows early engagement with children, young people and families, tests programme formats, and builds an evidence base of demand and impact. Learning from this phase directly informs final space design and delivery models. Phase 3: Hub Launch and Full Delivery (Months 6–12) Following accessibility upgrades, the George Shearing Centre opens as a fully operational Active Inclusion Hub. Regular weekly sessions are delivered by specialist partners, alongside leadership pathways, respite opportunities and family support. Referral pathways with schools, SEND services and community partners are embedded, increasing reach and consistency. Phase 4: Review, Embed and Scale (Year 2 onwards) Impact data, participation levels and user feedback are reviewed to refine delivery and strengthen sustainability. Learning from co design and delivery is captured in an Inclusive Play Toolkit, enabling replication across other Wandsworth sites. Partnerships with health, education and voluntary sector organisations are strengthened to support long term growth and commissioning opportunities. Together, these activities and milestones provide a clear, realistic pathway to achieving improved access, increased participation, stronger wellbeing outcomes and lasting systemic change for residents with a disability in Wandsworth.
