On the 18th December 2024, an Inclusive Youth Leadership event was held at Debden Park High School in Loughton for settings in the local area. Nineteen year old Kody attended the event as the young role model, sharing his sports journey alongside the Youth Sport Trust athlete mentor to inspire other students at the event.

“I left my school, West Hatch High School, last year. The school really shaped me into the person I am today, and my teachers and teaching assistants were great. Being here today makes me feel like I can give back to the school in some way.”

Kody was part of the Target Team during his time at West Hatch High School. This group for year 7-9 young people with SEND meet together on a weekly basis for an additional PE lesson, run by Learning Support Assistant Lucy Pearce. When talking about his PE lessons and time in Target Team Kody said:

“I really enjoyed it because I got to try new sports like archery and New Age Kurling. My favourite sport was boccia. I liked it because it helped me focus. Playing sports also helped me communicate with others and I learnt how to communicate if I was getting angry and needed to step back.”

Once students graduate from the Target Team programme in year 9, they have the opportunity to come back as leaders and help the younger students.

“Miss Pearce helped me to be patient so that is what I tried to teach people when I helped out in lessons. My motto is if you help someone, you help everyone. I just try to do my little bit to have a wider impact.”

When asked what advice he would give to other people who struggle with taking part in PE, Kody said “You’re not alone if you struggle. But I found that over time my fitness and focus improved which made it easier. The leadership side of it is difficult at first. You have to be strong enough to be gentle. You can’t just shout at people. But as you learn these skills and try to be patient it becomes easier.”

When talking about his involvement with the Inclusive Youth Leadership programme, Kody said “Before doing my speech today I was a bit nervous so now that I have done it I feel relieved but also more confident. Working with the athlete Alistair has been great! We have a connection because we have the same birthday! He helped me to write my story and I hope it inspired others in the room.”

Throughout the event the students learnt how to apply the STEP model to different activities, so that they can help to facilitate inclusive sports sessions to their peers. There will be opportunities for the young leaders to help at events throughout the year to apply what they have learnt and inspire others to take part in PE and school sport.