Established in 2015,  Sport for Confidence’s healthcare professionals, namely occupational therapists, work collaboratively with sports coaches with the aim of making society active and more equitable. The organisation has created opportunities for more than 3,000 individuals who face barriers to participation in sport.

Barrett, who worked as a senior occupational therapist for the NHS before launching Sport for Confidence, has extended occupational therapy practice into mainstream community-based settings, such as leisure centres.

Sport for Confidence now operates at multiple leisure centres across Essex and London, bringing occupational therapists together with sports coaches to deliver goal oriented, person-centred sporting experiences.

In 2021, Lyndsey was awarded a British Empire Medal (BEM), in recognition of her work.

“I am absolutely delighted to receive an honorary degree from Writtle University College. It is a privilege to be an occupational therapist and to be able to apply an occupational perspective to tackling inequalities in physical activity participation,” said Barrett.

“There has never been a more important time to level the playing field for those most excluded from the huge benefits that sport and physical activity provides.”