The Cheshire Academy of Integrated Sports and Arts

The Cheshire Academy of Integrated Sports and Arts is based locally in Macon Way, Crewe and is there to help and support people in the community with a variety of problems through many activities.

There is child support, where parents who have children with behavioural problems are assisted to help to deal with the situation and to help improve the child's behaviour. The Academy also helps children with special needs and without special needs, gain social skills through sports. They also help to support parents with special needs children.

The Academy is for the community and it serves the whole of Cheshire but primarily it serves Crewe and Nantwich. It has members that attend from the age of 18 months onwards and some have special needs. The staff at the Academy are put through an ongoing training program where they get to do many courses such as psychology, first aid, child protection and sports courses. Allowing them to offer more to the children. They are able to do this because they have a close relationship with the Sports Development Offices and are sent on courses for training in sports programs.

The Academy has many volunteers that help out with the activities and are currently looking for more. The volunteers are all CRB checked and they have to have the enthusiasm to want to work with the children. The Academy look for a variety of people to volunteer, the age range is from 17years plus. The volunteers are assessed on their abilities and are then trained in an area that they are keen to do. They are then mentored throughout this process of learning a new skill.

The Academy is able to pay for kits, trips and entrance fees to games through fundraising. So they also look for volunteers who can help with these events from making cakes, designing leaflets to organising the event.