Women & Girls Programme at Palmer Park

Palmer Park Leisure Centre is situated in Park Ward in East Reading. Palmer Park is located near to a primary school, secondary school, college, local shops and served by good transport networks. 

According to the 2021 census, Reading’s population has 87,382 females and the second largest religious group is Muslim, with seven mosques within a one-mile radius of Palmer Park Leisure Centre. For Muslim women exercising around men is often discouraged due to modesty and practicalities of clothing. Approximately 50 per cent of all women who exercise in gyms worry about being judged and around 13 per cent report being intimidated by men and fearful of the risk of sexual harassment in this setting (UK Active, 2021). Upon opening of the new Palmer Park Leisure Centre, there were calls for closed female only sessions in the main gym space. This was not feasible and an alternative solution needed to be identified. Additionally, there was a demand for female only swimming sessions due to the sensitive nature of changing etc. in presence of males.

Palmer Park Leisure Centre had an unutilised space following the refurbishment. The General Manager and CSM worked to create a gym space which can be programmed to suit the need of the local community. A clear need was to provide designated female only hours. To enhance the offer further, adult women only swimming sessions were programmed in, with women & girls sessions added later. Following the launch of the programmable gym space, women’s only classes were added to the timetable. All of these additions have increased women’s and girls' physical activity.

A gym space was created using equipment from the closing Rivermead Leisure Centre. Additionally, they programmed female only swimming sessions and female only classes. They engaged with local residents who work in one of the local schools, which is Muslim and has a big outreach to Muslim women who are interested in physical activity. It was clear from the start that the key to success was collaborative working. Working together, they made suitable adjustments to the gym space; installing hooks for items of clothing which can only be removed in a safe space and a screen to block the view into the gym when the door open and closes. The project was advertised through members of the community, existing customers, social media and posters. Additionally, they engaged with Reading Voluntary Action, Public Health and Get Berkshire Active to promote the opening. They organised an Open Day in September 2023, had tours of the gym on offer, two free Zumba taster sessions, taster rugby and football sessions hosted by female coaches in the community to promote a fuller offer, and a free-swimming session.

127 Women attended the open day, participating in a free session. 103 new female members at Palmer Park following the open day, generating an income of circa £3,000. In September 2023, Female usage of the leisure centre was 4,777 visits. In October, this increased to 5,674, showing that female participation levels increased. Female only classes are at full capacity every week, female only swimming has a waitlist most weeks and usage of gym during female only hours is high.

Continuity of provision, as well as the opportunity for feedback from users is integral to ensuring that the offer is suitable. Moving forwards, a refresh / launch of activity is needed to continue raising awareness of the offer to women and girls.

The key to successful working is to work with the community, listening to what the need is and working with them to best meet this. There is benefit in having informed staff during open days to be able to explain the benefits of physical activity, opportunities available and provide expert knowledge. 

One of the main barriers to adult females participating in physical activity is childcare. Peak usage of the gym and classes is during school hours. Females are more likely to take part in physical activity when not attending alone. 

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