Greenbank is a charity in Liverpool, UK which runs the Greenbank Sports Academy and neighbouring Greenbank College. It works to provide opportunities in employment, education, sport and leisure for disabled people and other disadvantaged groups.[1]
Founding
editGreenbank was founded by Gerry Kinsella, former Paralympic athlete and now the charity's chief executive.[2] In 1982 Kinsella raised £30,000 to fund the build of the Academy with a sponsored wheelchair push from Land's End to John o' Groats.[3] The charity has subsequently received funding from The Big Lottery Fund[4] and St James’s Place Foundation.[5]
Sports academy
editThe Academy now has "specially designed, high-quality facilities to play 13 different disability sports".[3] It has been used as an Olympic training facility,[6] and as a training camp for teams from Namibia and Romania.[7] British Paralympic medalist Nathan Maguire first settled on his chosen sport of wheelchair racing, one of the sports Greenbank offers, at the facility when he was 15.[8]
College
editGreenbank College offers full-time education for those aged 16 to 25, as well as courses for adults aged 19 and over. The majority of students have special educational needs or an education, health and care (EHC) plan, ie. "need more support than is available through special educational needs support".[9][10]
Ofsted states that "The Liverpool City Region (LCR) has the highest unemployment rate across the north-west region and nationally. The Greenbank Project is recognised as a key influencing partner in the LCR and has contributed recently to the development of the city region’s skills strategy." It rates the school as "good".[10]
Subjects offered include Business and Administration / Customer Service, Catering, Functional Skills (English/Maths), Fashion & Textiles, Hairdressing, IT and Sport. [11]
The College runs a hair and beauty show to showcase its students' work. In previous years it has collaborated on this with LIPA, Museum of Liverpool, and The Black-E.[12][13]
References
edit- ^ "Home - Greenbank Disability Charity". Retrieved 2024-03-23.
- ^ Turner, Ben (2012-07-13). "Former Paralympian and chief executive of city charity Greenbank, Gerry Kinsella receives John Moores fellowship". Liverpool Echo. Retrieved 2024-03-23.
- ^ a b Conn, David (2012-12-18). "Merseyside's magic place - how Greenbank is doing it for the kids". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2024-03-23.
- ^ "BBC Local Live: North West of England". BBC News. 2018-03-05. Retrieved 2024-03-23.
- ^ LiverpoolEcho, M. S. P. (2015-01-17). "Greenbank Sports Academy delighted to secure the continued support of St James's Place Foundation". Liverpool Echo. Retrieved 2024-03-23.
- ^ "Olympic training venues - North West". 2008-03-03. Retrieved 2024-03-23.
- ^ Young-Powell, Abby (2013-01-15). "Five minutes with ... Gerry Kinsella". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2024-03-23.
- ^ Rigg, Danny (2022-08-13). "Man who woke up paralysed wins gold at Commonwealth Games". Liverpool Echo. Retrieved 2024-03-23.
- ^ "Children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND)". GOV.UK. Retrieved 2024-03-23.
- ^ a b "Further education and skills inspection report". Ofsted.
- ^ "Students celebrate year of success at Greenbank College". Liverpool Echo. 2013-07-23. Retrieved 2024-03-23.
- ^ "South Liverpool students host hair-raising show". Liverpool Echo. 2013-07-30. Retrieved 2024-03-23.
- ^ "Students are top of the crops". Liverpool Echo. 2015-07-08. Retrieved 2024-03-23.