A group of organisations have joined forces in Wales to provide Sports Leaders qualifications for young deaf people in ex-mining communities. 

Game On Wales, a programme created by the Coalfields Regeneration Trust, last week delivered its first session for participants working towards a Sports Leaders UK Award level one qualification in sports leadership. 

The nationally-recognised qualification develops transferrable skills of organisation, planning, communication and teamwork through the medium of sport. 

The project is being delivered in partnership with the Wales Council for Deaf People (WCDP), and is funded by the Millennium Stadium Charitable Trust.

Following last week's first session with pupils from the hearing impaired base at Ysgol Bae Baglan, a large school in Port Talbot, delivery is set to expand into three further schools.

Game on Wales' Development Manager, Ryan Jones, told ConnectSport: "Our first cohort of young people really welcomed the opportunity to get involved and many of them will hopefully now progress to join their local club or take up volunteering opportunities, which are exactly the outcomes we were looking for. 

"It gives them increased confidence, engagement inside and outside school and will improve their integration and quality of life. 

"They were all pupils who had perhaps not had the best experience of sport in the past because of their hearing impairment and potentially may have missed out on these types of opportunities.  

"It's been a huge learning curve for us as coaches too in terms of adapting our delivery style to take account of the audience. It's one of the most enriching things we've done." 

The Coalfields Regeneration Trust is the leading regeneration organisation dedicated to improving the quality of life in Britain's former mining communities. 

For more information on Game On Wales, click here.