Let’s make 2026 the year every child is active

Children and young people today are creative, passionate, and full of potential.

Their energy and ambition feel hopeful in a world that often feels uncertain and unstable.

But they’re also facing new challenges: social media addiction, rising mental health concerns, climate anxiety.

In 2025, parents, teachers, and leaders across the country voiced concerns about a growing disconnect between online and offline life.

School absence is rising; wellbeing is worsening. And physical inactivity remains a stubborn problem: more than half of children aren’t active enough.

The inequalities are stark. Children from less affluent families are far less likely to be active than wealthier peers.

Girls remain less active than boys, and Black and Asian children are less likely to be active than White children.

If these trends continue at pace, we could be heading for a children’s health crisis within a decade.

The Youth Sport Trust’s (YST) Class of 2035 report warns that without robust action, we’ll see soaring screen time, rising obesity, disengagement from education, and more children diagnosed with diseases like Type 2 diabetes – a condition once almost exclusive to adulthood.

But this isn’t a story of despair, it’s a call to action.

And the good news? We are making progress - and 2025 was testament to this.

Promising Signs of Progress

In December 2025, Sport England data shows children’s activity levels are now at their highest since the first Active Lives Survey in 2018.

Half a million more children are meeting the UK Chief Medical Officers’ guideline of 60 minutes of activity a day compared to seven years ago.

That’s thanks to the incredible work of schools, clubs, and community organisations and the people that run them.

Government action has also been integral.

The National Youth Strategy can be a landmark moment, creating more opportunities for young people to connect offline - and sport has a huge role to play.

Its emphasis on being shaped by young people is vital: policy done with young people, not to them.

The commitment to halt the decline in PE and ensure at least two hours of reimagined PE each week is another big step forward, as is the ambition to increase access to enrichment activities.
 

The new PE and School Sport Partnerships Network can build on past progress.

Campaigns like Let’s Move from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) and YST’s Inclusion 2028 programme (funded by the Department for Education) show what’s possible when national leadership meets local delivery.

Let’s Move is inspiring families to get active together.

Inclusion 2028 is empowering children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) to thrive through PE, school sport, and physical activity.

These initiatives prove that inclusive change is possible - and it’s already happening.

All this is happening against the backdrop Sport England’s £250m investment in place-based partnerships across more than 90 communities.

Why Movement Matters and Our Vision for 2026

Physical activity is often called the 'miracle cure' by medical experts - and for excellent reason.

It boosts physical and mental health, reduces stress and improves mood. And it’s a social salve too, helping to forge friendships and build connection across communities in the face of the polarising online world.

It’s also fantastic for people and the public purse; every £1 invested in community sport and activity generates over £4 for the economy and society.

School and community sport aren’t 'nice to have'; they’re essential for healthy development.

Research consistently shows tells us that active children are happier, more resilient and perform better at school.

And building good activity habits young is key for our country’s future health and wealth: active children are more likely to become active adults who enjoy better health, greater productivity and place less strain on the NHS.

That’s why we need to make movement easy and normal everywhere: in schools, communities, families, parks, and urban spaces.

This means working with partners beyond education, like UK Youth and community sport organisations, to embed activity into where young people live and socialise.

Sport England’s place partnerships have some fantastic examples of this happening from the ground up – from JU:MP in Braford to Move Together Blackpool.

Young people must be at the heart of this change. They want experiences that are fun and engaging; not just minutes of activity to be ticked off to hit targets.

Here’s what we think just some of the opportunities to achieve getting every child active in 2026 are:

• a return to longer school breaks to give children more time to move and play.
• increasing uptake of Always Active Uniform, building on new national guidance and making being active easier and more comfortable – particularly for girls and children with SEND.
• greater restrictions on social media use for children, to free up time and attention for real-world play.
• protecting the real-world places and spaces that children get active and play in
• advocate for child-first coaching: supporting coaches to give children and young people voice and choice in physical activity. The Play their Way campaign is a fantastic example of child-first coaching in action.  

By rethinking existing policy and being bold, we can create system-wide changes that deliver a healthier, happier future for every child.

Our Mission and Call to Action

Our mission is clear: to inspire a generation that loves to move by making physical activity and everyday movement a normal part of life - giving every child 60 minutes of PE, sport, and play every day.

This is a cornerstone of Youth Sport Trust’s Inspiring Changemakers, Building Belonging strategy and Sport England’s next phase of Uniting the Movement. Working with schools, communities and families, we will redouble our efforts to create experiences that build the foundations for an active life.

Together, we can create a future where every child and young person has the opportunity to move, connect and thrive through sport and physical activity.