GDM is continuing its work with local Pokémon Go group ‘Raiding Doncaster and beyond’ to grow this welcoming, inter-generational walking and gaming community, and encouraging new players to engage in this family-friendly activity, and to move more – particularly within Doncaster’s parks and green spaces.
Trying something new
In sport, the ‘Free Park Tennis’ initiative started a couple of years ago in a local park to expand opportunities for children and families.
Resident volunteers have been trained as Free Park Tennis Activators to deliver free, weekly sessions to the community in two Doncaster parks, which led to one park being awarded ‘’ by .
Our most recent park venue to host Free Park Tennis sessions, Haslam Park, which started in May this year, has already seen 369 attendances, with four local volunteers upskilled to deliver the weekly sessions.
This has been a fantastic opportunity for people to come along and 'have a go' at tennis in a relaxed and social setting, and it has been very popular with both children and families.
Doncaster’s place-based model played a key role in connecting partners and enabling the Active Start initiative, a programme designed for staff working with children aged 2–5.
Active Start is led by Yorkshire Sport Foundation, working in partnership with, and funded by, the South Yorkshire Integrated Care Board's Children and Young People’s Alliance. Their latest Impact Report: Giving children an Active Start is full of learnings and data.
This information is key to the training and resources they provide to early years professionals to help embed movement and active play throughout everyday learning.
This approach not only supports physical development but also communication efforts, social skills and school readiness, giving children the strongest start in life.
Doncaster’s Public Health and Early Years teams have trained as tutors, offering one-on-one support, continuing professional development opportunities and resources to nurseries, schools, childminders and all 12 family hubs, which are places for families to go within their communities to access groups and support.
Many settings have already taken part in centralised training and are now better equipped to encourage movement in class and at home.
But this is not all, because work will continue into the 2025/26 academic year as the programme develops further across South Yorkshire.
Looking ahead, shifting the dial on children’s engagement in activity will require continued place-based collaboration.
Sustained shared learning, creativity and innovation – alongside a connected, empowered GDM network – will help Doncaster’s young people to move more, play more and thrive.
