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Have you ever wondered what may help someone feel like they belong in sport? This may sound like a simple question, but the answer is often deeply personal.

For some, it's feeling welcome when they arrive; for others, it's seeing people who share similar experiences, cultures or backgrounds to them. And sometimes, it's simply knowing that a space was designed with them in mind.

The Asian Sports Foundation (ASF) recently announced a new partnership with parkrun UK, which is built around a shared commitment to better understanding the experiences of Asian communities and exploring how more people can feel connected to physical activity.

Starting with conversations

We know that sport and physical activity can have a powerful impact on our health, wellbeing and sense of community.

But Sport England's latest Active Lives Adult Survey highlights that participation levels among some South Asian communities remain lower than the national average, and that health inequalities continue to exist.

While data can help us understand trends, it does not always tell us why people choose not to participate, what challenges they experience, or what would encourage them to get involved.

That is why the focus of this partnership is not to assume solutions, but to listen.

Over the coming months, ASF and parkrun will work together to engage with people from Asian communities, gathering insights and lived experiences to better understand what helps people feel welcome, what barriers may exist, and what opportunities there are to create more inclusive environments.

The importance of belonging

Parkrun has become a familiar part of many communities across the UK.

Every Saturday morning, thousands of people come together to run, walk, volunteer and connect with others.

Yet experiences of physical activity can vary significantly from one person to another, as what feels accessible and welcoming for some may feel unfamiliar or intimidating for others.

Understanding those differences is essential if we want to create opportunities that genuinely work for everyone.

At ASF, we believe that increasing participation starts with understanding communities, not speaking on their behalf.

By putting ‘listening’ first, we can help ensure that future actions are informed by the people they are intended to support.

Silent Steppers is a joyful blend of walking, dancing and mindset coaching, all delivered outdoors through silent-disco headsets.

Picture a mixed group of around 50 people moving along seaside promenades, parks and coastal walkways – everyone listening to the same uplifting music while receiving real-time encouragement, positivity and coaching through their headphones.

It’s energetic, inclusive and completely different to traditional indoor exercise. And so much fun, too!

What began as a personal healing tool has evolved into a community movement that people across the UK now travel to to experience.

Often taking 10,000 steps in an hour or simply letting the music lift their mood, us Steppers leave the session feeling lighter, stronger and more connected to ourselves, and to each other.

How it all began

Silent Steppers actually started during one of the hardest chapters of my life. After suffering a trauma, I found myself walking outdoors to clear my mind.

On these walks, I’d listen to music and quickly realised how the world softened inside that musical bubble.

The lyrics felt more meaningful, my thoughts slowed down and, for a short time, I could switch off from everything I was carrying on my shoulders.
 

With a background as a qualified dance teacher, senior mental health lead and life coach among others, and with over 25 years teaching trauma-informed approaches, I invited a few colleagues to join me for a music-assisted walk.

I chose songs that helped me heal, put on the headset mic and coached them through the session.

The effect was instant. The energy was electric. Silent Steppers was born! 

A community that keeps growing

Fast forward under a year and Silent Steppers now has hundreds of participants every week that include children, right through to our oldest Stepper aged 83.

We train in all weather – rain, wind, sun and/or coastal gales – and the tougher the conditions, the more bonded the group becomes.

Alongside our main sessions, we now run Steady Steppers, a slower-paced, mobility-friendly version designed for those with disabilities, injuries, chronic conditions or lower fitness levels.

These sessions offer the same music, the same mindset coaching and the same sense of achievement, just at a pace that feels safe and accessible for everyone involved.

The physical and mental impact across both groups has been extraordinary and participants have reported improvements of different kinds like weight loss, better fitness levels, plus better balance, coordination and confidence.

Others have mentioned being able to return to exercise after cancer treatment or joint replacements, a reduced reliance on mental health medication (always under GP guidance), stronger mobility and the ability to jog for the first time in years, and, overall, significant improvements in mood, stress levels and wellbeing.

And if all of that wasn’t enough, overwhelmingly, people describe Silent Steppers as their escape – an hour where they can lose themselves, breathe differently and feel part of something special.

The outdoors connection

Taking Silent Steppers into outdoor public spaces has created something truly magical.

We dance-walk along promenades, move through parks, train beside the sea and often stop people in their tracks who just smile when they see us.

Week after week, members of the public pause to watch us, cheer us on, take photos or even start dancing as we pass. People tell us we’ve made their day, how amazing we look or how we lift their mood. 

Many now recognise us and come back each week just to see us in action because our group's energy is infectious.

These interactions have become part of the heartbeat of Silent Steppers, and proof that movement and joy ripple far beyond the people wearing the headsets.

Challenges and what we’ve learned

I must admit, however, that with popularity comes challenges.

We only have 60 headsets, which means waiting lists of 25+ people are becoming common.

I’m also frequently asked to run sessions across the UK – and even internationally – but with existing commitments, it simply isn’t possible.

However, I’ve now excitedly trademarked licensing training that'll launch in the new year, which will create opportunities for Silent Steppers leaders in towns and cities nationwide.

There are other key lessons we’ve also learned:

• When exercise is fun, people stick to it – many of our steppers are a year in and saying it’s the only thing they’ve ever stuck too.
• Authenticity matters, as people connect with honesty and real stories.
• Listening to the community and adapting accordingly is essential.
• Music profoundly changes the movement experience.
• Mindset coaching and Natural Language Processing (NLP) techniques amplify the emotional impact.

The future of Silent Steppers

The combination of music, scenery, encouragement and community creates an empowering, accessible and inclusive atmosphere that translates into a wellbeing experience unlike any other.

It fills me with pride that what started as a personal coping mechanism has now grown into a nationwide wellbeing model, supporting hundreds every week.

I also love that Silent Steppers is reshaping how people view exercise, mental health and community connection.

Silent Steppers is proving that exercise can be enjoyable at any age and ability. One dance step at a time.

National Fitness Day is a wonderful celebration of the joy of movement, but also a rallying call – a reminder that if more people, from every walk of life, are moving more often, the benefits ripple far beyond the individual.  

Sport England’s central mission is for everyone to enjoy the life-changing benefits of sport and physical activity.

And those benefits are profound; being active prevents 1.3 million cases of depression, 900,000 cases of back pain, 600,000 cases of type 2 diabetes, 150,000 cases of coronary heart disease and 100,000 strokes each year.

Active lives boost the economy too, saving £10.5bn a year in health and care costs and reducing pressure on our overburdened NHS. 

But behind the numbers are real people. Active children are happier, more confident, and perform better academically.

Active adults take 27% fewer sick days, leading healthier, more productive lives.

For those living with mental health conditions, the impact of exercise is especially striking: ukactive’s new Mental Health in Motion report shows that 72% say being active helps them stay in work and avoid sickness absence. 

Yet we still face an inactivity crisis.

A quarter of the population in England does fewer than 30 minutes of physical activity a week.
 

The evidence above demonstrates that is not just a health issue – it’s a social and economic one as well.

With 2.5 million people out of work due to poor health, the cost to the UK economy is over £100 billion a year. So, the challenge is huge – but so is the opportunity. 

National Fitness Day is about meeting that challenge head-on, by showing people that being active can fit into their lives, whatever their age, background or ability.

From spin classes to swimming, from walking football to yoga, there’s something for everyone.  

It’s also a chance to celebrate the people who make these experiences possible: the instructors, coaches, lifeguards, volunteers and staff who open the doors of their facilities to millions every week.

In 2024 alone, there were over 600 million visits to gyms, pools and fitness clubs across the UK – and a record 11.5 million people are now members.  

At Sport England, we’re proud to back National Fitness Day.

Through our strategy Uniting the Movement, we’re working with more than 150 partners to break down barriers, close the inequality gap in activity (worth £15.6 billion a year to the economy on its own if it can be addressed), and target investment where it can have the greatest impact. 

That means supporting grassroots facilities; putting movement at the heart of every school day, because habits built in childhood last a lifetime; and embedding physical activity across government policy – from prevention-first healthcare to workplace wellbeing. 

And crucially, it means ensuring that the fitness and leisure sector – the backbone of National Fitness Day – continues to thrive.

We know the pressures the sector faces but we also know the immense value it creates, and therefore Sport England will continue to work with ukactive and its members to ensure that gyms, pools, clubs and community fitness spaces remain central to the nation’s health and wellbeing. 

These facilities are lifelines for our communities, facilitating social connection and bringing people together to boost their physical and mental health 

As I’ve stepped into this role, what has struck me perhaps more than anything else is that none of what we do is achieved by one organisation alone.

National Fitness Day shows what’s possible when we come together as a movement, powered by the organisations and people who believe in the vision of a healthier and happier life for all – regardless of background, bank balance or postcode.  

So, whether you’re hosting a free gym class, joining a taster session, having a dip at the pool, cheering on your child at their dance class, or simply going for a walk – you are part of something bigger.

You are helping to build a healthier, happier, more resilient nation. 
 

For more than 10 years, I’ve had the privilege of being part of a partnership between Sport England and the National Trust that’s been quietly but powerfully changing lives.

This is more than just getting people outdoors – it’s about creating real, lasting opportunities for everyone, especially those who need it most, to connect with nature and feel the benefits of being active in green and blue spaces.

Being outdoors and connected to nature has demonstrable health and wellbeing benefits.

Studies have shown impact such as lowering stress levels and reducing cortisol and inflammation, which are increasingly seen as factors in depression, autoimmune diseases and cancer.

Our work at the National Trust is shifting towards a more ‘place-based’ approach, but what exactly do we mean by that?

Rather than parachuting in with one-size-fits-all solutions, we’re considering what’s already happening in local communities, at National Trust properties and on their land, and finding ways to make those spaces more accessible, more welcoming and more connected to the people who live nearby.
 

Whilst we consider how to be more locally responsive, we continue to work at a national scale on initiatives such as improving navigational and orientation signage to ensure paths are easy to find and follow, and refining path-grading methodologies to better reflect the diversity of users.

This work focuses on describing the path itself rather than the person using it and it goes in line with the Equality, Diversity & Inclusion (EDI) principles and the Equality Act.

What I love about our work is that it’s about making meaningful connections between the land and the community.

It’s not just about trails or facilities – it’s about creating safe, natural, traffic-free environments where people can walk, cycle, run, paddle or simply be.

I’ve seen firsthand how many barriers can stand in the way of people accessing the outdoors.

Things like fear of getting lost, finding themselves in unfamiliar terrain, safety concerns, challenges around travelling to our places or just not knowing where to start.

We’ve worked hard to design experiences that support people who are new to the outdoors and it’s making a real difference.

For that we’ve been able to capitalise on the strength of the National Trust brand.

Our properties are trusted spaces, with essential facilities like cafés and toilets, which makes them perfect for families, groups or individuals who might be taking their first steps into nature.

The multi-use trails that have been developed are a great example. They’re accessible, enjoyable and range from three to 5km, which makes them ideal for walking, wheeling, running or cycling.

And the impact has been incredible!

We’ve seen a 23% rise in visits from people of ethnic backgrounds, which indicates we’re reaching new audiences and helping more people feel like they belong in these spaces.

This is fantastic news since we strive to improve the experience for communities that often find barriers to exploring the great outdoors.

I’ve also been inspired by the way this work helps those who may need deeper support.

Whether it’s supported paddling sessions, inclusive activities for families with SEN, or community-led cycling groups like the Muslim Cycle Sisters at Osterley, there’s a real commitment to inclusion.

And it’s not just about participation but about representation, too.

The Trust is working with partners to tackle underrepresentation in the outdoor workforce, for example through our walking leaders programme, which is such an important step toward long-term change.

Nature restoration and biodiversity play a big part in our work.

Our infrastructure developments are designed to improve visitor experience and get people active whilst protecting some of the most sensitive nature areas.

We are strengthening our knowledge and skills in designing experiences that deliver real, meaningful and lasting nature connection to inspire more people to care for nature and their local environment.

Looking ahead

As I reflect on the past decade, I feel proud of what we’ve achieved and even more hopeful about what’s to come.

Our partnership with Sport England shows that when we focus on people, place and purpose, we can create spaces that are not only beautiful, but truly inclusive and life-enhancing.

And that’s something worth building on.

There has never been more opportunity for young people with a disability to access and thrive in cricket.

In my short time as Chair of Lord’s Taverners, I’ve been privileged to witness the transformative power of our disability cricket programmes, not just for the young people who take part, but for their families, schools, and communities.

These experiences aren’t just inspirational, they are life-changing.

The need for our work has never been greater. That’s why I’m proud to be leading an organisation committed to making cricket the UK’s most inclusive team sport. And few moments capture that ambition more powerfully than the recent Disability Cricket Day at Lord’s.

The event closed with history being made: the first ever international disability cricket fixture played on the main ground at Lord’s, a mixed-disability T20 between England and India. It was a moment that united grassroots passion with elite aspiration, showing every young person in attendance what’s possible.

This remarkable alignment – national youth competition and elite international showcase, side-by-side – is a beacon for what sport can be when inclusion is placed at its heart. It’s a demonstration of the pathway that exists and is strengthening year-on-year for cricketers with a disability, and a reminder of the importance of representation. Because when young people see others like themselves competing at the highest level, they begin to believe: this is for me, too.

The success of the day was only possible because of the strong partnership between the ECB, MCC, and the Lord’s Taverners – a spirit that reflects Sport England’s Uniting the Movement strategy. Together, we’re not only creating unforgettable moments; we’re laying the foundations for long-term change.

Cricket – like all sport – holds the power to change lives. But that power is only realised when it’s accessible to all. Too many young people with a disability still face barriers: lack of opportunities, inaccessible environments, or simply not seeing themselves reflected on the field. The message they hear can all too often be: this isn’t for you.

At the Lord’s Taverners, we are here to change that.

And thanks to events like Disability Cricket Day – and the partnerships that make them possible – we’re showing that our sport can lead the way in making inclusion not just a principle, but a reality.
 

It’s been just over a month since the 10 Year Health Plan was published – a key milestone in the government’s commitment to create an NHS fit for the future.  

It’s taken me time to navigate the headline ambitions, shifts in language, structural implications and, critically, what this all means for physical activity. There are 160 pages to get through, after all… 

There’s lots to unpick and this post from the Medical Consulting Group includes a visual that usefully summarises the key points.

For patients, it’s a positive and empowering tone, underpinned by a digital revolution and receiving care closer to home.  

With Neighbourhood Health a cornerstone of the Plan and elected mayors playing a greater role in prevention, combined with Local Government Reorganisation and Devolution, this all presents big opportunities to align with Sport England’s investment into communities that need it most.
 

Since publication, much commentary has reflected that the Plan could have gone further in utilising physical activity’s preventative powers.

It’s true: the evidence and opportunity for impact at scale are significant. I have two glass-half-full thoughts on this:

1. This Plan feels like it goes further on physical activity than any previous national NHS/health strategy. Whilst we can go (much) further, this is progress to build upon.
    
2. Rather than considering ‘potential’ purely through physical activity’s reference, there are numerous levers throughout the Plan to capitalise upon. We’ve learned that framing physical activity’s role in supporting wider, shared outcomes is key – whether that be tackling health inequalities, preventing and managing multi-morbidity, falls/frailty or social isolation… the list goes on.
    

At the heart of our campaign are our women, and our mission is to tackle the gender activity gap by getting more women and girls moving in ways that work for them.

In order to achieve this, it’s key to listen to all women and girls, keeping their views and needs as our North Star.

It’s this insight that tells us about the range of barriers that many women face to being active.

The power of working together

Women from underrepresented communities face a disproportionate number of obstacles because they can experience systemic, social, structural, cultural and financial inequalities – barriers that cannot simply be overcome through personal motivation alone.

So the next phase of This Girl Can is unapologetically focused on tackling inequalities and supporting women from underrepresented backgrounds to get active and to achieve this, we know a collective effort is essential.

We want to work in a truly collaborative way to make sure we’re developing inclusive, representative work and that we’re continually learning from the many different organisations who are already embedded in reducing inequalities.

We only get one childhood and there was a time when being a child meant playing out, spending time with friends in person, exploring, joining teams, falling out, making up and everything in between.

Sadly, this is not the case for most young people nowadays, but why?

On the one hand, our research indicates that at least one in four young people feel they don’t ‘belong’ at school.

And Sport England's latest Active Lives Children and Young People report tells us that almost 50% of young people are not meeting the Chief Medical Officers' guidelines of having 60 minutes of physical activity a day, and that young people are spending more time interacting with screens than with their peers.

People here are used to being told what’s wrong but through hope, community spirit and ambition we wanted to focus on ‘what’s strong; not what’s wrong’, using a place-making approach.

Note we talk about an ‘approach’ rather than a ‘plan’ and this is because we’re following a set of principles, instead of rules.

Joining the dots

Place-making is a fluid and dynamic way of working that’s context-focussed, rather than project-focussed.

We wanted to put schools back at the heart of these communities for them to act as catalysts for social change.

However we had also heard stories of persistent absenteeism among students and of the struggle to recruit and retain teachers.

There were also descriptions of pupils' bad behaviour and lack self-regulation, which in many occasions resulted in a lack of aspiration and a rise in apathy.

That all needed to change, so for over 18 months we worked in these places, spent time there, built relationships, listened, learnt and tried to put wind in the sails of the educators and people who know these places better than anyone.

We wanted to listen to the people living, working and playing in these places, but with a listen-to-understand rather than a listen-to-respond attitude, and in order to achieve that we created a new role in schools: the place-maker.

Place-makers are members of staff that live in the community (or have strong connections to it) and who can help activate young people’s talents.

This small group of changemakers have been incredibly effective at joining the dots with local stakeholders including youth services, policing, transport, health and housing.

And there’s more!

We’ve also created the 'Communities of Place’, a series of safe and brave spaces where people are encouraged to raise important issues and work out solutions together.

The importance of trust

In Perry Barr, for instance, girls were not accessing opportunities at the same rate as boys, so the school made a connection to Saathi House, which is a vibrant local community hub specifically designed for women and girls.

Together, they listened to understand the community needs and, as a result, enabled an NFL Flag Football project to provide a safe, diverse and inclusive space for young girls to learn, play and grow together that was managed by a group of female mentors promoting physical fitness, teamwork, confidence and leadership.

Through our approach to Youth Voice, we've also discovered an appetite for Youth Leadership, so the schools invited students to apply to become a young place-maker.

They received 109 applications and there are now 35 young place-makers in Tower Hamlets and The Prescot School, proving the desire for young people to be the change they want to see in their community.

Our place-based work is built on shared values and purpose, because we:

• spend time with people in their places
• build reciprocal relationships and see what we can give rather than extract
• understand by truly listening
• focus on strengths rather than deficits or weaknesses
• are transparent and have tough conversations.

If you take the first letter of these values, you get the most important component of what we do: trust.

Trust is fundamental to us because we’ve learned that progress travels at the speed of trust and that trust is also the hardest thing to earn and the easiest to lose.

And while we are also aware that we don’t have all the answers, we believe that the people in these places do and that part of our collective role is help them to unlock them.

The answer to the riddle in the title is easy – sport and physical activity.

At Sport England we’re always talking about the benefits of being active, but for nerds like me, the past few months have provided a particular treasure trove of data about the social and economic value of sport and physical activity.

And then on 1 October 2024, DCMS published a new Sport Satellite Account for the UK.

The positive ripple effect of being active

This revealed that during 2021, the combined economic impact of sport (direct and supply chain – including the production of sports equipment and apparel, the construction and maintenance of sports facilities or their marketing services) was equivalent to £83.1 billion, or 4.1% of the UK’s productivity (gross value added).

The document also showed that every £1 invested in sport generates £1.55 as gross value added in the economy.

A few weeks later we published the results of our new research on the social value of community sport and physical activity, revealing that in 2022/23 the social value of sport and physical activity in England was £107.2b.

This value consists of the individual wellbeing benefits of sport and physical activity (both participation and volunteering) and the wider health benefits of a more active population.

However, the report also highlighted the £15.6b of social value that we are missing out on due to inequality in sport and physical activity, and how the value of being physically active is greater for some of those who are least likely to be active, like adults with a disability or living with a long-term health condition.

The first time the importance of spatial planning in creating population-level increases in physical activity was articulated was through the You’ve Got This (YGT) programme – the Sport England-funded Place Partnership in South Tees.

Sport England has worked on different approaches to capacity and hosting when taking a place-based, whole-systems perspective to work and I'm happy to have contributed to the latest set of resources published by the organisation.

YGT adopted the socio-ecological approach to systemic change, where policy and the physical environment appear as key components of the wider determinants of health. 

These aspects are recognised as carrying a high weighting in this framework – difficult to influence but once achieved, the changes are highly impactful over the medium and long-term.

The need for cooperation and understanding

These considerations resulted in the creation of my role.

My post looks at improving collaboration between public health, transport planning, and planning departments across South Tees to promote health, well-being, and physical activity through the Local Plan, the wider policy framework, and innovative new programmes.

My job looks at improving the collaboration between public health, transport planning and planning departments across South Tees to promote physical activity through the Local Plan and the wider policy framework for local healthcare services in a number of community wards and venues across Middlesbrough, Redcar and Cleveland, and Hambleton and Richmondshire.

Previous attempts to enhance collaboration across South Tees had faltered due to time constraints and heavy workloads.

Recognising this, YGT facilitated initial meetings where urban planners, transport planners and public health practitioners could gather away from the office environment.

This process revealed issues such as a limited understanding of each other's roles and decision-making processes, alongside a shared commitment to creating healthier environments and a strong desire to collaborate.

Over the course of a year, three additional workshop sessions were convened to further explore these issues.

Simultaneously, through Sport England's partnership with the Town and Country Planning Association (TCPA), YGT established a new relationship with one of their experts, Gemma Hyde, who played a pivotal role in charting a path forward.

The culmination of these efforts brought together senior planners, transport planners and public health practitioners supported by Sport England, the TCPA and The Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI).

Despite initial slow progress, participants valued the time for reflection and identified key issues like capacity and staff training.

Collectively, it was agreed that there were specific challenges related to coordinating the work and addressing the need for knowledge and training among staff and elected members.

To support the process, YGT agreed to fund a position initially for a period of two years and that this role would encompass the whole of South Tees, with Middlesbrough Council (MC) serving as the employer.

This is where I join the story.

Reflecting on progress to date

My background as a behavioural scientist and public health spatial planner definitely came together on this project, as behavioural science studies the patterns, motivations, and factors that influence human behaviour across different contexts, using scientific methods to understand why people make the decisions they do and how behaviour can be modified or improved at individual and societal levels.

Our boroughs, MC and Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council (RCBC) are currently at different stages of the Local Plan cycle.

In the emerging Local Plan for MC, I contributed to the Health and Wellbeing Policy and successfully secured an agreement to require Health Impact Assessments (HIAs) for all residential developments that exceed 100 dwellings.

I also devised an additional HIA screening process based on health and open-space ­deprivation on a ward-by-ward basis to be conducted for all major development across town.

There was also the completion of a Health in All Policies (HiAP) assessment of the emerging plan (Regulation 18).

Productive discussions with colleagues in RCBC have centred on the potential for a similar approach in the future review of the Local Plan.

I've also facilitated, with colleagues across public health and spatial planning and other stakeholders, the creation of MC’s first HIA toolkit, which has physical activity at its heart and taking as our primary model the well-respected HIA materials created by John Wilcox and colleagues at Wakefield City Council.

Public Health South Tees recently completed our Joint Strategic Needs Assessments (JSNAs), to which I also contributed, ensuring that the JSNA is integrated into MC's emerging local plan for health and wellbeing policy.

Once adopted in late 2025 or early 2026, this will provide developers with clear baseline information about our communities and our priority goals for health and wellbeing across the borough.

Looking ahead

The foundational changes we're beginning to implement in South Tees represent a significant shift in how we integrate public health, planning and transport policies to promote physical activity and wellbeing.

However, we face significant challenges ahead.

We'll need to secure sustained funding beyond the post's initial two-year period, maintain momentum across different planning cycles between our boroughs and ensure consistent implementation of our new policies.

Looking to the future, our next steps of sharing best practices through Sport England's expansion process and deepening collaboration with the Tees Valley Combined Authority are crucial for scaling our innovations.

If we succeed, we could contribute to a new standard for how local authorities approach integrated planning for health and physical activity, potentially influencing national strategy and contributing to more active, healthier communities across England.

Our male weight loss programme celebrated its 10th birthday in 2024 – a key milestone in its support of men up and down the UK and beyond!

MAN v FAT currently has over 8,500 men of all ages participating in its more than 150 owned club locations in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland and has seen its members lose more than 750,000 lbs of weight combined.

This year the organisation started supporting those interested in rugby with MAN v FAT Rugby and football with MAN v FAT Football, and there’ll also be new 'MAN v FAT sports' in the coming years.

In February 2024, Move Consulting teamed up with the Active Partnership National Organisation (APNO) to lead an exciting project funded by Sport England to develop national guidance for creating physical activity for health pathways.

But what exactly is a Physical Activity for Health Pathway?

The term 'pathway' highlights how local organisations connect, using their resources to support the community.

Our goal is to figure out how to enhance collaboration between the health and physical activity sectors ensuring that everyone can access the support they need to be more active in ways that suit them.

Meeting needs through collaboration

We know that one in four people in the UK are living with one or more long-term health conditions, and that this audience is twice as likely to be inactive compared to those in good health.

This is why it’s important to provide clear and accessible support to ensure that those who may benefit the most from engaging with activity are able to do so in a way that works for them.

We also recognise the influence health and care professionals can have on this audience, because studies show that one in four patients would be more likely to be active if their GP or nurse encouraged them.

This highlights the need to empower health professionals and others to guide people on physical activity options and to signpost them to opportunities or to make referrals where appropriate.

From our discussions with the health sector, we’ve noticed inconsistent engagement with physical activity as a solution.

Common challenges include a lack of awareness of local offerings, limited referral options and capacity issues within existing services.

As highlighted in the Easier to be Active resource developed by Sheffield Hallam University in partnership with Sport England, there is a need to support better collaboration between the health and physical activity sectors.

The development of physical activity for health pathways can form part of the solution. 

From consistent approaches and raising awareness to increased systematic change achieved through greater collaboration in service provision, we can unlock valuable resources in our communities and better meet the needs of those living with, or at risk of, long-term health conditions.

A broader approach

Throughout our work to date, there have been calls for innovation and flexibility in how the system operates and while there are pockets of innovation across the country, it’s essential that we expand the offer and our approaches. 

Take Exercise on Referral – this long-standing model connects people with qualified fitness professionals, typically in a gym setting.

While it can be effective, it doesn’t really work for everyone, so we need to consider whether we’ve fallen into a one-size-fits-all approach or what nuances to the model are being made, if any.

The conversation around 'risks' and physical activity has also evolved significantly over the past year.

The 2021 Consensus Statement still resonates, emphasising that the benefits outweigh the risks when it comes to being active with a long-term health condition.

Ongoing work from the Faculty for Sport and Exercise Medicine (FSEM) is helping reshape how we view risk, encouraging a model of medical guidance to complement an emphasis on patient-centred care, rather than medical clearance.

In other words, we want to empower people to make informed choices about being active.

Consistency is key

We’ve known for years that physical activity is beneficial for people’s physical and mental wellbeing, yet we’re still not harnessing its full potential.

To create effective pathways, we need more consistency in how they’re designed and we’re curious to identify common considerations being implemented across the board.

One area that often lacks consistency is behavioural change support.

Many view this as a simple step from inactivity to activity but it actually involves navigating a complex array of behaviours.

We need to support individuals as they incorporate activity into their lives in ways that feel right for them and this is more than just adding programmes.

It’s about meaningful engagement and shaping solutions with people, not for them.

Shaping the future together – get involved

Collaboration and co-design are at the heart of our approach.

We’re partnering with stakeholders like NHS Horizons, the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID) and the Chartered Institute for the Management of Sport and Physical Activity (CIMSPA).

Our community of practice groups consist of 39 organisations, bringing together voices from the Active Partnership network and other sectors.

We’re also reaching out through sector-wide surveys to gather insights and share best practices.

Our current Pathways Perspectives survey focuses on behavioural change support and is open until the end of November 2024.

We’d love your input, so please complete the survey and share your experiences.

Stay informed

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They say time flies and while this is a cliché, it is one that’s undeniably true. 

It’s certainly the case when it comes to our Place Partnerships, because as we celebrate a year since we kickstarted our Place Expansion, a lot has happened!

Back in November 2023, our Place Expansion programme committed to investing £250 million of National Lottery and Exchequer funding into local communities across England in the following five years, to ensure those in greatest need were able to get active.

We've had a busy and positive year

In the past 12 months, and through this first phase of this Place Expansion, we’ve invested in 53 new places across England, partnering with 27 Active Partnerships and the dedicated organisations they work alongside.

From Swindon to Stoke-on-Trent, Blackpool to Brent and Walsall to West Norfolk, we’ve been partnering with key stakeholders in each of these places to establish what the local ambition and approach will be.

Our support will ensure all places across England will gain access to the tools, resources, learnings and capabilities to help them work more collaboratively and achieve the systemic change that is needed at a local level to address the barriers to getting people active. 

By galvanising the system in this way, we know we can bring about lasting and sustainable change to every part of the country.

Working together for local change

Since launching our place-based expansion last November, we’ve invested nearly £20m to help each of our place partners develop their individual approach.

This way of working – ground up and rooted in the needs of local communities – is contributing towards achieving a positive impact that we have not seen previously. 

We’ve seen that baking in physical activity into local, long-term strategic and policy commitments is a key solution to driving change within wider outcomes such as health, environmental sustainability and community cohesion.

Take Exeter as an example.

They have embedded our Active Design principles into their Liveable Exeter strategy –  a 20-year housing plan – by which they will build 12,000 homes where giving people chances of being physically active are at the front and centre of those developments.

We’re also seeing greater connection and collaboration amongst partners within a place than we’ve ever seen before.

At the end of September, the Greater Manchester Memorandum of Understanding brought together the combined authority, integrated care partnership, the transport, voluntary and community sectors, leisure providers, the GM Moving Active Partnership and Sport England. 

Through this collaboration, we will see resources aligned to support the integration of physical activity and sport at the highest decision-making levels in the city and region. 

And within these communities, we are seeing that this work is contributing towards positive signs of inequalities reducing and the inactivity gap closing. 

The contribution of the work and the focus of partners in Greater Manchester has seen year-on-year reductions of inactivity levels in children and young people and, for the first time, this is lower than the national average.

Meanwhile, in Pennine Lancashire, direct engagement and collaboration with the Muslim community has seen over 5,000 young people increase their daily activity levels through the Active Madrassahs programme.

More positive change to come

Impact like this is being felt up and down the country and this work really does speak for itself with a robust message: together we are stronger. 

Our Place Partnerships will see us work in every corner of the country, partnering with organisations in areas that face the biggest barriers to a more active life. 

Together we will create lasting change within the communities that need it most to ensure that more people can live active and healthier lives for longer.

So, looking forward to reaching new places in the next year and to keep celebrating across the country.
 

Reclaiming narratives – this year's theme for Black History Month – is important to us because it aligns with The Selby Trust's mission of working with and empowering communities who are often marginalised in society.

This helps in fostering appropriate representation, challenging stereotypes, building solidarity and advocating for systemic change, as well as cultural preservation.

The Selby Trust continues to play a significant role in supporting the BAME (Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic) community through various initiatives, both locally and across London, so as well as reclaiming our past, we can strengthen our present so that the community can look forward to a promising future.

One culture, many communities

Located in Tottenham and within walking distance to over 78,000 people, the trust was formed in the 1990s at the Selby Centre, a former secondary school, by the late Bernie Grant MP – best known as the first Black British MP.

He was elected in 1987 and created The Selby Trust to support the local community.

As our strapline of ‘’One culture, many communities’’ suggests, we’re continuing to support those most in need locally through the activities and outreach provision in place.

We are there for our community by continually advocating for the needs and rights of BAME individuals, by helping to amplify their voices and by ensuring they are represented in decision-making processes.
 

The large majority of staff, as well as other organisations and groups using our premises, are from the local area as community is at the forefront of what we do.

We provide various services and facilities to support local residents and organisations.

This often includes spaces for community events, activities and meetings, as well as resources for education, employment support and social services.

These centres typically play a vital role in fostering community engagement and development by supporting cultural activities and events that celebrate the heritage of BAME communities, fostering pride and a sense of belonging, which is key to the Selby Trust.

We also run free activities in our local area. These include dance sessions for the elderly, fun day activities and events, plus training sessions on job interviews and finance wellbeing to students from the local sixth form college.

But there's more!

Working together for local enhancement  

We also operate the Selby Food Hub, a programme that was established at the start of the pandemic and that currently helps 150 families by providing access to food packs and essential items on a weekly basis.

Our Global Garden hosts fruits and vegetables from across the world, providing healthy food for those attending our food bank, as well as access to a unique open space at the heart of our community.

Now named Selby Ventures, our business-to-business support programme, we help local small and medium-sized organisations and start ups with free workshops and tailored business support, aiding and fostering growth in partnership with Kingston University.

Support has ranged from marketing and Search Engine Optimisation help, access to grants and bid writing, and a second phase will be kickstarting this autumn.

We facilitate connections between individuals and local grassroots organisations, creating pathways for collaboration and support within the community.

We also offer educational programmes and training opportunities that equip individuals with skills for employment, enhancing their economic prospects, like CV-writing workshops, and this autumn we’re offering free IT training to locals who may need to improve their digital skills most.

This will be an opportunity to help users with basics skills like learning how to use their IT devices to boost employability prospects and to access digital resources to tackle the levels of digital poverty in the immediate community.

Initiatives focused on health awareness and mental wellbeing address specific challenges faced by the BAME community.

Since 2021, we’ve been continuing to run regular and free holiday programmes for local children aged five to 16 through Selby Active.

Through both sport and enrichment provision, we’ve delivered activity to 900+ unique participants with free access to activities that would, otherwise, not be available for local young people. 

And we’re also working in partnership with the NHS to deliver blood transfusion and liver screening sessions on-site and with Endometriosis UK to raise awareness among the community of endometriosis.

It’s an exciting time for us as we press ahead with plans for the Selby Urban Village, a new centre, council housing and spaces for businesses to thrive, plus improved community facilities and leisure space for local people to enjoy.

This will continue to be a place for the community, by the community.
 

“It’s like the Olympics but even better” said my 10-year-old, as I watched him and his younger sister glued to the T54 marathon on the TV, not long after I had returned from four days in Paris.

They had fully engaged with the Paris 2024 Paralympics from the get-go and not just because it was constantly on our TV in the lounge.

They were not afraid to ask the usual questions about the sports, the athletes and the countries represented, but I also heard (and welcomed) the inquisitive questions around inclusion, adaptations and the different equipment used, and I was embracing the teachable moments with them!

A true game-changer

I echoed their excitement as my short visit to the Paralympic Games in Paris was nothing short of incredible.

The energy, determination and strength that radiated from the athletes made it clear that the Paralympic Games are more than just a showcase of sporting excellence.

They represent the culmination of years of effort, dedication and commitment to their sport.

At the events I went to, the majority-French spectators were generous with their support – even if it wasn’t for their team.

The venues had been dressed for the occasion and tried hard to be as accessible as they could be for both participants and spectators.
 

But what about the public transport? Well, the organisers recognised they couldn’t do much about their old and dense Metro system and the city's sometimes inaccessible street layout, but they focused on what they could change.

So they created more accessible bus routes, shuttle buses and accessible taxis that together with a relatively accessible public transport app, aimed to cater for the 350,000 disabled visitors.

The system was by no means perfect, but it showed progress nonetheless.

During my time there I was lucky enough to see wheelchair basketball, athletics, boccia, para table tennis and goalball.

In each sport the skill level was high, the playing quality was outstanding and I saw records broken. I felt incredibly grateful to be there!

Because in what any other four days can anyone ever see that much live sport and at that level? 

The ParalympicsGB team delivered outstanding results and thrived in a full (and loud!) stadium and, for the third consecutive Games, they were second in the medal table.

And even if you couldn’t attend in person, you could follow the action on Channel 4, from where 20 million people watched, achieving the biggest audience share in 12 years for the channel.

Paris’ were also the most accessible Games ever, as 91% of the presenting and commenting team were disabled – 30% of crew in total.

There were also repeated adverts for Every Body Moves – the inclusive sport and physical activity finder.  

All these elements have truly set the bar for future Games high. Very high.

The main purpose of my visit to Paris was to attend the Championing Change reception with ParalympicsGB.

This was the launch of their new social impact strategy together with the launch of Equal Play –  their campaign and policy paper to garner a commitment to ensuring every child has the same access to PE and sport at school.

The Equal Play campaign’s goal is to ensure that no child is left on the sidelines, as just one in four disabled children say they take part regularly in sport at school.

There are 1.5 million disabled children – 15% of the school population – and so the figures of those who do not participate are stark, but the documentary that goes with it has been brilliantly done.

Present at the event were multiple stakeholders from across the sector, which included a notable visit from UK’s Government Minister of State for Culture, Media and Sport, Lisa Nandy.

She echoed the call to support the human rights of disabled children to play sport, as part of a bold new ambition to raise the healthiest generation of children in our history.

Gathering momentum afterwards, there has now been an open letter sent to Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer about Equal Play from ParalympicsGB that has gained significant traction across the sector and on social media, as well as from the athletes themselves.

So much more to come

However, despite all the progress we have seen there is still so much to be done to challenge the many inequalities faced by disabled people in sport and physical activity.

Our Active Lives surveys constantly tells us that disabled people are still twice as likely to be physically inactive.

And of course not every disabled person can or wants to become a Paralympian and it is true that elite sport is only for a few. However, getting society to the point where every disabled person can play sport, be active and move more in everyday life is even more important.

So it’s everybody’s responsibility to step up, to consider our approaches and to provide wholly accessible opportunities for everybody to be able to enjoy the benefits from moving.

In the words of Paralympian Stef Reid MBE: “The inclusion revolution is officially on!” and I couldn't agree more. 
 

The Sports4All Innovation Summit, held last week in Paris, marked the start of a critical mission that will run until the LA 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

The event was initiated by Sportinnovator in the Netherlands, along with fellow frontrunners from other countries including Sport England, Sport Ireland, Danish Sports Federation, Indescat (Catalonia, Spain), National Resources Centre for Sports Innovations France and Sport Flanders.

The mission of the event was to demonstrate how innovation in sport and physical activity can contribute to addressing the societal inequalities that many communities experience.

There’s also a lack of dedicated support for the purpose-driven individuals and organisations who are designing to meet the particular needs of specific communities.

In fact, these social innovations are central to overcoming the policy-implementation gap.

The support they need is threefold:

• connections that are peer-based, but also public and private as the evidence of their impact grows
• investment to allow them to stay focused on the barriers they are solving rather than chasing the cash
• coaching to help them navigate the complexities of sustaining their business as it grows and to help them respond to change.

So I pose two questions: which local projects can you connect with and learn from? And who could you amplify and advocate for nationally?

2. Social innovation is more important that technology innovation

The term 'innovation' is often firstly associated with technology and new products, but what came across loud and clear in Paris was that innovation for inequalities needs to first have a social purpose, especially when we want to apply it to remove systemic barriers that exist in communities.

This aligns with how we define innovation at Sport England:

Innovation is applying a creative mindset, generating ideas and experimenting to make positive changes that improve people's experiences of physical activity. It is an approach that puts people’s needs at the heart, continually learning and adapting to remove the real-life barriers they are facing.

So think first about who you are seeking to help and then what problem or barrier you are removing for them, before you decide on the solutions that might work best for those communities.

Ideally those groups are also involved in the discovery and design processes, rather than having things done to them.

3. Support to scale the innovation process is key

As Cormac Macdonnell from Sport Ireland shared: "Good ideas and initiatives deserve to be shared and scaled across Europe". But, within the sport sector, it can sometimes feel like we are competing rather than collaborating.

So how can we help many more innovators experience the sharing spirit that our 15 projects experienced at the Summit?

They were offered the opportunity to learn from like-minded people who are trying to solve the same problems, but in different cultural contexts.

We need to do more to create the space for people to trial new approaches, fail fast but learn quickly, and to share that learning so that we are building motorways together, not roundabouts.

Thanks to John Hughes, Director of Partnerships at Community Integrated Care, who talked about an Inclusive Volunteering project that we funded, who shared this fantastic analogy.

Looking at the possibilities ahead

I think it is fair to say that we all left the Summit positive about the future, as what was evident in the room was that the passion for improving inequalities through purposeful innovation is alive and well.

But creating and nurturing the conditions where innovation can thrive will take patience and collective care, so what we really need to consider is whether we’re up to the challenge. I know Sport England is. Will you join us?

On behalf of Sport England, I would like to thank Sportinnovator for the opportunity, and Community Integrated Care, Intelligent Health UK and Planet Earth Games for joining us and sharing what they are learning about supporting disabled people, people on lower incomes and young people with others from across Europe.

If you’d like to learn more about how to take practical steps to apply innovation in order to remove barriers for specific audiences, please look at our innovation and digital resources, our latest research or get in touch with our team.
 

The problem is that lots of people feel they do not have the opportunity to lead an active life, despite wanting to.

Many of us face barriers to moving such as living with long-term health conditions, caring responsibilities, financial constraints, work commitments and desk-anchored jobs.

So we want to show easy ways for everyone to find a way to be active and that’s what our aim has been with Get Moving.  

The page has been updated with with lots of inspirational ideas to help people move more as a way to support their mental health.

These include tips, guidance and advice on how to keep or start getting active, with activities for both indoors and outdoors, ones the inspire family fun, challenges and more.

Every movement counts

We know that children and young people (5-18 years of age) need to be active for an average of at least 60 minutes per day across the week, whereas adults need at least 150 minutes of moderate intensity activity a week, or 75 minutes of vigorous intensity action a week.

It may sound like a lot, but we often neglect the little things we can all do, day-to-day, that really count towards that important quota of daily exercise.

It's what we call the moments for movement. 

Easy ways of getting active to help boost people's mental wellbeing, daily, because – paraphrasing one of the most influential slogans of our time – every movement counts.

This could be anything from dancing in the kitchen to your favourite song, to ditching the car at the school drop-off/pick-up and scoot or walk instead.

It could also be encouraging your colleagues to try a walking meeting to get away from the desk and breathe in some fresh air (and hopefully get a bit of sunshine too!) or trying a short run over lunchtime.

So many people swear by it as it gives them a shot of energy and it gets their creative and focus juices flowing.

#MomentsForMovement

Going back to our proud collaboration with Mental Health Awareness Week, there will be lots taking place across those seven days.

We would love for you all to get involved, encouraging your partners, community groups, colleagues and family members to find new ways of moving more in our daily lives.

And this is when the beauty of social media comes along!

Think of tips and ideas of how to get active, including local activities that may inspire other places to do something similar, and talk about why our mental health is important.

We ask that you capture those active moments with photos or videos and that you share them on social media with #MomentsForMovement.

To help spread the word, the Mental Health Foundation have created new assets for anyone to use, including logos, images and editorial copy that can be downloaded for free.

Every day in Mental Health Awareness Week we will be exploring different themes via our social channels and we would love for sector partners to align planned comms where possible so we can make the biggest collective impact.

The themes for each day of the Week will be:

• Monday 13 May: Moments for Movement 
• Tuesday 14 May: Our workforce
• Wednesday 15 May: Active Travel 
• Thursday 16 May: Green and blue spaces 
• Friday 17 May: Children and Young People.

Please encourage your partners, colleagues and relevant clubs and sport organisations to join in too. 

I can’t really wait for May, and while I may not be ready for a lunch run just yet, I think I’m going to try those walking meetings, even if it’s around the house – until the rain stops.

Any day now, I’m sure.

I’ve always loved power hockey and played it since I was eight. 

Power hockey is the powered-wheelchair version of field hockey, which started at Liverpool's Greenbank Sports Academy in 2000.

This is the only contact sport for electric wheelchair users and in March 2021 a governing body - GB Power Hockey Association (CIO) - was born.

A disabled sport by disabled people 

It’s the best sport ever as it makes me feel like I have no disability and I can focus on just enjoying it, so imagine my delight when in 2001 I was offered to become a trustee by Gerry Kinsella, chairman of the charity and creator of the sport.

This opportunity meant I could help develop the sport nationwide, something which is key to my current role as media secretary at the charity.

I also helped organise and run power hockey’s inaugural tournament, held in May this year, at the sport’s home of Greenbank Sports Academy.

It was an action-packed day with teams from around the country competing in front of hundreds of spectators.

I think it is safe to say that without the role of disabled people within power hockey, the sport wouldn’t exist and I’m proud of having helped laid the foundations for this exciting and up-and-coming sport to prosper and immensely improve disabled people’s lives.

How does Sport England support our work?

Funding from Sport England has enabled the Greenbank Project, working in partnership with the GB Power Hockey Association, to promote and develop this great new sport.

The funding has aided the creation of four new hubs in England - in Chester-Le-Street, Gloucester, Middlesbrough and Burton Upon Trent - and the further development of the Liverpool hub.

The hubs - which will train teams to compete in different leagues and championships - each have eight power hockey chairs stored, ready for players to use in power hockey and power football weekly sessions.

The funding has also paid for the role of the Greenbank Power Hockey business development manager to support the development of the hubs.

The officer has introduced the games of power hockey, and sometimes power football, to the hubs by organising test sessions in each venue before the hubs start.

This figure has also developed the local partnership, which is crucial to the hubs' success and is supporting the volunteer force to run these centres.

The funding has also enabled the development of the chair themselves.

They count with a shooting mechanism that can propel the hockey ball out of the chair using two electromagnets and the players can tackle each other safely due to front bumpers, more commonly used to protect walls from forklift trucks.

The chairs are made by Powersport Engineering, a community interest company, which took over making the chairs from Greenbank in 2020.

The project has enabled the social enterprise to flourish and develop through the turbulent Covid period and has also enabled disabled people to return to playing sports after the pandemic.

Power hockey and power football players were isolated for a prolonged period during the pandemic due to their vulnerability, but the hubs enabled the players to come out and start playing sports again in a safe environment.

Sport England has also supported the sport by providing a case officer who helped shape and link the project with other key organisations.

Together, we’ve made power hockey a sport with the necessary infrastructure and workforce to thrive and one, more importantly, with a truly exciting future to look forward to.

This is something for all lovers of sport, not just the disabled community, to celebrate.
 

Getting to grips with data and understanding what this means can be a challenge. There’s so much of it available but never in one place and often telling a similar, but still different, story.

It can be very confusing!

Data is there to help us design the right solutions, to help us determine the next steps in our strategies and to provide us with a narrative for how and where we should direct our efforts, time and resources.

For this Black History Month, I was interested to see what our Active Lives surveys (our main piece of research) said about black people and their relationship with sport and physical activity.

And while adults being active for at least 150 minutes a week fell 2% from November 2018-2019 to 56% on last year’s survey, I still believe we may be witnessing a positive and upward trend, and that’s a good thing.

We know that your experience of physical activity in childhood is likely to influence how you relate and engage with physical activity as an adult - this is particularly true if the experience is a negative one.

With the exception of black children and young people, specifically among black boys, activity levels are back in line with those seen pre-pandemic for all ethnic groups.

So there’s clearly no room for complacency when it comes to data sets and responding to trends.

The key is keeping people engaged, because when people feel excluded or unwelcome they revert to places and spaces that make them feel less so.

Sometimes these spaces are established just for those representing a specific demographic, or reflecting on the same cultural identity or lived experience.

But they can also be welcoming to all and provide an opportunity to connect and stay connected. That’s what the Tell Your Story report calls parallel or alternative structures.

When the home nation sport councils published the Tell Your Story report alongside the Tackling Racism and Racial Inequalities in Sport (TRARIIS) report back in June 2021, we knew that the findings were going to be difficult to see and read.  

So we took the decision to intentionally engage members of the stakeholder group to work with us to help not only to action the TRARIIS recommendations, but to empower us to be an organisation that values race equality and is committed to ensuring our insight reflects the challenges we have around inclusion, belonging and participation.

We are proud that together we are creating the right conditions to change the negative experiences of culturally diverse communities in sport.

But while data is key, we can’t rely solely on it.

Our mission throughout Uniting the Movement is to reverse worrying trends and to give special attention to the areas where we can help disrupt what could become an acceptable norm.

We need to consider what sits within the insight and get serious about having a better understanding of what motivates and impacts people’s ability to engage positively with sport and physical activity.

And this is especially relevant to inactivity levels for black adults, which the latest survey placed at 31.1%. Too high.

We are well aware of the joys and health benefits of being active, yet we know that there are structural and systemic barriers that get in the way and prevent people from doing so.

So, while we celebrate the positives of the latest data, let’s use the momentum provided by this month to keep working through the year to ensure we are all able to reap the benefits of an active lifestyle.
 

One year ago, all eyes were on Birmingham.

The city kicked off a spectacular 10 days of sport and culture with an opening ceremony at the newly refurbished Alexander Stadium in Perry Barr.

Sport England invested £35 million into the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games as part of our commitment in Uniting the Movement – our 10-year strategy – to tackle inactivity inequalities. 

Now, as we look back at this momentous occasion, we reflect on the progress we have made in delivering on our ambition with a list that, while may not be exhaustive, will help to highlight a series of areas and examples of how our funding is being used to create new opportunities for people to be more active.

More than infrastructure

Substantial funds were allocated to enhance facilities, talent, volunteering and grassroots initiatives, and through them Sport England has played a pivotal role in laying the groundwork for a more active and healthier region and nation.

Our investment of £2.5m has supported the development of a brand-new state-of-the-art aquatics centre which was designed and built to meet the needs of the residents in and around Sandwell, whilst providing an iconic regional asset.

It was this sense of place and the importance of working at that level, evidenced in our local delivery pilots, that drove the creation of our substantive community-focussed programme - the Commonwealth Active Communities (CACs).

The CACs are four place-based programmes, made up of a consortia of organisations in Birmingham, Coventry and Solihull, and a collective approach by the four Black Country authorities of Dudley, Wolverhampton, Walsall and Sandwell.

Each place identified its strategic and local needs and developed an approach to tackle inactivity and inequalities via physical activity, through the principles of co-production, collaboration, distributive leadership and a commitment to learning and sharing outcomes.

Across the four places, activity focussed on young people, active environments (including streets, parks and canals), inclusivity and disability, walking and cycling, social prescribing, care homes and mental health.

These elements are now the focal point for other services and organisations for us to connect with, and the programmes and tools developed have added to our learning and informing our future place-based work.

Regarding the nurture of grassroots sports participation on the back of the Games, we focused on the above-mentioned CAC principles and invested £6.5m into the 22 Games national governing bodies of sport.

The aim? To use the Games to amplify opportunities for underrepresented communities to get active and to enjoy the benefits of sport and physical activity.

Some examples of these efforts include:

• British Wrestling - they used their allocated funding to support the appointment of two locally trusted women as legacy leads to head female activation sessions to highlight the barriers women often face in sport, and to further support clubs and groups to challenge these, providing more opportunities for women and girls from culturally diverse backgrounds to be active.
   
• England Athletics - they have developed their Funetics scheme, delivered through engaging with locally trusted organisations and services to better connect with local communities, like with the share shacks I mentioned earlier. Through this connection, the group have provided equipment bags, resource cards and training for community members to use in parks and festivals to engage with families.

With the backing of government, we also distributed around 16,000 items of sporting kit used in the Games, which benefitted 290 community organisations.

This giveaway helped foster a sense of diversity, equality, ownership and involvement and it provided opportunities for people of all abilities from a diverse range of communities.

Beyond the Games

Looking past the immediate benefits of the £870m boost to the UK economy, our investment in Birmingham 2022 has made an impressive impact through initial evaluation.

As we celebrate the one-year-one milestone, it is important to recognise that the journey is far from over.

The impact of the Games and our investment continues to evolve, with ongoing efforts to engage communities, develop talent and promote physical activity nationwide.

Our commitment to fostering a healthier and more active nation remains, serving as an inspiration for future major events and further place-based working.

We want to celebrate but also acknowledge the dedication, hard work, and collaboration that has gone into creating lasting change.

As we move forward, the profound impact of our investment will continue to inspire and shape the future of sports participation, community engagement and overall wellbeing in Birmingham and beyond.
 

It sets out the primary and secondary drivers for change, alongside the small steps to create change, with the figure below setting out some current examples.

The driver diagram enables us to be responsive and adapt our actions based on what we are learning.

So, while we are clear and remain fixed on our vision and desired outcomes, we are also working dynamically, using the insights from each engagement and action to adapt our approach and always asking questions as we keep advancing towards our overarching goals.

It has taken time to get used to this way of working but this agility has helped to ensure we are finding routes to create the change we are seeking within the system.

This has been a truly rich and rewarding experience.

Throughout, we have been guided by a strong commitment to supporting people to enjoy the benefits of physical activity, and the potential to build healthier lifestyles by embedding activity in healthcare settings.

There is still more to do, but we are excited by the challenge and will continue to evolve our approach to make it happen.  

Our latest Active Lives Adult Survey shows that, overall, activity levels have returned to where they were prior to the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic – when they were already at a record high.

This is news for all those involved in sport and physical activity to celebrate.

We can all still recall the impact the pandemic, and the restrictions that came with it, on our lives and for lots of us, on our activity levels. While we could get out for a walk or a bike ride, pretty much every other activity was impacted massively.

So, the recovery of adult activity levels back to pre-pandemic levels so quickly was not to be taken for granted and, as I wrote in my welcome note to today’s report, is a testament to the hard work and dedication of the sport and physical activity sector – from volunteers at small organisations up and down the country, to councils working to keep leisure centres open.

But we’re not dancing in the aisles at Sport England HQ yet. Why? Because behind that positive headline figure sits a mixed picture, and some worrying long term trends that started before the pandemic.

Yes, 29.1 million people are meeting the Chief Medical Officers’ guidelines of 150+ minutes a week of activity, but at the same time there are 11.9m inactive people – 1.2% more than before the pandemic.
 

And we’re still seeing gaps in activity levels based on:

• Gender – 65.6% of males active vs. 60.8% of women
• Affluence – 72.6% of the most affluent are active, compared to 52.7% of the least affluent
• Ethnicity – 67% of ‘White Other’ people are active vs. 55% of those identifying as ‘Other ethnic group’
• Age – activity levels are falling for 16-34-year-olds, while they’re on the rise for older adults
• Whether a person has a disability or long-term health condition – 68.1% of people who don’t, are active, compared to 47.5% for those that do.

These results show that while sport and physical activity is easy and accessible for many people, for millions it is not – these groups are our focus in the years ahead and, working collectively as a movement of thousands of organisations, we have the ability to make sport easy, accessible and enjoyable for everyone.  

How we’re moving

Looking beyond levels of activity, there are also some interesting changes in how people are choosing to get active.

While there has been a reduction in the number of people walking for leisure compared to the previous year (after consecutive years of growth), other types of activity have seen big increases. The number of people participating in team sports and swimming in the past 12 months has increased significantly, reflecting the lifting of Covid-19 restrictions, and how big an impact they had on participation rates throughout the pandemic.

However, while team sport levels are now back to those seen pre-pandemic, swimming levels (3.8m people swimming at least twice in the last 28 days) are still below what they were prior to coronavirus restrictions being implemented (4.2m) and even further behind the 4.9m from the first year of Active Lives.

We’ve also seen active travel (e.g. walking or cycling to work or to the shops) levels recovering significantly after big drops during the pandemic – though not returning to their pre-pandemic levels, perhaps reflecting the increase in days many people spend working from home.

What next?

All these figures, the positives and the negatives, show why our Uniting the Movement strategy is so vital.

We know that our staff didn’t just wave a magic wand and all of a sudden the public decided to go out and be active again. We know that, in reality, it was the sport and physical activity sector that made this recovery possible.

Which is what the first year of Uniting the Movement was targeted at – responding to the challenges of the time, transforming the way we work, planning for the coming years of our strategy and transitioning from our past work into targeting our new goals. But the biggest change is doing that together, building a genuine movement, working together towards the same goals.

Today’s results show that how we all responded to the pandemic helped activity levels to recovery quickly overall – but that now is the time to re-double our work to address the inequalities that sit below these headline figures.
 

Horizons are a team that facilitates transformation and innovation across the healthcare system by using large-scale change techniques to build energy and broker connections.

In 2021, we joined forces with the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID) and Sport England to deliver the Moving Healthcare Professionals programme (MHPP).  

This ambitious initiative, running since 2017, aims to embed physical activity within health systems to support people to stay healthy and to support the management of long-term conditions.

Together, we are working to help ensure this becomes the norm, rather than the exception.

This work provides a great opportunity for us to connect the dots to other large-scale transformation work we are leading across the NHS and to maximise the benefits for individuals, society and the healthcare system.

The potential to drive change is hugely exciting, but it’s also a leap into the unknown.

Below are some of the approaches we’ve explored together and some highlights from what we’ve learnt along the way.
 

Over the last year we’ve benefitted from taking a collaborative approach to monitoring and understanding increases in the cost of living and its effect on sport and physical activity.  

The cost-of-living increases are due to several converging challenges, including the financial legacy of the Covid-19 pandemic, conflict in Ukraine and associated economic sanctions and inflation.

Working with our System Partners, we’ve created the ‘Cost of Living Insight and Research Group’ – a network of System Partner insight and research Leads who meet regularly to share and discuss learning, insight and research plans.
 

What have we learned from working together?  

From the outset, our focus as a group has been to work collaboratively to bring together what we understand about the cost-of-living increases.

We’ve benefitted from working alongside one another, creating an open environment where people feel able to share, learn, listen, and support each another with ideas and thinking.  

The group has grown organically over time. Starting off smaller in number but, as word about the group has spread, we’ve grown and we continue to welcome new members.

It sounds simple, but setting up a dedicated Teams channel has enabled us to bring new members up to speed as they join and allows us to communicate with one another regularly, between meetings.

Bringing together a broad range of people from a variety of organisations has helped us establish an overall view of what we know, spot gaps in our understanding quickly and draw upon our collective expertise to fill them. 

Another strength of the group has been our ability to share information and learning across a wide network of people, quickly – answering questions like; to what extent is the context changing? How are people feeling? What can we learn and share about how organisations are responding? 

What next? 

One of our next steps as a group is to work with Sheffield Hallam University to bring together and consolidate our collective research and insight.

This is in order to create a central story, focussed on the cost of living, which can be accessed and shared by sport and physical activity organisations and groups.

This will be available in spring/summer 2023. If you are a System Partner and would like to learn more about the Cost of Living Insight and Research Group, please e-mail me.

*when compared to NET adults and other subgroups.
 

Physical inactivity is detrimental to our health and contributes to the development of more than 20 chronic diseases, placing a burden on our health and social care systems. 

The UK’s current data shows 12.4 million adults (27.2%) do less than an average of 30 minutes of physical activity a week, and that 2.2m children and young people (30.1%) are classed as ‘less active’, achieving fewer than 30 minutes of daily physical activity.

The UK Chief Medical Officer’s Physical Activity Guidelines highlight the essential role being active can play in supporting our physical and mental health. They state: “If physical activity were a drug, we would refer to it as a miracle cure, due to the great many illnesses it can prevent and help treat.”  

Leading a more active life can help reduce the risk of developing chronic diseases, and being physically active helps many of the 19 million people in England living with long-term health conditions to manage their symptoms.

Physical activity can also bring wider benefits, including better mobility and improved self-esteem, and has an overall positive effect on wellbeing.

Integrating physical activity into health systems has been identified as one of the eight ‘best buys’ for physical activity.

And there's relevant research that provides examples to enablers of how to integrate physical activity into health and wider systems. It's these opportunities that we must explore in future.

We know that embedding physical activity in everyday healthcare could bring significant benefits due to the wide reach that healthcare professionals (HCPs) have across the population.

According to NHS Digital, there were almost 431m general practice, outpatient and A&E attendances in 2018/19.

So, at the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID) we've been collaborating with Sport England to work with partners in the health system to create change in practice, culture and systems. 
 

We know people regularly engaging with HCPs (those with, or at risk of developing, health conditions) are far more likely to be inactive and experience other inequalities.

Insight from the ground-breaking We Are Undefeatable campaign revealed that the NHS and healthcare professionals are trusted sources of information. A quarter of people say they would be more active if told to do so by their GP or nurse.

There is an opportunity to transform people’s interactions with HCPs and embed physical activity within the NHS to reach those who have the most to gain from being active and to increase their knowledge, confidence and motivation.

So how do we go about enabling HCPs and the system they work in to better integrate physical activity into their daily practice to bring benefit to individuals and communities?

Taking action 

The team at OHID and Sport England have been working together since 2017 to embed physical activity within the health system to help reduce physical inactivity in the population. 

Together, we have delivered an ambitious, multi-layered programme, the Moving Healthcare Professionals Programme (MHPP), which sought, in part, to address barriers that HCPs and allied HCPs had when addressing patients.

These included a lack of formal knowledge, skills and confidence in discussing physical activity. 

The programme developed education and training packages to help overcome these barriers. It also sought to influence changes within the NHS system and make physical activity part of the norm.

These changes sought to influence the system, infrastructures and cultures and establish physical activity as part of an evidence-based preventative approach.

The evaluation of the MHPP found that it contributed to whole-system change, including greater recognition and value of physical activity.

HCPs reported the training tools increased their knowledge, skills and confidence to promote physical activity.

I was 17 when I developed paralysis of my right leg and foot drop due to a cancerous tumour on my spine. Given six weeks to live, walking wasn’t a high priority and I accepted that, should I survive it, I would be a wheelchair user for life.

Following treatment, I was able to become somewhat ambulant and here is where my issues with representation started.

Wheelchair users in sport have some fantastic role models and it’s easy to see yourself. However, those of us with some mobility have fewer heroes like us.

I found that I fell into a kind of no-man’s land where I was too disabled to play able bodied sports but not disabled enough for parasports.

At this point I gave up sports and physical activity.

Access to gyms in my area was limited and I didn’t have any clear way to participate – I wasn’t wanted by sports and so I cut it from my life.

I had been a rugby league fan but chose not to watch the games. If they didn’t want me, I didn’t want them.

But in lockdown I rediscovered my love of watching sports, albeit played in empty stadiums. I watched hours of old games on YouTube and reconnected with friends who are also supporters.
 

I decided to try wheelchair rugby league in 2022 and found a real passion for the sport. I then started playing physical disability rugby league and later, coaching all forms of disability rugby league.

Disabled people need representation in sport. We need to see it in order to be it.

Last year England won both the physical disability and wheelchair rugby league World Cups.

Both teams have players who are ambulant disabled. Some are amputees and some were born with their disability, but both teams were united in offering clear representation to disabled people.

Wales also took part in the Wheelchair Rugby League World Cup and had two female players.

This shows young girls with disabilities that they can be sports stars, that they can represent their country and that they can inspire the next generation.

The campaign Every Body Moves, which has been developed by Paralympics GB and Toyota and that used to be known as Parasport, is key because there is a sport or movement out there for everyone, you just need to find the one that works for you.

More comfortable in your own space? Perfect – you can do online wheelchair boxing or dance classes. 

For those who want to be outdoors there’s Nordic walking or learning disability rugby league like me!

The first step is building more movement into your life. It doesn’t need to be an organised activity; it can be as simple as moving in time to your favourite song.

Participating in rugby league has given me so much more than being active. A recent survey by Savanta tells us that disabled people are twice as likely to say we feel lonelier and more isolated now than before the pandemic and cost of living crisis.

Sport has given me a place to participate and a group of friends who support me not just on the field, but off it as well.

Many activities are free or low cost so it’s a great way to meet people without breaking the bank.

I encourage you to get out there and give a new activity a go, if it’s not the one for you, move onto another one.

There are loads out there and you’ll find someone who inspires you to be the best version of you. You might even make some friends and find a new social life!

Believe me you’ll be surprised.

As for me, my goal for 2023 is to try 12 new sports. Next up is cycling and I plan to take part in the Superheroes half-triathlon for people with disabilities in August – something you’d never hear me say 18 months ago!
 

We are living longer, but not in better health.

Too many older adults are not able to enjoy the benefits of an active life.

This can impact both our health and our quality of life – our strength to lift the grandchildren, our mobility to see friends and our capability to remain independent in our own homes.

Regardless of your age, movement makes people happier and healthier.

What we did and how communities benefitted

Despite the positive benefits, we know that maintaining an active life as we get older can be challenging.

Work, family and caring commitments can understandably take priority and societal narratives often reinforce the notion that as we age, we will and should slow down.

And so, Sport England has worked with 25 Active Ageing partners over the past five years to support more than 30,000 older adults into sport and physical activity; and, to learn how to provide positive, inclusive physical activity experiences that support older adults to build more sport and physical activity into their daily lives.

What we've learned about maintaining and developing an active life as we get older

Our participants embraced all manner of activities from dance and gymnastics to coastal rowing - challenging stereotypes about what older adults would be interested in and that getting older means slowing down.

The importance of co-production across the project lifecycle

The example of 10 Today and its wonderfully charismatic presenter, Terry, shows the power of this approach. They created a strong sense of community and belonging through constant insight gathering and product testing with their audience to adapt the offer to respond to their evolving motivations, needs and physical capabilities of their audience.

Terry demonstrated seated and standing adaptations of the activities depending on how you might be feeling today, and the 10 minute broadcasts were filmed as if in Terry’s home to help the activity feel more achievable within daily life.

The co-production thread continues into our evaluation and learning activities.

Our partners co-produced more appropriate evaluation frameworks, data collection tools and accessible measures with their participants.

This helped more people to value and take part in the evaluation, so it could better reflect the full impact of the projects and be used to enhance participants' experiences.

You can see the learnings of this approach informing our evaluation and learning for Uniting the Movement.

The power of fun and age positive offers

This 'Dance On' video – from a community-based dance programme in Leeds, Bradford and Doncaster - showcases another example of how the right opportunity and support can reframe physical activity as a fun and achievable experience, irrespective of your age.

Their messaging, imagery, music and language are all person-centered with their promotional materials showing what the experience is like to reassure and alleviate any concerns.

And whilst health is a key outcome, their video highlight the fun elements – “I like all the jiggling about!” – and the positive impact on mood, friendships, and the ability to do every-day tasks. These tangible, short-term, benefits are more relevant and attainable for participants.
 

I would like to thank all our Active Ageing partners and the evaluation team at CFE research partners who have contributed to these learning resources and to a collective aspiration that collectively we can deliver more relevant, attainable and enjoyable physical activity and health offers for people as they get older.