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Boxing is my religion. Like all spiritual journeys it began with a moment of divine inspiration and my baptism was conducted whilst watching Muhammed Ali defeat George Foreman in “The Rumble In The Jungle”.

I grew up in boxing gyms with the sport giving me purpose, discipline and titles – including representing my country on numerous occasions.

These days it offers me the chance to inspire the next generation of boxers and to help anyone who walks through the gym door, to believe in themselves and choose a positive path in life. 

When people ask me why boxing matters so much to me, my answer is simple: it changes and saves lives.

A safe space for all

Of course, it also improves health and builds confidence, but boxing keeps people – especially young people – away from anti-social behaviour and crime, something that I can personally verify as a former Youth Justice Manager. 

With the number of proven offences committed by children seeing an increase of 4%, change has never been so important and there are many ways boxing helps fight crime.

Firstly, boxing gives young people structure and boundaries.

Many of the children and young people who walk through the doors of a boxing gym – like mine in Oldham, Greater Manchester – come from difficult backgrounds and have challenging lives. 

Having little or no access to opportunities and therefore a lack of agency in the world, may result in challenging behaviours. But not dealing with these pressures means they risk spilling out onto the streets and that’s where crime starts. 

Not because young people are 'bad', but because they have nowhere positive to pour their energy into. But boxing gyms can change that, as these spaces are built on discipline, respect, routine and team spirit.

You don’t just turn up to your gym whenever you feel like it. Instead, you’re expected to train on time, plus you have to listen to your coach, and you learn that effort leads to results and that shortcuts rarely work.

These lessons transfer directly into everyday life and children who understand discipline in a boxing gym are far less likely to make reckless decisions outside it.

Boxing also teaches emotional control, becasue contrary to what some may think, this sport helps a young person understand how to control their emotions, particularly aggression, and how to think and act under pressure.

I’ve seen it first hand – children who once lashed out can calm themselves because boxing gave them an outlet for their emotions and that allows them to thrive.

The many lessons of boxing

Boxing is a good metaphor for life and can help to develop those personal and social skills that people need, contributing to tackling deep seated worklessness and low aspirations.

The sport also fosters the development of positive character, self-esteem, self-discipline, courage, perseverance and resilience.

Instead of throwing punches on the street, they hit the pads, the bags and their coach or opponent inside the ring, but always with respect to the sport’s rules, under supervision and with a reason.

Boxing also teaches respect — for yourself and for others. You shake hands, you follow rules and you learn that real strength comes from self-control, not intimidation. These values reduce crime at its roots.

Another factor that's key is the sense of belonging among those practising the sport. A boxing gym offers identity and loyalty because, at a gym, you’re part of a team.

You train together, look out for each other and you wear the gym name with pride. That sense of identity can pull someone away from a path that leads to anti-social behaviour and crime.

I’ve seen boxing change lives in Oldham and Greater Manchester, where young people that were heading toward trouble now have focus and a reason to stay on the straight and narrow, and I’ve also seen young people who had no confidence, find self-belief.

Not all these children will become a champion boxer and that's okay.

Building better lives through sport

The real victories happen when a young person chooses to stay in school, can find a job or simply chooses not to commit a crime because they don’t want to let their gym or coach down.

At our newly refurbished Greater Manchester Boxing and Development Hub, we’ve been lucky enough to benefit from Sport England funding. 

To my mind, our investors aren’t just putting money into a boxing club and community gym. They’re investing in crime prevention and harm minimisation.

It costs less to fund a gym than it does to deal with the consequences of crime and anti-social behaviour – policing, court cases, prison and reform – as recent estimates place the total economic and social cost of serious youth violence at £11 billion between 2009 and 2020.

For me, boxing is more than titles and trophies, it’s about giving people a chance.

Every time a young person chooses to walk into a gym and away from 'the road', I believe that’s crime prevention in action and that’s why boxing will always matter. 

As one of the 10 boroughs of Greater Manchester, Oldham forms part of Sport England’s Place Partnership with Greater Manchester Moving and other local bodies to implement Sport England's Uniting the Movement strategy for getting people active.

I’m proud of what boxing can do to change lives.

In the words of the iconic social activist, pacifist and politician, Nelson Mandela: “Sport can awaken hope where there was previously only despair.”

Every day, I get to see the truth in these great words in action.
 

As the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games start we would like to extend our very best wishes to the athletes and the support team behind Team GB (and in the coming weeks ParalympicsGB) as the spotlight of Olympic and Paralympic sport shines upon them.

It is worth remembering that during the 2018-22 cycle the winter sports and athletes were particularly impacted by the resultant post-Brexit travel restrictions and also (how soon we forget!) by the Covid pandemic.

UK Sport and the British Olympic Association have an ambitious target this year and I think, and hope, that at this iteration of the ‘winters’ we will see our athletes and sports realise their aspirations as they showcase the rich and diverse sporting offer we have in England and across the UK.

Proudly supporting our talent

At Sport England we are extremely proud of the role that we play in supporting partners and thereby enabling aspiring athletes in winter sports to explore and fulfil their potential, but what does that support look like and why does it matter?

Starting with the second question first, let’s address the elephant in the room – why winter sports?

There is a rather lazy misconception that we don’t have winter sports facilities and that those sports are exclusively the pursuit of people from affluent backgrounds – the truth, like many things in life, is much more nuanced that that.

Starting with the sliding sports (bobsleigh, skeleton or luge to name a few) there is an established track record of athletes coming from the British Army - shout out at this point to our colleagues at British Army Sport which continues to be a key partner of and contributor to the UK High Performance System - or from track and field athletics.

These athletes often transition in to sliding sports (or should it be pushing sports!) through established UK Sport-led talent ID programmes such as Find Your Greatness, and those sports have brilliant pathways to take them all the way to the podium.
 

The skating sports are typically populated with athletes who started their careers at ice rinks and ice centres scattered across the major ‘second cities’ of England.

Funding centres across the country

The National Ice Centre in Nottingham has long since been the base for aspiring short track speed skaters and a great partnership between Sport England, Nottingham City Council and recently British Ice Skating, who received Sport England talent funding into their pathways.

Other English rinks feature prominently in the athletes’ biographies and it was great to see Sheffield hosting the recent Figure Skating European Championships as part of the build up to the Games.

English Snowsport athletes often start their careers at outdoor ‘dry’ (not so much in the rain!) ski slopes, which continue to be popular and affordable community sport facilities, enabling athletes such as the Summerhayes sisters or, for Milan-Cortina, veteran James ‘Woodsy’ Woods (who will compete at his fourth Olympic Winter Games) to progress from Sheffield Ski Village to the X-Games podium.  

Arguably Great Britain's most successful ever Alpine skier, Dave Ryding will contest his fifth Olympic Winter Games, having purportedly earned his stripes at a dry ski-facility up at Pendle Ski Club, a member-owned club located in the Ribble Valley, Lancashire.

Sport England investment supports the talent pathways in a range of winter sports to ensure that performance pathways in these sports are accessible and inclusive, well-led and managed, and that they offer the support needed to allow our aspiring young people to progress to the very highest level.

Through our funded partners, most prominently SportsAid, we also fund programmes such as Backing The Best and the TASS programme that collectively provide direct financial and athlete support services, such as strength and conditioning, physiotherapy and sports medicine services to enable our players to be fit, healthy and optimally prepared for graduation into high performance programmes and success at major events and games.

As an example, of the Team GB class of 2026 in Milan-Cortina, at least 10 athletes (including Dave ‘The Rocket’ Ryding) have received Sport England support through TASS - five of which are current TASS-supported athletes enabling them to be in the very best of health as they embark on one of the biggest events of their careers.

Finally, as we look ahead to the winter Paralympics, we could not be prouder of the English athletes who will represent PGB as the spotlight shines on them from 6 March, I am particularly looking forward to seeing trailblazing English wheelchair curlers: Yorkshire’s Jo Butterfield, Newcastle’s Jason Kean, Wigan’s Karen Aspey and Northumbria’s Stewart Pimblett.

Collectively, they will make history as the first English curlers ever to take to the ice at the ‘winters’.

Their inspirational journey (look them up, their stories are remarkable) was enabled through an innovative partnership with British Curling, which saw Sport England invest in performance pathways in the sport for the very first time.

Best of luck to all our athletes. No need to ask you to make us proud. We already are.
 

Suicide prevention and increased employability among young men might not be the traditional aims of physical activity programmes, but at Rise – the leading North East health and wellbeing charity – we're showing how lives and communities can be transformed using the power of movement.

Rise is the active partnership for Tyne and Wear, Northumberland and County Durham, and we’re using physical activity as part of a pioneering approach to reduce inequalities and to boost physical and mental health.

As part of this work, we’ve undertaken a significant project in Berwick called Rise’s Healthy Minds for Healthy Lives, working directly with more than 100 men aged 16-30.

Understanding the issues faced by our young men

Like many communities in the North East, young people in Berwick face complex socio-economic problems including unemployment, poor health, relationship difficulties and issues surrounding debt, poverty and substance misuse.

These struggles have had a consequential effect on the mental health of young men in town.

Using data from referrals and initial interviews of the young men we worked with in Berwick, we found that:

• 43% constantly considered suicide
• 76% had diagnosed mental health disorders
• 81% had substance abuse issues
• 67% were unemployed
• 43% faced significant debt.

Our work within the community in Berwick addresses the physical and psychological aspects of wellbeing but it goes beyond that, giving people practical skills as well.

This broad and comprehensive approach helps build stronger and resilient mental health, enhancing young people’s overall quality of life, and by working directly with people who need our help the most, we aim to improve their immediate health and wellbeing.

We also build on their ambitions, motivations and employability prospects, which helps them grow their confidence, improve their mental health and to strengthen their wellbeing through physical activity.

Deacon's story

One positive example from our work within the Berwick community is Deacon’s story.

A local resident of 29 years of age, Deacon had struggled with social issues including anxiety and depression from a young age.
 

Following a difficult living environment, Deacon moved away from his support network to Berwick with his father and that's when isolation set in.

Deacon said: “I needed to be more active and find solutions. I’d never filled in housing applications; I’d never filled in job applications. That help was there when I needed it and I’ve improved in every aspect of my life. I refer to Jaki as the woman who saved my life. She’s absolutely amazing, I cannot thank her enough.”

When Deacon came to see us, I could have scraped him off the floor – he had no sense of self-worth – and I think that had been destroyed by the environment that he had been in.

But then I was able to get him enrolled onto an outdoor equine and nature activity course followed by an employment and wellbeing course.

Fortunately the course providers paid for the transport, which took away that barrier of him getting in from where he lived and he even helped him secure a job out of it!

After gaining employment, Deacon was able to acquire a bike and that enabled him to cycle to and from work, which helped him improve his physical health.

A month after that, he was also offered a local authority flat. The smile on his face was immense. I’m proud of how Deacon has turned it around.

The power of physical activity

Our internal data reflects that since May 2021, Rise has supported 118 young men to improve their lives. Recent evaluations found that: 

• 96% showed a reduced risk of anti-social behaviour
• 76% had successfully applied for a job, training or further learning
• 87% now take part in physical activity
• 75% felt confident with themselves and felt they were making positive choices.

Rise’s Healthy Minds for Healthy Lives project was initially supported by the Northumbria Violence Reduction Unit and London North Eastern Railway and has subsequently been funded by the National Lottery to enable the work to continue.

Through working within communities, we've helped transform the lives of young men, demonstrating how physical activity has the power to enact positive change. 

The concentrated focus of Black History Month provides an opportunity to gain new perspectives through events, articles and media programming that might otherwise be overlooked.

At its best, this month should stir our curiosity and resolve as we look back at the achievements and struggles of Black people, helping us gain a fuller understanding of Black histories to strengthen our grasp of the present.

This celebration (and the round-the-clock efforts by many through the year) should move us to action, reminding us that we don't have to accept the erasure of some people and communities as normal.

‘Making the joy of swimming accessible to all’ is the slogan of Swimunity, a Community Interest Company based in West London that I have the privilege of co-directing since 2017.

Swimunity was founded in the wake of the Grenfell Tower fire, with the aim of providing a space for healing and resilience-building among local residents through their relationship with water, in the form of free swimming lessons, beach days and residential trips.

Several years on, we’ve had hundreds of local young people and women learning how to swim with us, with some of them even becoming swimming teachers themselves!

Many have also joined us for expeditions to the seaside and for residential trips around the UK (Cornwall, Dorset and Wales) to leave the busy streets of London behind in favour of new environments and experiences. 

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.

At EMD UK, we believe group exercise should be for everyone, but for many women – especially Muslim women – challenges to accessing group exercise still exist.

That’s why in 2024 we partnered with Active Together to launch support for women from ethnically diverse communities to become Level 2 Group Exercise Instructors.

The aim was to create a workforce that mirrored the communities it served by driving greater diversity and inclusion within the group exercise sector.

Giving back to their communities

We worked with Active Women, of Leicester City in the Community, to recruit women, to provide local support to build a community amongst the learners and to keep them motivated and engaged.

The goal was to provide a learning and training opportunity for the women that was safe, culturally aware and empowering.

In total, 12 women were enrolled.

They were aged between 25 and 54 and came from global majority communities, including Muslim, Hindu and those of no faith.

The programme offered a fully-funded Level 2 Group Exercise Instructor qualification through Drummond Education.

These women’s beliefs may have been different from each other, but they all brought with them a deep desire to give back to their communities.

Most had wanted to train for years but faced barriers like the costs involved, childcare needs or the lack of local opportunities.

But now they were able to join because the programme was tailored to them and because support was finally available.
 

Confidence levels were moderate to high, but concerns remained as some feared failure and others worried about language, memory or balancing family-related responsibilities. And yet, despite everything, motivation was strong.

Many saw this as a way to serve their communities and especially other Muslim women, which aligned with the principle of Sadaqah: giving back without expecting anything in return.

One participant said she was excited to see how quickly she could pick up the lessons, while another mentioned the timing for her was perfect as she had just finished her master’s degree.

We also spent time asking what support they’d need after qualifying as it’s often at this stage that dropouts are most prevalent.

They asked for help with marketing, setting up classes and accessing venues and equipment.

They also wanted guidance on business development and networking, and this is where the EMD UK membership came into its own.

Along with the newly launched Reach Up programme, in collaboration with This Girl Can, our members also have access to over 400 support resources, CPD training and content to support their group exercise teaching.

Supporting our students beyond the classroom

We also asked what they wanted from us and the training provider as part of their involvement in the programme, and they requested prayer space, female-only sessions and options without music.

They also wanted their dress codes to be respected, local sessions and female tutors.

They reminded us that English wasn’t their first language and asked us to understand their personal circumstances, which were full of family commitments and cultural nuance.

We listened and we’re now committed to continuing that listening as time goes by.

At this point, having commenced in autumn 2024 with four in-person sessions (that was the delivery style they said they needed), nine learners have completed their practical assessment with the remaining finishing the course in 2025.

The successes of this project continue to emerge.

One standout achievement was the attendance of a learner as a presenter on the EMD UK stage at the International Fitness Showcase in Blackpool back in March.

This was her first experience of instructing group exercise and her presentation of Latin-inspired dance fitness for over 100 participants was an impressive debut to kick off her career.

All students now have access to the EMD UK membership and we are committed to supporting them long-term.

Feedback from the cohort on the support given, including its effectiveness and inclusivity, plus on the course as a whole, has been overwhelmingly positive.

They found the programme interesting, engaging, beneficial and welcoming, with the challenge it provided defined as “exciting and aspirational”.

Whilst many of them knew each other before the course started, they left the in-person sessions feeling “connected to each other” and their communities, and proud of themselves.  

What’s more, Active Together reported that the development and engagement of these local women as mentors was imperative to build community confidence in group exercise and that, while funding was critical, it was the community support role of Active Women that ensured this was a success.

Active Women reported this project demonstrated the clear need for these kinds of initiatives to upskill underrepresented communities and to help them continue their mission to “grown [their] own”.

Because this is more than a training programme.

It’s a step toward equity in fitness.

It’s about recognising the whole person.

And it’s about creating space for women who’ve been excluded for too long.

We’re proud to be part of that change and we’re just getting started.
 

The fact that you are reading this blog means you have a good level of digital inclusion. You have access to a device (phone, laptop, tablet), connection to the internet and the skills and confidence to find this post.

Many people face barriers to getting online, experiencing what is known as ‘digital exclusion’.

But in a world where our smartphones can defrost the car from the comfort of our own home, a ring can track all of our health and activity data, and banks are operating solely online, digital connectivity is fundamental to how we now operate.

Not a ‘fixed state’

Digital exclusion is about not having the access, skills and/or confidence to use the internet and benefit fully from digital technology in everyday life.

This is a widespread issue, impacting millions of people across the UK and limiting the extent to which they’re able to participate in our ever-more digital society:

• 6.8 million UK households (24%) report difficulty affording communications services
• 1.5m of the adult population (3%) don’t have a smartphone, tablet or laptop
• 2m young people in the UK (14%) don’t have access to a digital device for learning
• 7.9m adults in the UK (15%) don’t have the eight foundational digital skills
• 3.7m UK households with children (45%) don’t meet the Minimum Digital Living Standard

Interestingly, though, being digitally excluded is not a ‘fixed state’.

People may face one or more digital barriers, to different degrees, at different times and related to other vulnerabilities or life events, plus people may gain or lose access, skills and/or confidence to do things digitally. 

Digital inclusion and physical activity

As a sector we must ensure we not only keep pace with new digital developments and the exciting opportunities these provide, because we also need to ensure that no-one is left behind.

We recently commissioned Good Things Foundation to conduct some research into the topic of digital inclusion in order to better understand how digital exclusion might contribute to inequalities in people getting active.

Good Things Foundation also investigated the role that digital inclusion could play in increasing people’s activity levels and looked into the opportunities for Sport England to support digital inclusion across the sector.

The research confirmed our assumption: while many of us enjoy the convenience and connectivity of a digital world, digital exclusion disproportionately affects the audiences we most want to support to enjoy the benefits of a physically active life.

We really appreciate the great work that Good Things Foundation have done on this and we are pleased to be able to share our key findings as well as the full report.

What did we learn?

There is an extensive report from this initial desktop research, but a few valuable findings include:

• sections of the population who are digitally excluded are very similar to those with the lowest activity levels and those facing health inequalities. This includes older adults, disabled people, people experiencing poverty and people living with long-term health conditions
• digital access, skills and accessibility all shape people’s journeys to being physically active. Growing reliance on digital platforms for accessing leisure and sport services means it is increasingly difficult for those without digital connectivity, devices and/or skills to engage with these services  
• we are investing in places where we need to consider digital inclusion and 84% of new Sport England's Place Expansion Partnerships are in areas where internet access is at its lowest.

Whilst digital exclusion isn’t the most influential factor in shaping people’s physical activity levels, it should still be a key consideration when designing new services to engage underserved audiences.

Otherwise, we could be inadvertently excluding people from getting active if we only use digital solutions to promote, design and provide access to sport and physical activity offers.

What next?

This is just the start of our understanding of digital inclusion and its role in tackling inequalities in sport and physical activity.

In the autumn we will be doing further research to deepen our understanding of the audiences most impacted, as well as partners’ experiences of addressing the challenge of digital exclusion in their work.

We would love to connect with a range of partners to understand how digital inclusion is being factored into their existing work as well as what the sector needs to ensure digital inclusion is considered when supporting people to get active.

So watch this space and please get in touch if you are interested in getting involved!
 

For many, the beginning of June is the unofficial start of the summer.

Holidays are on the horizon, Wimbledon and the Tour de France are getting closer and we get to celebrate volunteers in the best week of the year – Volunteers Week!

The latest data from our Active Lives Adult Survey Report shows that almost 10.5 million adults volunteered to support sport and physical activity across the 12-month period from mid-November 2023 to mid-November 2024.

This is an increase of 488,000 over the last 12 months and it shows a continued recovery of volunteering since the pandemic in 2020.

This huge contribution of people’s time, energy and skills in sport and physical activity is really something to celebrate, and everybody in Sport England wants to say a massive thank you to everyone who volunteers to keep the nation active. 

Volunteering not only enables participation opportunities for others, but it significantly boosts the wellbeing of volunteers themselves.

Our research into the social value of sport and physical activity demonstrated that adult volunteering in England is worth £8.2 billion annually in social value and these benefits to wellbeing are in addition to any value that comes from being physically active.

The present of volunteering

The recovery we’re seeing post-pandemic is positive and it demonstrates the resilience of sport volunteering, and that millions of people are still motivated to give their time.

However, there are also some more worrying trends that we need to take note of.

It’s undeniable that the Lionesses’ recent triumphs and the professionalisation of the women’s game, the strong performance of the men’s team and the fact that the number of girls watching and playing football has doubled in recent years, has made the country proud.

We know that the scale of grassroots football in England means that the sport is well positioned to influence people and communities in tackling inequalities in sport and physical activity.

So because of all of these reasons, we thought that our case study with The Football Association (FA) would be a great way to close our series of blogs.

The FA is the National Governing Body for one of the country’s most popular sports and receives significant funding through Sport England’s system partner investment.

According to the results from Sport England's latest Active Lives Children and Young People Survey Report, more than half of all children and young people (52.2%) aged from five to 16 are not meeting the Chief Medical Officer’s guideline of taking part in an average of at least 60 minutes of sport or physical activity a day.

The results also show that significant inequalities remain in activity levels, with Black (42%) and Asian (43%) children and young people, and those from the least affluent families (45%), still less likely to play sport or be physically active than the average across all ethnicities and affluence groups.

The outcomes are, of course, concerning, not only for the current physical and mental health and wellbeing of our children and young people, but also for their future too – if people aren’t active when they are children, they are also less likely to be active as adults.

Starting young and local

However, seeing results like these, has led the APNO and Active Partnerships network – a group of 42 organisations who are immersed in their places and that work with local communities and local partners in different parts of the country to help everyone live a more active life – to underline their commitment to working with children and young people.

It’s why we’re more determined than ever to support this key group – especially those who face barriers to be active – and to help them develop a life-long love of sport, physical activity and movement.

This week, around 100 people from across the Active Partnerships network and Sport England will be coming together in Birmingham to explore how we can better support young people through our work in place, as evidence suggests that the place where a person is born and lives has a huge influence on how likely they are to be physically active.

In 2021 we published our first horizon scanning project, looking at the key trends likely to shape sport and physical activity over the following decade.

At the time we were emerging from the pandemic, artificial intelligence (AI) was still a niche topic and economic uncertainty was turning from a concern into a crisis.

Fast forward to today and the world looks very different: AI isn’t just evolving, it’s everywhere; the cost-of-living impact is reshaping the way people spend on leisure and fitness; and climate change is actively changing when and where people can be active.

So three years on, we knew it was time we took another look around us.

We asked ourselves a series of key questions: what’s progressed faster than expected? What’s shifted in unexpected ways? And what do these changes mean for the future of sport and physical activity?

We worked with Trajectory, a specialist foresight agency, to revisit and refresh our original Horizon Scan, which allowed us to get a clearer picture of how the world is changing and what that could mean for our sector.

What is horizon scanning? (and why does it matter to us?)

Horizon scanning isn’t about predicting the future. No one has a crystal ball that works like that!

Instead, it’s about spotting signals of change, challenging assumptions and thinking ahead so that when shifts happen, we’re ready.

This way of working helps us ask the bigger questions, like:

• what if rising living costs permanently change how people engage with sport and fitness?
• what happens if extreme weather patterns disrupt traditional sports seasons?
• how will AI and automation reshape the way we track, coach and even participate in physical activity?

Our aim is not to spread alarm, but to explore these issues now so we can build more resilient strategies for the future.

Most of the key trends from our original scan still hold strong, but some have evolved more than others.

The full Horizon Scan explores 16 trends under six major themes and there are two that stand out:

The cost of living is reshaping sport and leisure

In 2021, we highlighted growing income inequality as a long-term concern, but what we’re seeing now is more than a trend – it’s a lived reality.

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.

It’s hard to believe that just a decade ago, seeing real women – sweaty, jiggly, unfiltered, and unapologetically themselves – moving their bodies in whatever way worked for them would be such a defining moment in advertising.

But that’s exactly what This Girl Can did.

The creative campaign smashed through airbrushed ideals, rewrote the rules of aspiration and told women they were already enough.

At Sport England, collaboration and learning are at the heart of what we do.

That’s why we’re excited to share the highlights from the recent interim evaluation of our investment into system partners – the Learning Synthesis report – a document that offers valuable insights and lessons for organisations tackling inequalities through system change.

In short, our system partner investment is a new approach that’s aligned with our Uniting the Movement strategy by committing over £500 million since 2022 to more than 120 partners. 

This long-term funding provides up to five years of financial security and stability for organisations to focus on addressing the systemic changes needed to tackle the inequalities stopping individuals and communities from being physically active.

Learning together – why this report matters

It’s important to highlight that this investment by Sport England is about more than funding. It’s about building a movement for change and the Learning Synthesis report is key in this mission.

The report was conducted by Ipsos, New Philanthropy Capital (NPC) and Sheffield Hallam University, and it sheds light on what’s working and where challenges remain within the sector.

But it goes beyond that by posing questions – and presenting answers – about how we can work together to tackle inequalities so everyone can enjoy the benefits of being active.

What we’ve learned so far

The result? Insights that are key for our work at Sport England and for critical points of reflection to anyone striving to make a difference through systemic change at local or national level.

Some of the main findings of the report are:

Overcoming challenges to collaboration is key

System partners build partnerships with diverse stakeholders – from local councils to schools and community groups – that create a more cohesive and integrated approach to system change.

We know that Uniting the Movement has provided a framework for building trust and encouraging alignment and shared goals, but we also know that collaborative working takes time, and that this is often hindered by financial constraints, recruitment challenges and cultural barriers.

These obstacles are further exacerbated by political and leadership changes, which can disrupt momentum and require the continual rebuilding and realignment of relationships.

Change champions make a difference 

System partners have found that identifying and engaging local champions can accelerate system change as these often hold the keys to unlocking new opportunities and relationships.

It is important for us and our system partners to think strategically about how we can influence the system, through engaging with these individuals and groups moving forwards, and how we can best identify them within our communities, places and/or organisations.

Quantitative and qualitative data together tell the full story

While numbers are important, stories and case studies provide rich context for understanding our impact and uncovering learnings about why things work, for whom and in what context.

We need to tackle the ongoing challenges within the system, where qualitative data is not valued as it is difficult to track and evaluate over time.

Learning from challenges

System partners recognise that system change isn’t easy. Barriers like language, staff turnover, strategic planning and the complexity of demonstrating impact are very real. But recognising these hurdles allows us to address them head-on with a mindset of learning and growth.

Looking ahead – building on these learnings

As an organisation, Sport England is on a journey to reshape its relationship with its partners and develop a more relational approach to working together to tackle inequalities in physical activity.

Our evaluation to understand the impact of this ‘new way of working’ is therefore very complex and it's represented in an evolving theory of change.

This hypothesis sets out how and why we think change will happen over the short, medium and long-term, and guides our evaluation accordingly.

The interim evaluation findings we’re sharing today provide a foundation for reflection and learning on our progress so far.

The conclusions and the improvements achieved by our partners, plus the challenges these partners and also us at Sport England still need to face, underscore the importance of adaptability, transparency and a long-term perspective in driving system change.

As we move forward, we think it will be essential to:

• continue sharing what works and what doesn’t work when addressing the challenges that arise through our collaboration between our partners and colleagues
• use our successes and our innate value in our work with system partners to continue to build new partnerships and engage with diverse stakeholders, whilst nurturing those we’ve already established
• focus on sustainable approaches to evaluation, learning and insight that balance the immediate need to demonstrate impact, whilst recognising that true systemic change is a long-term impact.

Join the conversation

We're already working closely with our system partners to share and act on these findings through our capability and capacity-building sessions, and our learning and knowledge exchange work.

We also think the findings have wider value to anyone who’s part of a complex system and exploring how to reduce inequalities. Is this you?

If that’s the case, we’d love to hear your thoughts on these findings, what resonates most with your work or what lessons we can learn together.

And if you have any questions, reflections or feedback on this report or any other element on this blog, please get in touch.

When we are travelling it is easy to get impatient and start wondering how long we’ll still have to go before we reach our destination.

And this edginess often appears even more so when we are on a long journey – like our quest for sustainability in the sport and physical activity sector.

But it is not just sustainable sports centres (to name one example) that we’re after.

We also want more sustainable homes, more sustainable businesses and more sustainable communities – so we are in for a long ride!

Looking back as we celebrate

And just to finish with the journey metaphor, it’s true that sometimes a trip can take you through breathtaking and inspiring places, while other times it drags on with no apparent progress being made.

The efforts around the sustainability journey are no different.

Cynics amongst us may say we are not making any progress with our sustainability efforts but I’d like to disagree.

At Sport England sustainability is a key part of our work, so I thought that as we celebrate the fourth anniversary of our long-term strategy, Uniting the Movement, it’d also be a great moment to reflect on the steps we’ve made so far and how we can keep moving ahead while ensuring we make the most of our natural resources without damaging or limiting our environment.

In 2022, we committed to ‘stepping up on environmental sustainability’.

Back then we highlighted three key points:

• We recognised there was considerable work to do not only to reduce our negative impact on the environment but also to prepare our sector for a changing climate.
• We committed to being clear on what actions we needed to take and to improving Sport England’s own environmental performance.
• We said we’d collaborate with other organisations to make these things happen across the sector.

So, can we say we are nearly there? I’m afraid not quite, but we we’ve taken our first steps and we’re not alone, so we can’t stop now.

Plus we’ve done what we said and more. Much more!
 

We listened to our partners and our internal teams and produced an environmental sustainability strategy and action plan, which we called Every Move.

We have a small team to deliver the action plan and embed sustainability across all our work but we can see people across the sector getting constantly involved with our efforts, like when almost 200 organisations signed our Going for Green Pledge last summer after our our Chair Chris Boardman cycled for eight days from Manchester to Paris to inspire action for climate change.

But perhaps the biggest change I’ve noticed is the cultural attitude to sustainability across the sport sector.

Our partners have embraced sustainability and a sign of this is that the language around sustainable development is dropped into everyday conversations.

As a collective we’re really beginning to understand the inter-connection between climate change, inequalities, participation in sport and our role in tackling that.

Environmental social governance is now included in the Code for Sports Governance, setting out levels of transparency and integrity for our funded partners.

Working together for everybody's future

In addition, many of our partners have developed, or are developing, their own sustainability action plans and these recognise the importance of tackling climate justice - addressing the unequal impacts of climate change on disadvantaged communities.

There are shining examples of projects across the country which reduce emissions, increase biodiversity, improve the sustainability of the things they buy and improve the accessibility and quality of our natural environment.

Projects include recycling, second-hand buying or looking at repairing broken items before buying brand new ones, using LED flood-lighting and solar panels on facilities, improving access to natural environments, purchasing goods without plastic packaging and medals made from bamboo, re-distributing good quality kit, cleaning up our natural surroundings or sowing wildflower gardens around cricket pitches.

These initiatives invariably make sport more accessible and appealing to a wider audience by creating inviting natural environments, reducing utility costs or providing the kit to enable sport to happen, plus these are ventures most of us can get involved with.

In England there’s over 75,000 sports and physical activity centres and, according to our latest Active Lives Adult Survey, our sector is powered by 10 million volunteers.

These numbers show that we have the perfect vehicle to spread the word around sustainable action being able to improve the quality of everyone’s life.

The journey ahead looks exciting but it looks tough too as, let’s face it, we still have a long way to go!

The focus must now be on delivery and ensuring we talk about it and share good work practices.

We need to make sure that we tackle sustainability at place-level, underpinning our actions with sustainable approaches.

Sustainability is inextricably connected to deprivation and will become even more so as our climate continues to change.

We must prepare for the future ensuring the places where we are active do not overheat or flood, have clean air and clean water, and are welcoming and accessible for all.

We also need to ensure energy security for our communities, building confidence in the ability to budget and plan.

So no, we’re not there yet, but will we ever get there? I believe the answer is yes.

Happy fourth anniversary, Uniting the Movement. Let's keep working to ensure we have even more to celebrate for your fifth!
 

This week is Inter Faith Week, a celebration that aims to strengthen good inter faith relations at all levels, to increase awareness of the different and distinct faith communities in the UK, and to increase understanding between people of religious and non-religious beliefs.

For us at Salaam Peace, this is a key week for our organisation as it was born out of a national tragedy: the 7/7 London bombings in 2005.

Building a project at the back of a terrible event

A week after this life-changing event, I was on my way to 10 Downing Street for a reception with the then Prime Minister, Tony Blair, for outstanding work in the community.

I remember entering the tube and everybody looking at me, with people breaking into sweat, grabbing rails and checking out for the next station.

What nobody knew is that I was a British Muslim with Indian heritage who had contributed to his community since 1987, at the age of 12.

Almost 38 years later, I am still active but I will never forget how hard it hit me being treated like a terrorist in the city I loved.

In 2006 contacted some friends from the Met Police and the army and I used my role at Leyton Orient to set up the Eid Cup – an event to bring communities together using the power of sport and food.

An imam opened the day educating over 500 people (of which 60% were non-Muslim) about respect, understanding and living a peaceful life by outlining the fact that terror and extremist acts have no place in Islam.

Leading by example

These principles formed the basis of Salaam Peace.

Our vision was to have an organisation that welcomed all, regardless of gender, social standing or class, faith (or the lack of it) or cultural traditions.

It's based on the Eastern/Indian philosophy of master/pupil and guru/student approach, that’s user-led by a team of staff and volunteers that are a product of our work.

Our mission is simple yet robust, “be the change in the community you want to see”, which is about every person taking ownership of social injustice and addressing it through action.

Our chief operating officer, Azi Mohammed, aged 26 and former Sport England intern, is a prime example of our job.
 

Azi began his journey as a participant with Salaam Peace in 2011.

Unaided, he found a source of funding aged 13 and in 2013 he began volunteering at a Friday morning breakfast tennis club at a local primary school.

Alongside his educational achievements, which included a first class degree from King's College in London, Azi attained a huge portfolio of qualifications and awards including The Diana Award and he successfully completed a summer internship at Sport England.

This role planted the seeds of a relationship with Salaam Peace and since joining the team full time in the summer of 2020, Azi has raised over £650,000 and implemented many processes to ensure the organisation remains a leader in the sector.

This year we had a weekly core engagement of more than 1500 toddlers, children, young people, adults and older citizens, which shows that our community is growing and we believe that sport and education are our primary tools for engagement with our groups.

Our reach cuts across many perceived challenges and we set our standards based on the values of respect, understanding, hard work, community spirit, action (as opposed to reaction), assimilation and family.

Mohammed X's story

One person who’s benefited from Salaam Peace’s work is Mohammed X.

I met Mohammed during his final months as an inmate at Pentonville Prison in 2009. 

When inmates' release date gets close many people come to speak to them and Mohammed and I connected at a Friday prayer in Leyton in mid-2009.

Salaam Peace was just getting started and I invited Mohammed to come to a group gym session and to a football game – Mohammed’s two favourite pastimes.

There, Mohammed met with some people from Salaam Peace who made him feel welcome and introduced him into a community of varied faiths and cultures.

We aimed at making the football sessions engaging and along with success on the pitch, friendships were built.

Mohammed began volunteering and supporting Salaam Peace’s work in East London and never was he singled out for his previous offences.

He openly shared that anti-British values, substance misuse and dealing had been a key part of his life before prison, a time when he got caught up in a cycle of hate and money-grabbing.

Mohammed had also bought into a frenzy of extreme Muslim views and drugs that gave him easy money.

But everything changed thanks to Salaam Peace.

Through our organisation, Mohammed was exposed to real role models – people who’d lead by example, saying little but doing so much and who introduced him to truthful Islamic values of community, respect, understanding and giving to the people that needed it most.

Mohammed now lives in Spain with his family and works for the Spanish equivalent to the NHS – a very different picture to what his life could have looked like had it not been for understanding, love and sport.
 

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.