National School Sports Week 2025 is here and schools across the UK are ready to celebrate the power of movement and play.
This year’s theme – Always Active – is more than a campaign. It’s a call to action for a mindset shift in how we think about physical activity in education.
The week, powered by Sports Direct x Under Armour, encourages all schools to help children reach the UK Chief Medical Officers’ recommended 60 active minutes a day through PE, sport, play and active learning.
The concept we're presenting is simple but transformative: a flexible, comfortable and durable school uniform that encourages movement throughout the school day.
It’s a small change with the potential for significant impact – helping children to be more physically active, more included, more focused and ready to learn.
Unlike traditional uniforms – often stiff, formal and impractical for physical activity – an Always Active Uniform is designed with movement in mind.
It supports children to be active in the spaces between lessons, during playtime, on the way to and from school, and throughout the wider curriculum.
It also removes the unnecessary friction of changing into PE kit, especially for younger children or those with additional needs.
The need to help children move more has never been clearer.
According to Sport England’s latest Active Lives Children and Young People survey, only 47% of children in England meet the recommended daily activity levels.
At the same time, Youth Sport Trust’s own 2025 research with YouGov shows growing parental and teacher appetite for practical changes that make movement more accessible at school.
Our analysis shows that 74% of parents with children aged 4–11 and 67% of primary school teachers would support their children/students adopting an Always Active Uniform policy.
Plus, 63% of parents agree it would be beneficial for their child’s education and development.
The support is even greater among those most concerned about cost, inclusion and wellbeing.
And it’s not just about preference – it’s about impact.
Unlike traditional uniforms – often stiff, formal and impractical for physical activity – an Always Active Uniform is designed with movement in mind.
Research published by the University of Cambridge in 2024 found that traditional uniform policies can act as a barrier to physical activity, particularly for primary school-aged girls.
This is echoed in polling from the Active Uniform Alliance – a coalition we’re proud to co-found alongside OPAL, Play England, Play Scotland, the Centre for Young Lives and Learning through Landscapes.
Their findings reveal that:
One school already successfully trialling this approach is Dame Dorothy Primary School in Sunderland, with whom we've filmed a great case study.
Since introducing an Always Active Uniform, the school has experienced a significant rise in participation in sports and girls especially now feel more comfortable and able to use all the equipment.
The school headteacher, Iain Williamson, points out that school standards have not fallen. Instead, it's all about creating a generation of children who are healthy and well equipped on their journey to adulthood, with positive attitudes towards food and exercise that they will carry for the rest of their lives.
Parents are supportive of the idea, particularly those with children of sensory needs.
It’s interesting how clothing might seem secondary to education, but it has a profound influence on inclusion, identity and participation.
If we want to normalise 60 active minutes a day, we need to make movement a seamless part of school life – not a special event confined to a sports hall or a single PE lesson.
We also need to think about the children most at risk of missing out on physical activity: those with sensory needs (for whom formal school wear can be uncomfortable or distressing), girls who often feel less confident moving in traditional uniforms and families on low incomes, for whom buying separate PE kits and branded uniforms presents an additional barrier.
By removing the logistical and psychological obstacles to movement, an Always Active Uniform creates the conditions for children to move more, connect more and learn better.
This year we’re encouraging every school to use National School Sports Week as a moment to trial a new approach – whether that’s offering one day of active uniform as part of the week or consulting pupils and parents about what their school uniform could look like in future.
So let’s use this year’s campaign to imagine what’s possible when children are truly free to move.
Sign up now and join us in championing a future where every school day is an active one.
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