On the Ball – Supported by Brentford FC CST
Weekend football skills sessions for neurodiverse young people and families.
Grab your trainers and have a kick around with us!
On the Ball football sessions are run by our fab coaches from Brentford FC CST on Saturday mornings in Palewell Park and Richmond Park Academy.
Activity groups are small and made up of neurodiverse children and young people with similar abilities, as well as their parents. We do games together, practice our football skills, and play matches.
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“At first I was scared, now I want to go back and score a goal next week.” – Young person
Skills for life
Have fun. Make friends. Be part of a team. On the Ball is a way into sport for neurodiverse children of all abilities.
It’s also a life-changing opportunity for parents to spend time with their children and understand what helps them to learn and be included. Sessions are supported by therapists and use strategies that support learning on and off the pitch.
How it works:
On the Ball: Booking 2026
On the Ball starts with a workshop for adults. Here, we explain how a child’s individual communication and sensory needs can sometimes affect their ability to learn or join in, then share supportive inclusion strategies. We use these inclusion strategies in our football groups.
Register your interest with an activity questionnaire
Before joining On the Ball, all new starters fill out an activity questionnaire. This helps us understand each individual child, and know which age and development group they would fit best in. We keep On the Ball groups small and made up of children who we hope will work confidently together. An occupational therapist helps us identify the starter group for children.
Join On the Ball!
10 weeks of free football sessions take place on Saturday mornings, run by our lovely coaches from Brentford FC CST. Groups are made up of parents as well as children, and use strategies such as sensory breaks and visual timetables to make them really inclusive. After 10 weeks families can sign up and pay a session fee to Brentford FC CST to carry on having fun with friends. Act-attain continues to provide parenting and coaching support for the groups.
If we don’t have a space for a child we keep in touch with families. We look for opportunities to invite the child, family or parent to join other activities that we run.
Wrap up workshop & PIZZA EVENTS
When the On the Ball term is over, we schedule a wrap up workshop where we explore parents’ questions. This session also looks at managing anxiety and more ways to support children’s inclusion. We also schedule social events, like a Pizza night, for children and parents to build friendships.
Where is On the Ball?
We are next to the Pitch and Putt course at Palewell Park:
https://goo.gl/maps/gyFZo2fyMdm3LvXD6
We are on the playing field at Richmond Park Academy
https://goo.gl/maps/unnjahbN9PMu2F3g9
Register your interest for On the Ball
To register your child for On the Ball, you just need to fill out a new starter form and send it to us by email. Once we’ve reviewed your form, we will get in touch with next steps.
Pricing
On the Ball is free for 10 weeks to starter families, thanks to our funding from Three Guineas Trust. For our online workshops, we encourage donations of £16 per session. Please speak to us if you would like a concession.
Fancy a kick around? Sign up to find out more and take part, via our contact form.