My Year as a Placement Student at Access Sport

Every year Access Sport offers placement opportunities for students studying at university. Over the last 12 months, Fran has been part of the team and has had an incredible impact on many areas of our work.

Article by placement student, Fran Burns.

Over the past year, I have had the amazing opportunity of being one of the Placement Students at Access Sport as part of my second year studying Sport and Exercise Science at Bournemouth University.

Initially, I didn’t know what I wanted to do within the sport sector, but I had an interest in sport development and wanted to know more about the jobs I could take in this area. While researching different opportunities, I came across the Community Development Officer role at Access Sport and everything fell into place.  Now one year on, I have developed invaluable skills and knowledge. 

My Role – Changing Sports
Being part of the Changing Sports delivery team allowed me to assist in developing multiple inclusive sport offers across cycling, basketball and swimming. Supporting growing sports programmes has taught me the value of working within a team that strives towards a common goal of making inclusion the norm. 

Being a part of these projects has helped me appreciate how different ideas and strategies contribute towards an organisation's collective goals. By learning the fundamentals that build a successful project, including good communication, managing multiple schedules and effective administration.

Swimming is the sport that I am most passionate about. When I expressed this at the start of my placement, Access Sport made an effort to include me in any swimming club development opportunities. The growth over the last six months has been amazing to be a part of, and I’ve loved working with the clubs to help promote their inclusive sessions and contribute ideas that can help them develop their offering.  

Highlights
One of the main highlights for me over the last 12 months was being part of the disability inclusive multi-sport festival, Ignite Bristol. My knowledge of disability inclusion has grown massively throughout my placement and being part of the team that organised the Ignite festival and other events has significantly contributed to that.

Understanding the different elements of planning an event to ensure it is accessible for all is something I will never forget. I loved working on a project that brings disabled young people and their families so much joy and access to inclusive sport. Multi-sport event days have been the brightest part of my year and I’m so grateful to have been a part of them. 

Takeaways 
When I am asked what my biggest takeaway from the last year is, the main one that stands out is enjoying the work that I have done and being close to the people I was working with. This was an unpaid placement, however, I have been opportunities to travel, be part of staff team days and work on a variety of projects that have contributed to my knowledge and growth. These experiences and learning opportunities have truly added joy and value to my year. 

It has been amazing to be part of such a progressive year for Access Sport. Watching a charity grow at such a fast pace in a short space of time has been extremely interesting to me. Being part of the journey over the last year has been exciting and has given me learnings to take away for the rest of my career. 

What next?

We're currently recruiting new placement students! If you'd like to find out more about the roles, click the link below.

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