Sport England publish latest activity figures on children and young people

The second annual Sport England Active Lives Survey looks at participation figures and attitudes towards activity

Children’s activity levels are on the rise, according to Sport England’s second annual Active Lives Children and Young People Survey.

The report, covering the academic year 2018/19, was published today with figures showing an increase of 3.6% in the number of children in England doing an average of 60 minutes or more of physical activity a day.

That means that 46.8% of the nation’s children and young people are meeting the recommended level, with the increase driven by more out of school activity – including increases in active play, team sports and walking.

Government guidelines recommend that children and young people should get 30 minutes of their daily physical activity in the school day and 30 minutes outside of school.

The figures show that 57.2% (up 4.6%) of children are doing 30 minutes or more of physical activity outside of school, compared to 40.4% at school.

At the other end of the scale, 2.1 million children and young people (29.0%) are doing fewer than 30 minutes of physical activity a day, and while that number is down (by 3.9% over the last year) it’s a reminder of how much more needs to be done. In the middle, another 1.7 million (24.2%) children are ‘fairly active’ – taking part in average of 30-59 minutes a day.

Inequalities illustrated by last year’s report remain, with 54% of children from the most affluent families considered active compared to 42% from the least affluent families – while from the age of five up, boys are more active than girls at every age.

The survey also shows that active children are happier, more resilient and more trusting of others and it’s also shown a positive association between being active and higher levels of mental wellbeing, individual development and community development.

Click HERE for the full article courtesy of Sport England.

Click HERE to download the Sport England report.

Sue Wilkinson MBE, afPE’s CEO said:

“afPE is pleased that the Sport England survey shows a positive trajectory in increasing children and young people’s activity across all demographics. This is testament to a multi agency commitment to work together to improve opportunities for all children and young people through play, physical education and sporting activities in the community. There is a considerable amount of research that clearly demonstrates the positive out comes for all children and young people when they are physically active. We must continue to work with all communities to reduce the inequalities across gender, ethnicity and family affluence.”

 

“It is important that schools continue to encourage active travel, provide a quality physical education curriculum as well as extra curricular activities, which along with active travel fall into the out of school data. The wrap around offer from schools will have a long term impact, as we know that education through the physical domain can improve cognitive, social and emotional outcomes for children and young people.  We must also recognise that this is only the second year of the survey and over time we hope that the trends will continue to increase.”

 

“afPE, alongside other organisations and partners ask the new Government to ensure that play, physical education and school sport are at the heart of departmental policies and investment  to ensure that our young people have enriched experiences that will ensure a high quality of life. The challenges that they face presently, such as poor emotional and physical well being must be eradicated through further specific targeted support that will increase inactivity and reduce the inequalities that prevent engagement.”