ukactive has issued this statement in response to Sport England’s Active Lives survey for children and young people 23/24, published today (5 December)
Today’s Sport England’s Active Lives Children and Young People Survey shows that progress on children’s activity levels has flatlined, with just 48% of children meeting the recommended 60 minutes of activity a day – virtually unchanged from the previous year or the pre-Covid baseline.
These results clearly show that without a strategy for increasing participation from the Government, our next generation will continue to grow up with low activity levels, posing a serious threat to their future prospects and health.
With activity levels remaining stagnant over the past two years, and inequalities continuing or, in some cases, widening, it is clear the current approach is not working. The Government’s Get Active strategy announced last year committed to getting one million more children active. So far, this Government has not recommitted to this goal, and without it, there is no realistic prospect that these figures will improve in the short- or medium-term.
The report shows the number of children and young people getting active in gyms and fitness facilities is growing, with a 12% rise in the proportion of children taking part in gym and fitness compared to six years ago. But there remain significant concerns in other areas – particularly swimming.
This demonstrates the importance of ukactive’s Next Generation strategy that ensures facilities remain a sustainable, safe and welcoming place for children’s activity.
The correlation between physical activity and positive mental wellbeing for children and young people, demonstrated by today’s report, should add a further incentive for Government to prioritise this agenda as part of its ambitions for growth.
With physical activity notably absent from the National Youth Strategy, a bespoke plan to raise activity levels across the board is essential. Now is the time for real action to address this stagnation before it is too late and promise every child a healthier and more active future. We will continue to work with our national sector partners to ensure change is delivered.
ukactive CEO Huw Edwards said: “This is the clearest sign yet that progress on our children’s activity levels is flatlining, which represents a grave warning for the health and happiness of our young people.
“These figures demonstrate the need for the Government to deliver an industry-supported strategy to dramatically improve children’s activity levels, if it is to deliver on its ambition to create the ‘healthiest and happiest generation of children ever’.
“In particular, the figures around children’s swimming are hugely concerning, having not returned to pre-pandemic levels – we must ensure children have access to swimming as a basic lifesaving skill.
“The results show gyms and fitness facilities provide a successful recipe for engaging children and young people, however, their potential to reach more children has been limited by the lack of bespoke support from Government. This has been compounded by new financial pressures which threaten vital jobs, services and affordable prices, as detailed in ukactive’s letter to the Chancellor following the Autumn Budget.
“As a minimum, the Government must commit to continue support for existing programmes such as the Opening School Facilities programme, the Holiday Activities and Food Programme and the PE and School Sports Premium, but to really have an impact, the vision and support must go much further.
“This will require a collective effort from the Government and its agencies, working in collaboration with the sector across society to meaningfully shift the dial on children’s activity levels. We are ready to play our fullest role in delivering change.”
To see the results of our survey with children and young people, and to access ukactive’s Next Generation strategy, click here
More People More Active More Often
