Skip to content

Our work in places

Changing lives where it matters most – our approach to place-based work.

A national movement – powered locally.

At Sport England, we believe everyone should have the chance to lead an active, healthy life – no matter who they are or where they live. But we know that isn’t always the case. In some areas, especially where people face challenges like poverty, poor health or isolation, it’s much harder to be active. That’s why we’re working in a new way. 

We’re focusing on places – towns, cities and neighbourhoods – where help is needed most. We’re not dropping in with short-term programmes. Instead, we’re building long-term partnerships with local organisations, councils, schools, the NHS, charities and others. Together, we’re helping to create the right conditions for people to move more, feel better and live well. 

This way of working means listening to communities, not telling them what to do. It means building trust and supporting local leaders who know their areas best.

And it means changing the way we work together – so being active becomes easier, more welcoming and part of everyday life, for everyone. 

We’ve found that when stakeholders across all parts of the system come together in this way, the conditions and ways of working become embedded, long-lasting and the transformational change we're looking for within communities happens.

Our work in Place is unashamedly targeting our resources and efforts on communities that need the greatest levels of support and experience the greatest levels of inequality.

Together, we're breaking down the barriers and addressing the inequalities that are preventing the least active members of a community from joining in.

By listening and collaborating, harnessing the enthusiasm and expertise at the heart of each community, we're building more equal, vibrant and active places across England.

Latest news

Sign up to our newsletter

You can find out exactly how we'll look after your personal data, but rest assured we’ll only use it to make sure you receive our newsletter, to understand how you interact with our newsletter, and to provide administrative information about our newsletter.