The Educator Magazine U.K. Jan-April 2024 issue - Magazine - Page 68
Children’s charity calls for
urgent action in response
to stagnant physical activity
levels among children.
Active Lives Children and Young People
Survey data released today by Sport
England shows that….
• Still fewer than half (47%) of children
are meeting the Chief Medical Officers’
guidelines of taking part in an average
of 60 minutes or more of sport and
physical activity a day. Activity levels
remain unchanged compared to 20212022
• Significant inequalities remain in
activity levels, with Black (40%) and
Asian (40%) children and young
people, still less likely to play sport or
be physically active than the average
across all ethnicities and affluence
groups. Girls (44%) are also less likely
to be active than boys (51%).
• Children and young people from the
least affluent families are the least
likely to be active, with only 44%
meeting the Chief Medical Officers’
guidelines – compared to 55% of
those from the most affluent families.
Responding to the findings, Youth Sport
Trust Chief Executive Ali Oliver MBE,
said:
“This new release from Sport England
shows, that in the past year, there has
been little change to the activity levels
of young people within England, and inactivity levels remain persistently high.
“This year we have seen the release of a
new Government Sports Strategy, and 2
years of confirmed funding for schools
via the PE and Sport Premium for
Primary Schools. However, it is clear
there is much work (still) to do. As this
data shows, almost 4 million children
are still not physically active for at least
60 minutes each day, as recommended
by the UK’s Chief Medical Officers to
deliver a wide range of health
benefits. When too many children
are struggling with their well-being,
we believe this is a matter of national
concern, and strategies that focus on
physical activity should be at the heart
of approaches to tackle this.
“Daily movement is essential for
physical and mental health, and play is
fundamental for social development.
Unhappy and unhealthy children do
not learn, and this has consequences for
education. PISA 2022 results released
just this week showed that pupils in
England reported a significantly lower
average level of satisfaction (6.01) when
compared to the average across the
OECD education systems (6.75).
Importantly the extent to which a
pupil feels satisfied with their life is
related to performance in the PISA
mathematics assessment. To improve
educational outcomes, we must ensure
more children are physically active.
“Today’s Active Lives data release
reveals persistent gaps in activity levels
remain for girls, 7-9 year olds, young
people from less affluent families and
Asian and Black ethnic groups. We need
to take urgent action so all children get
60 active minutes a day of PE, sport and
play.