Children and young people’s activity levels have been maintained and remained stable across the 2023-24 academic year.
Sport England’s latest Active Lives Children and Young People Survey Report shows that 47.8% of children are meeting the Chief Medical Officers’ guidelines of taking part in an average of 60 minutes or more of sport and physical activity every day.
The report demonstrates the long-term impact of the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic on children and young people’s relationship with sport and physical activity.
Children who were in nursery to school Year 4 (ages 4-9) when the pandemic struck in 2020 have been particularly disadvantaged.
This age group, in school Years 3-8 (ages 7-13) during this report’s timeframe, remain less likely to have positive attitudes towards activity and have a lower sense of opportunity.
Children in school Years 3-6 have seen the largest drops in those reporting three or more positive attitudes, down 4.9% compared to children of the same age during the 2017-18 academic year. Children in Years 7-8 have also seen a long-term drop (down 3.1%), whereas older children have seen a small increase over the same period.
Happiness scores are also down across those in Years 3-8, while the largest drops since the 2017-18 academic year in individual development (those who ‘keep trying’ when they find something hard) are seen for those in school Years 5-6 and 7-8 (down 6.9% and 7.0% respectively, compared to when older children were that age six years ago).
Furthermore, the report has found that children in school Year 7 are less likely to be able to swim 25 metres unaided (70% can) than older children could at this age (77% of children in school Year 11 in 2023-24 could when they were in school Year 7 in 2017-18).
If this group don't catch up, there could be a generation of children who don't learn this important life skill and, subsequently, may be less likely to introduce their own children to swimming in adult life.
The findings reinforce that participation in sport and physical activity varies greatly among different demographic groups.
Significant inequalities remain in activity levels, with Black (42%) and Asian (43%) children and young people, and those from the least affluent families (45%), still less likely to play sport or be physically active than the average across all ethnicities and affluence groups. Girls (45%) are also less likely to be active than boys (51%).
Even more significantly, those with two or more characteristics of inequality, for example Asian girls, or someone less affluent from a Black background, are significantly less likely to be active than their peers with no characteristics of inequality at all.
The report also outlines the types of activity being undertaken by children and young people, and how this varies by age group.
For example, active travel (83% having taken part at least once in the last week) and active play and informal activity (81%) are most common for children in school Years 1-2 (ages 5-7), while team sports become more common as children get older (with 57% of children in Years 7-11, aged 11-16, taking part in a team sport at least once in the last week, compared to 40% in Years 1-2).
Sports Minister, Stephanie Peacock MP, said: "Sport is essential in allowing children and young people to develop healthy and positive attitudes for life.
"Today’s data shows that there is more work to do. This government is committed to breaking down barriers to opportunity to ensure that every young person can lead a healthy and active life.”
Active Travel Commissioner and Sport England Chair, Chris Boardman, said: “Children and young people love nothing more than walking, wheeling, scooting and cycling – when I visit schools I consistently see scores of children talking about the freedom it gives them, how it helps them to focus at school work, how it re-energises them for their day.
“It’s fantastic to see that – in the last six years – 834,000 more young people – and in a lot of cases their grown ups too - getting to school, the shops and leisure activities under their own steam.
"It’s no coincidence that this is happening in tandem with the delivery of new high-quality routes, crossings and junctions.
"Active Travel England is working with councils nationwide to create healthier, happier and greener everyday journeys for all."
