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Growing up as the only deaf person in my family, sport became my escape from the loneliness and isolation I often felt at home and at school, because constantly second-guessing conversations and struggling to keep up takes a toll.

But sport gave me freedom and a way to let go of all that frustration.

It all started with swimming. In the water I found my own bubble of silence. No worrying about misheard words or asking people to repeat themselves – just me, the lane and a sense of independence.

That feeling is something every child should have, but for many deaf children the chance to experience it simply isn’t there.

Destination Deaflympics: turning inspiration into action

In 2025, we launched Destination Deaflympics, a programme for 8-16-year-olds inspired by the Tokyo 2025 Deaflympics.

For us it’s all about giving young people the chance to try fun, inclusive activities and closing the gap between deaf children and their hearing peers.

So far we’ve reached 3,500 deaf and hard of hearing children across 175 settings and, along the way, we’ve learned a lot about the barriers they face, like the lack of accessible community provision or coaches who don't know how to deliver inclusive sessions.

That’s why we’re working with partners like the British Association of Teachers of Deaf Children and Young People to make sure deaf children get their recommended 60 minutes of activity every day.

This work has seen great success in the education sector with teachers sharing that by taking part in Destination Deaflympics, they are also seeing benefits in the classroom with students being more focused and ready to learn.

Role models who make a difference

The Deaflympics celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2024 and the Tokyo Games was an event like no other.

The GB team brought home 12 medals, finishing 12th out of 80 nations, but its impact went way beyond the results.

These athletes are key role models who showed what’s possible and inspired the next generation of Deaf sport men and women.

Before the Games, one of our swimmers spent a day with deaf schoolchildren in Greater Manchester sparking excitement and ambition that will last a lifetime.

Why this matters for Sport England’s vision

Everything we’re doing supports Sport England's long-term strategy, Uniting the Movement. We're talking about things like:

• tackling inequalities by addressing the participation gap in sport for deaf people
• creating inclusive environments through coach education and community partnerships
• improving mental wellbeing by using sport to combat isolation
• building role models who inspire young people to dream big.

Sport should be for everyone and that’s why, by breaking down barriers and creating opportunities, we’re not just changing lives – we’re helping deliver Sport England’s vision of a fair, inclusive and active nation.

I can’t wait for the Commonwealth Games, which this year will be held in Glasgow at the end of July, and to the much-needed uplifting news and excitement they’ll bring us.

The games are an opportunity for athletes from across the Commonwealth to compete at the highest level and for people everywhere to enjoy the spectacle, which will extend over 11 days of sport and festivities.

But among all the excitement we can't forget that for some of the athletes, actually getting to the point of competing has been tough and the effects on their training by climate change means it’s only getting tougher.

The dangers of acute weather conditions 

For instance, on the Maldives, sea-level rise is a real problem with saltwater encroaching on facilities and extreme weather stopping play, whereas in India it’s simply too hot to train in the summer, so its athletes must live and train elsewhere if they want to compete.

For those still unsure about the impact of climate change on sport, it’s worth attending a screening of the National Emergency Briefing and having a look at The Well-Adapted UK report, as both documents warn us about the importance of preparing for new temperatures, extreme rainfall and the changing of the seasons.

Sport and physical activity are threatened by a changing climate, not just at elite level but at grassroots level too.

As winters become wetter we are seeing pitches and courts flooded with increasing frequency, leaving them unusable for any training, competition or enjoyment.

Conflict elsewhere is another factor affecting our sector, as it’s leading to wildly fluctuating energy prices that threaten the clubs and sports organisations’ ability to keep the lights and heat on in the facilities, something that particularly affects swimming pools.

And as we approach the summer we'll see how extreme heat is increasingly going to be a key threat, particularly for disabled people, the elderly or those with a long-term health condition.

Plus for those living in densely-populated areas, the lack of shading will deter people from taking exercise as it’s hard for many to be active when the heat makes you ill.

Given that during the Covid pandemic physical activity was one of the few legitimate reasons we were allowed to leave our homes – along with essential shopping, medical needs and travel to work for key workers - it is clear how important exercise is to individuals and to any nation.

That realisation has become an accelerator for action and it’s encouraging that we are starting to work on measures to reduce our impact on the environment, to stop climate change getting any worse, and – just as importantly – to plan for the future.

Here at Sport England we are developing a report, which should be available by late summer, looking at the hazards caused to sport and physical activity by a changing climate.

But while there’s still work that needs to be done, it’s reassuring that people are considering climate change and that we’re are already taking action. 

This is only a first step because we know we need to understand how this will vary across the country, how it’ll affect different activities and – perhaps more importantly – how different people and communities will behave in more extreme weather conditions. 

The King's Baton Relay

I could see this when I visited Malmesbury Bowls Club earlier this month as part of the King’s Baton Relay, which sees delegates of the 74 competing nations and territories travel across their home lands before finishing at the host city of the Commonwealth Games, Glasgow. 

I was there with Sally-Ann Lewis-Wall, representing Team England in para-bowls at the Games, and with TV presenter Radzi Chinyanganya, to hear about the importance of sport at both elite and grassroots level being more sustainable and preparing for the future.

It was great seeing the work done, supported by our Movement Fund, to install an artificial green and then restore it when it was damaged by severe flooding last year.

The bowls club are working with others in the area to take a wider look at the flooding issue.

They have identified tree-planting and other nature-based solutions upstream to slow the flow of water to the town to enable play to continue, meaning that the members of the club will be able to keep enjoying the exercise and the good company. 

It is with thousands of these small actions across England and the Commonwealth that we can ensure we’ll all be able to keep enjoying sport and activity now and into the future.

Every little win against climate change counts and I, for one, will be watching the Games closely and listening out for other inspirational projects.

I co-founded Dementia Disco back in 2019 along with my brother Nick and our friend Phil as we all shared the heartbreak of watching family members live with this terrible condition. 

Mine and Nick’s dad was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s at just 66 and while local support groups used music, they often played songs from the 1940s and 50s that meant very little to a man born in 1950 and who grew up loving the 60s and 70s.

Meanwhile, Phil watched her independent, piano-playing gran quickly fade due to vascular dementia, realising that losing someone to this condition means losing them twice.

We wanted to give our community, of over 400 disco-goers, access to daily engagement while providing care homes with accessible, repeatable physical activity resources.  

This purpose lead us to asking ourselves a key question: how do we take that magical, weekly disco energy and turn it into a simple, life-changing daily habit?  

The hidden danger: tackling falls 

The answer became urgent when we looked at one of the most serious health risks facing people with dementia: falls.

Falls are the leading cause of emergency hospital admissions for older people, costing the NHS £2.3 billion annually, and they drastically accelerate the loss of independence.

Because of a fear of falling, many people with dementia become less active, but this only makes them weaker and more vulnerable.  

We wanted to break this cycle by embedding clinically-proven strength and balance exercises into joyful, familiar dance routines.  

Where science meets boogie

Thanks to the support from the Sport England Movement Fund, that dream is now a reality and we have teamed up with the brilliant Ailsa McPhee and her project, The Daily Dance, to co-create 240 brand-new dance videos over the next 12 months.  

The opportunity here is massive, because we’re not just making dance videos – we are transforming clinical therapy into a daily celebration.  

To ensure the highest physical impact, we have partnered with KOKU Health Ltd, a University of Manchester spinout.

Endorsed by Prof Emma Stanmore and Dr Jaheeda Gangannagaripalli, our routines seamlessly integrate the university's award-winning, evidence-based falls-prevention exercises, as decades of research prove these movements can reduce falls by up to 42%.

This all comes to life with Ailsa as she beautifully weaves these targeted balance and strength movements into high-energy, themed choreography sets to well-known songs.

Participants get the medical benefits of a specialised falls-prevention programme, but to them, it just feels like having a brilliant boogie.  

Turn on Dementia Disco TV 

This week is Dementia Action Week and while it's key to celebrate, we want to make daily physical activity achievable for everyone and everywhere, so all our 240 videos are being hosted directly on our brand-new digital hub, Dementia Disco TV.

Whether it’s a short warm-up before breakfast at home, a midday mood-booster with a family member, or a group session in a care home, these routines are free, evergreen, and designed to be easily woven into any daily schedule. 

Over the next year, we will be exploring different dance styles, seasonal themes (from summer holidays to Christmas), and fun costumes to keep our dancers inspired and connected all year round.  

We are incredibly grateful to Sport England and the National Lottery players for making this project possible, because combining emotional engagement with robust health science, we’re not just helping people stay active – we are giving them the confidence, strength and joy to live their lives to the fullest, one dance step at a time.  

If you’ve ever wondered whether a simple walk can really make a difference to someone’s life, the answer from our Somerset Health Walks community is a huge ‘yes’.

Over the past year, we’ve been gathering feedback from over 3,000 of our individual walkers and over 180 volunteers to better understand the impact that our Health Walks programme is having across Somerset.

But while the statistics are important, it’s the personal stories and comments that really bring everything to life – and honestly, they’ve been some incredibly moving tales to read.

One thing that shines through again and again is how welcoming and inclusive our walks feel.

Another lovely theme that emerged was people reconnecting with their local area.

Walkers told us they’d discovered footpaths, countryside routes and places they never knew existed.

Enjoying our local spaces

Others spoke about the joy of being outdoors in all seasons – being out in fresh air, nature, muddy boots and all – plus the recent study by Current Psychology confirms that walking in natural environments significantly improves mental wellbeing.

As always, we’ve also listened carefully to suggestions and feedback, and over the past year we’ve introduced more walks in different locations, added clearer meeting point information and improved details on our website to make walks easier to access.

Walking is a favourite activity for many people and why wouldn’t it be here in our beautiful county?

It’s important to us that Somerset Health Walks continues to grow and evolve with the needs of our community. That’s what working in Place is all about.

The investment from Sport England is important, but working in this way has only been made possible by our incredible volunteers and walk leaders.

The warmth, professionalism and care they bring every single week is what makes these walks so special.

And, of course, the walkers themselves. They are what make this community what it is and why we carry on working together in this way. See you on the next walk!

There are many ways in which people use digital on the journey to being active, but this can be challenging for those lacking access, skills or confidence to use online platforms.

Our new research explores these barriers and recommends actions for making sport and physical activity more digitally accessible.

But think about the last time you decided to try a new sport or activity.

The role of ‘digital’ in being active

Chances are you used the internet in one or more ways: to look for opportunities, to book and pay for a session, to plan travel to the venue, to participate in an online exercise session or to communicate with others about the activity.

‘Digital’ is now so entwined with the way we access and participate in physical activity that it’s hard to imagine being active without it.

In fact, in a recent Sport England Activity Check-in survey (Wave 19), 67% of respondents said they use digital tools to find out information about sport and physical activity.

At Good Things Foundation, we are committed to ensuring everyone can participate in our digital society, but there are still many people who face barriers to being online.

According to Lloyds' Essential Digital Skills 2025 report, around eight million people lack foundational-level digital skills in the UK, while data provided by Ofcom, the communications regulator in the UK, reveals that over a quarter of households struggled to afford mobile data and/or broadband in 2025.

Our 2025 desk research with Sport England showed that groups facing digital barriers also face inequalities in being active, so understanding how digital shapes participation is crucial to ensuring opportunities are inclusive and accessible for all.

Understanding digital barriers

We recently partnered again with Sport England to extend our research to better understand the experiences of people trying to be active when struggling with digital access and/or digital skills.

We also identified examples of good practice for reducing digital barriers from organisations supporting people with digital and physical activity.

Our research highlights four types of digital barriers that can make it difficult for people to be active:

• Access: not being able to afford mobile data, wifi connections and/or not having access to a suitable digital device.
• Skills and confidence: lacking skills to search for/or access information online and/or finding it hard to use different apps and platforms.
• Trust and safety: worrying about booking and paying online, and/or lacking trust in the reliability of information online.
• User experience: language and/or accessibility needs, which for many makes it harder to use online platforms, and/or poor user experience including a lack of relevant information on digital platforms.

Take Ewa, for example, who told us that she loves to be active but who, due to confidence and English language barriers, struggles to go online to find out information about suitable local opportunities.

She relies on support from a local community organisation and from her young son to help her access information and book sessions, such as at the local swimming pool because, as she shared: “If it is online, I have to ask someone to help me. I don’t feel confident doing this myself.”

Recommended steps

Our research also highlighted great examples of how organisations are taking steps to support digital inclusion in order to help people participate in sport and physical activity, with recommend actions such as:

• build understanding of digital barriers: embed simple questions on digital barriers, like the Indicators of Digital Inclusion, into customer or population surveys to understand needs and design sport and physical activity services accordingly
• provide or signpost to local, trusted support for digital help, like organisations in the National Digital Inclusion Network building digital access and skills among local communities
• make it easier for people to use online platforms: sport and physical activity platforms should be designed with the needs of people with low digital skills in mind. Besides, non-digital pathways for information (such as printed leaflets) and booking options should also be provided
• build partnerships for place-based support: as digital barriers are not limited to the sport and physical activity sector, collaboration across local systems like the health and social prescribing services or the voluntary, community and social enterprise sector can help build digital capability.

A call for a digitally inclusive sector

Digital should be an enabler – not a barrier – to being active, so by understanding and addressing digital barriers we can ensure that everyone has the same opportunities for participating in sport and physical activity.

While many people still struggle with digital access and skills, our new research shows that organisations across the sport and physical activity sector can take action to make their services more digitally accessible.

Sport England has a critical role in this space too and by continuing to raise awareness of digital exclusion across the sector, championing best practices and raising expectations for commissioning inclusive services, they can ensure digital inclusion is baked into all sport and physical activity from the beginning and not just as an afterthought.

We all know that regular movement is one of the most powerful ways to reduce the risk of major illness, improve mental health and help people live longer, healthier lives. 

But access to movement is not equal and those who could benefit most often face the greatest barriers, whether through low confidence, complex health needs or difficulty navigating what’s available locally. 

We also know that simply encouraging people to be more active or signposting them to activities rarely leads to lasting change. 

What’s needed instead is a support system that reflects the realities of people’s lives and this is where social prescribing comes in.  

From access to engagement

Social prescribing is a personalised, community-based approach to health that focuses on ‘what matters to you’ rather than ‘what’s the matter with you’, recognising that wellbeing is shaped by a range of social, economic and environmental factors, many of which are linked to wider social inequalities.

It often begins with a referral (whether from a GP, a community worker or even a self-referral), which connects the individual to a link worker or similar role.

Social prescribers spend time understanding a person’s circumstances, interests and motivations before supporting them to access community-based activities, resources and services that meet their needs.

So, unlike traditional signposting, social prescribing provides sustained, relational support that enables individuals to take greater control of their health over time.  

In England, there are now over 3,300 link workers and a strong body of evidence that demonstrates the positive impact of social prescribing on both health outcomes and, in turn, healthcare services.

Social prescribing is increasingly delivered across a range of settings, including primary care, secondary care and also within the community, supporting people at every stage of life.  

For the physical activity sector, social prescribing provides a vital mechanism to make movement a realistic, accessible and integrated part of people’s lives.  

Partnership, place and prevention

Sport England’s ongoing partnership with the National Academy for Social Prescribing (NASP) helps  
to enable this more connected, whole-system approach that strengthens the infrastructure, the relationships and the local capacity needed to connect people to movement through social prescribing. 

With Sport England’s support, NASP has built a strong evidence base for prescribing physical activity and has also developed guidance, campaigns and training for link workers to support movement-based referrals. 

We’ve also strengthened place-based community partnerships that are unlocking inclusive and innovative approaches to physical activity.

An example of this is Sunderland, where one social prescribing service has programmed silent discos for children with disabilities, dance for those at risk of falls and aerial workshops for older adults. These gave the opportunity to Marion, 95, of swinging from a silk hammock, laughing freely while suspended in the air for the very first time.  

Our most recent programme with Sport England, Movement Matters, aligns with their place-based investment approach.

The programme is designed to strengthen how physical activity is embedded within local social prescribing systems, supporting Active Partnerships to work more closely with primary care at a neighbourhood level in order to reach the communities most impacted by inactivity and health inequalities.  

The initial pilot in 2025 provided important foundations to strengthen relationships between sectors, support more strategic use of data and insights, and to build confidence among practitioners to position movement centrally within healthcare pathways.  

Building on this, we're preparing to launch a new phase of Movement Matters in April 2026 that will support Active Partnerships to translate insights into action, working with primary care to take a proactive social prescribing approach to health creation.

The new phase will also support wider primary care and community roles directly, providing resources, practical guidance and opportunities to share learning with the physical activity sector.   

This approach is a vital component of the vision for neighbourhood health, where prevention, community assets and personalised care play a central role in improving population health. 

This is reflected in Sport England’s recent blog for the Neighbourhood Health Implementation Programme.

This Social Prescribing Day, we recognise that creating active communities requires more than just provision.

It requires a way to connect people to movement that is shaped around their reality. 

When this happens, movement can become a routine part of health management, supporting people not only to stay well, but to live fully – with greater confidence, resilience and agency to take part in what matters the most. 

Want learn more about Social Prescribing? You can take NASPs free e-learning modules, including Social Prescribing Essentials, and Social Prescribing with Children and Young People.

Long before I worked in sport, or even imagined running a sports charity, I was a state-school kid in Windsor learning how to row and trying to help keep our school boat club afloat.

My first experience of The Boat Race wasn’t from a fan park or a television screen but from the riverbank, where I was selling programmes to passers-by to help raise funds for the club.

That day, and what I felt during that time, stuck with me.

From school talks and volunteering opportunities to co-designing the event’s branding, the build-up and their input to shaping the event mattered, as those moments helped young rowers feel ownership, pride and a real connection to The Boat Race week itself.

Seeing the idea become reality

By April 2025, standing on the sunny banks of the Thames at Fulham Reach Boat Club, it was clear the idea had taken on a life of its own and the event featured on the BBC with a peak audience of 2.8 million. We even made our own video on the events of the day, which we are very proud of.

Over 100 state-school students and volunteers gathered for the second Youth Boat Race.

Eight mixed crews from schools across London raced side by side on the same stretch of river used by the Oxford and Cambridge University rowers, with families lining the banks and local supporters cheering.

The atmosphere was joyful, loud and deeply proud, with participants describing it as an amazing experience filled with music and laughter that they would “100% like to do again”, and "a very fun and a unique experience" that people thoroughly enjoyed and that built new memories with friends.

Watching young athletes race along the Championship Course was genuinely moving.

Many of them had discovered rowing through state school and community programmes, and that gave me an added sense of pride.

Speeches from OCRF Trustee Erin Kennedy OBE and Mayor Patricia Quigley captured exactly what the day represented: teamwork, trust, confidence and being part of something bigger than ourselves.

From pilot event to national stage

But for me, what has been most exciting is witnessing just how quickly the Youth Boat Race has grown.

From a small pilot in 2024, to a significantly expanded second year, all supported by the generosity of OCRF, the event has already become a meaningful fixture of Boat Race week. And now to see it included in Channel 4’s coverage this Easter Weekend 2026 truly feels like a milestone.

That visibility matters as it sends a powerful message to young people watching at home that rowing is something they can be part of.

After the inaugural Youth Boat Race in 2024, Owen Slot, chief sports writer at The Times, summed this up perfectly when he said: “Only when sports can spread the word like this does elite funding at the Olympic end really make sense.”

For me, that captures the essence of the Youth Boat Race and is the link between grassroots opportunity and elite sport, showing how inspiration, access and participation can exist hand-in-hand with elite level racing.

Looking ahead

The Youth Boat Race is still young, but its purpose is clear and each year it grows, not just in numbers, but in confidence, quality and impact too.

What began as an idea is now an event that brings communities together and opens doors for young people across London.

It proves that success isn’t measured by winning, but by the friendships formed, the confidence built and the moment a young person realises they belong on the river.

And this Easter, with the Youth Boat Race shared with a national audience, many more young people might just see themselves there too.

The power of storytelling feeds through to our marketing efforts, with a social media influencer campaign and summer activation in development.

For it, we’ll be building on our previous successes with one in five people taking action having seen the campaign, 64% of people finding our advertising relatable and 66% agreeing that the campaign stands out from other advertising. Our insight hub offers more details about the response to the campaign.

And, while more details will come in due course, keep an eye out for a summer campaign and how you, and your networks, can get behind it.

Evaluating past efforts and looking ahead

While a lot of our lobbying and influencing work goes on behind the scenes, we’re particularly excited to kick start work on a follow up to our impactful Millions More Moving report from 2024 to see progress made against the policy shifts we set out to influence.

This time we’ll be going into it with greater depth on how and why to get millions more moving.

We’re also proud of our continued work on shaping the implementation of the 10 Year Health Plan, which will provide a focus for our lobbying and influencing work.

Our Lived Experience Insights Dashboard helps to inform our influencing work, so we’re delighted that this resource continues to be freely available for anyone who wants to access it as it now spans several years’ worth of data from 13,000 respondents with long-term conditions.

And finally (yep, there’s still more!), we’re heading into year two of having our very own app, which we’re about to get the first 12-month evaluation back from (thanks to GoodBoost and London Metropolitan University for working with us on that).

A sneak peek shows increases in physical activity for those engaging with the app and increases in personal motivation to be more active, which we’re thrilled to see.

With over 13,000 users registered already, this is a promising start to a fundamental part of the behaviour change journey for our audiences.

With such a busy year ahead there’s great cause for optimism that in 12 months' time we’ll have taken huge strides to achieving our goals within our role as a system partner and across our wider sector.