Over half a million children feel they don’t belong to their community

After the Autumn Budget, Sport England has announced a major expansion of its work in places with high rates of inactivity. 

The expansion aims to use community exercise and sport to address the growing challenge of people feeling disconnected from their communities, including children and young people. New research by Sport England has found: 

·       Over half a million children (1 in 10) aged 12–17 say they don’t feel they belong where they live - that’s nearly the population of Bradford

·       Almost 1 in 5 (close to 845,000) do not feel proud of where they live 

·       Among those who lack pride in their area, almost half (45%) say it’s because there is nowhere to go for young people, while 4 in 10 cite anti-social behaviour and worries about crime

The research also points to a powerful solution: exercise and sport. When asked what gives them a sense of community (aside from friends and family), the top answer was sports clubs and activity groups – with over half (56%) of children and young people saying that this gives them a sense of community. 

However, access to exercise and sport is often dependent on where you live, with affluence and activity levels closely linked. Over a third of people (34%) are inactive in England’s most deprived places, compared to 20% in the least deprived. This creates a ‘postcode lottery’ for physical activity, which can deepen health inequalities across the country. 

Tackling inactivity is one of the best ways to boost national health and wealth, with Sport England research showing that every £1 spent on community sport and exercise delivers £4.38 back for the economy and society in health, wellbeing, happiness, community cohesion, employment and economic growth. 

To provide opportunities for everyone to exercise, Sport England is expanding its partnerships to a further 27 places, with each place in the top 20% for inactivity, social need, deprivation and health inequality at a national 

level. This work supports the aims of Uniting the Movement, Sport England’s 10-year strategy, and helps deliver the Government’s wider goals of improving health, growing local economies and building stronger, fairer communities.

• Research shows sport clubs and activity groups give children the greatest sense of community

• Access to sport and exercise can be a postcode lottery - especially in deprived areas 

• Dr Guddi Singh: “Postcode can be a stronger predictor of health than genetic code”

•  Sport England expands partnerships into 27 new places to boost activity rates & improve sense of community