Discounted leisure passes

In summer 2021, Reconnect teamed up with leisure centres in Kent to provide a 6-week leisure pass for £25, discounted to £10 by Reconnect for children in receipt of free school meals. There was a huge uptake of this offer, with lots of children and young people able to get active and socialise with friends and family.

Thank you for organising the Reconnect programme, I’m sat watching my daughter and her friend having fun swimming for the first time in a very long time, which would not be happening without Reconnect.

The leisure offer for summer 2021 was so popular, that Reconnect worked with over 40 leisure centres again in 2022 to create further opportunities for children and young people.

This included gym memberships, free or discounted swimming lessons, holiday clubs and more. Additional support was offered to families receiving benefits related free school meals, looked after children and care leavers.

As a result, centres have reported an uplift in the number of children and young people accessing leisure activities, and potentially life long connections have been made, as shown in some of the fantastic feedback received.

Three Hills Sports Park

Three Hills Sports Park held an unaccompanied asylum-seeking children participation day that was a huge success. The aim of the day was to allow young people to connect with their peers who had some shared experiences and to make longer term connections.

One young person immediately spotted a boy that he travelled over in the boat with and they were both excited and happy to see each other again. Another young person hadn’t had anyone speak to him in his own language for 7 months and is now in frequent contact with his new friends. He says he feels less lonely and isolated than before.

Three Hills have also offered Reconnect funded gym memberships and one of the personal trainers stated: "It has been highly rewarding in not only teaching them how to use the gym equipment in correct form but also to see their confidence grow."