By Tom Degun at Chiswick School in London
September 14 - Supermarket giant Sainsbury's, a Tier One sponsor of the London 2012 Paralympics, has today announced its Games legacy project, which will see it invest £1 million ($1.61 million/€1.25 million) over the next four years to get more disabled children in school involved in sport.
The new inclusive sports initiative titled "Active Kids For All" was announced at Chiswick School in London where a star-studded cast including four-time Paralympic swimming champion Ellie Simmonds (pictured top) was in attendance.
The initiative will be an Inclusive PE Training Programme that is designed to ensure teachers within schools have the required skills and confidence to teach and include disabled children in activity, PE lessons and sport.
With about 80 per cent of all disabled children currently attending mainstream schools, the funding from Sainsbury's in these Active Kids For All training courses will ensure that over 500,000 disabled and SEN children will lead healthier and more active lifestyles.
This funding will be matched by Sport England who alongside the English Federation of Disability Sport (EFDS), Youth Sport Trust (YST) and the British Paralympic Association (BPA), have developed and will deliver the programme in schools and the wider community.
ParalympicsGB secured 120 medals at London 2012, including 34 golds, 43 silver and 43 bronze
The announcement comes after the conclusion of London 2012 on Sunday (September 9) where International Paralympic Committee (IPC) President Sir Philip Craven described the event as the "greatest Paralympic Games ever".
The Games saw ParalympicsGB win more medals than in Beijing in 2008, from more sports, while they finished third on the medal table.
Nevertheless, BPA chief executive Tim Hollingsworth said the future of Paralympic sport in Britain is just as important to the organisation as the London 2012 performance.
"It's not just the pictures of our medallists that are out there now, but how the pictures are used in the next six months, and the next year, to inspire others," he said.
"We are hoping to inspire a generation, not just about disability sport but about what it's possible for people to achieve.
"Our inspirational athletes have sprinkled their stardust on that ambition, and our task is to use that as we move on from the Games in a world of widened perceptions."
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