New-Strategy-for-Sport

A New Strategy for Sport Page 1 of 76
A New Strategy for Sport:
By:
Gerard Grimes
Rory Cook
Michael Turrell
Douglas Johnson

Contents:
Introduction: 3
Theme One: Fairness & Equality
1. Introduction 5
2. How to ensure sport allows everyone to flourish 7
3. Disabled participation 10
4. Diversity in the leadership and workforce of sport 14
Theme Two: Children and Young People
5. Introduction 16
6. Making the impact of the PE/Sport Premium sustainable 18
7. Getting young people active 20
8. The role of School Games 22
9. Making sport attractive and accessible? 25
10. Sports participation in higher/further education 27
Theme Three: Participation
11. Introduction 29
12. How to address decline in participation? 30
13. How to specifically target under-represented groups? 34
14. Understanding the role of the private sector 37
15. Using sport to achieve broader positive social outcomes 40
Theme Four: Physical Activity
16. Introduction 43
17. If it’s important, measure it! 45
18. Target different health outcomes 48
19. Raising awareness of guidelines 59
20. Integrating government departments 62
Summary: 65
References: 68

Introduction
It has been 13 years since Game Plan, an all-encompassing sports policy, was published for the
United Kingdom. Since then, the world in which we live has drastically changed. Not only in
terms of advances in technology but also in terms of the number and diversity of people living in
the United Kingdom. As a result of these changes the government’s strategy towards sport must
also change. Although the previous policy fit well with the needs of the time, it has become
increasingly apparent that a new strategy is needed in order to fit the realities of this modern
time. Only by creating a new sporting policy will we be able to facilitate an increase in
participation in sport as well as an increase in people being generally more physically active.
Around one in two women and a third of men in the UK are damaging their health due to a lack
of physical activity. This is estimated to cost the UK £7.4 billion a year as well as being the cause
of one in six deaths.
It is this policy’s aim to demonstrate the potential benefits of participating in sport and being
more physically active in day-to-day life, to encourage people from all walks of life to be more
active. These benefits range from participants feeling more physically and psychologically
healthy, to having fun being involved in sport which in turn may lead to an increase in the
participants self esteem. Furthermore, findings show that participation in sport can lead to a
reduction in crime in local communities.
However, there are many barriers to entry into sport. Working closely with Sport England and
various governing bodies, we have been successful in removing some of these. Nevertheless,
many barriers still pose a major problem for participation levels. Some are unique to minority
groups, such as lack of accessibility for disabled people, and some are shared issues, such as
general lack of interest in sport or lack of encouragement from family members, all of which
must be eliminated.
Although increasing levels of participation is highly important, it is not the only thing we aim to
achieve with this policy. We aim to not only increase participation but to also increase the values
individual participants take from being involved in sport and physical activity. These values
include improved educational and lifelong learning skills, improved skills that can lead to higher
employability, and a stronger sense of social inclusion and integration within communities.

We encourage every government department, sporting governing body and sporting
organisation to help us achieve the goals set out in this new strategy for sport. This strategy can
be found below, where we have highlighted four themes. Detailed plans of each theme have been
laid out as to how we wish to address their respective challenges.
Section Word Count: 466 Excluding Titles & References

Theme One: Fairness and
Equality: By Gerard
Grimes
Introduction:
Discrimination has no place in sport. Yet discrimination has become an
increasingly important issue in sport in recent years.
Britain is now a multi-cultural society and, although it may be done
unconsciously, social exclusion and discrimination is visible in every
sector throughout the UK. Some inequality may also be due to a long historical background. For
example, our past was a place where society was dominated by men and therefore the majority
of sports were played solely by men. Although positive change is underway, whereby an
increasing amount of women are participating in sport, there is still a large underrepresentation
of certain groups.
In our day-to-day life, there is still evidence of inequality and social exclusion. This
discrimination is visible throughout society and is particularly apparent for minority ethnic
groups and for people with disabilities.
However, sport can play a major role in breaking down these social barriers and can bring
together people from various social groups, promoting inclusion for all.
It is clear that all National Governing Bodies of sport have an important part to play in
eliminating social exclusion and facilitating social inclusion for all groups. Sporting bodies have a
major function to play in their role in developing sport for all levels of involvement and
organisation.
These various levels of inequality of participation have been recognised. Working closely with
Sport England and various governing bodies we are working hard to stamp out any form of
intolerance, discrimination or inequality that may be found in sport. Below can be found various

policy changes that will be implemented in order to overcome all unfairness and inequality
within the sports sector.
What are the challenges we want to address?
1. How to ensure the culture of sport allows everyone to flourish, and addresses all
forms of intolerance, whether as a result of active discrimination, or unconscious
bias;
2. How to ensure that disabled participants are properly catered for and that we
continue to deliver improvements in the perception of disabled people and
opportunities for disabled people’s participation in sport;
3. How to ensure that the leadership and workforce in sport is diverse.

1 How to ensure the culture of sport allows everyone to
flourish, and address all forms of intolerance, whether as a
result of active discrimination, or unconscious bias
Equability laws have been put in place in order to stop discrimination at all levels. The word
discrimination in this sense means unfairly treating someone or treating someone in a way that
limits that person's opportunities. This includes discrimination on the grounds of race and
religion, as well as disability, gender and sexual orientation.
1.1 Barriers to Entry
There are many barriers to entry. Identifying and removing these barriers is crucial in order to
eliminate all forms of discrimination in sport.
1.1.1. Lack of cultural awareness
This is a clear barrier to participation to a large extent for faith and race groups. This includes a
lack of awareness in terms of religious beliefs, religious festivals and dietary restrictions, and
cultural characteristics of certain groups. It is highly important for everyone to understand and
be aware of the calendar of different faiths. For example, the Football Association (FA) website
provides everyone with a list of important dates regarding religious events in order to better
understand the needs of different faiths and cultures. It is also important to seek information
from the local community, as this will help the community as a whole to become familiar and
comfortable with different cultures.
1.1.2 Domination of groups
Domination of particular groups may be off-putting and can result in people not wanting to
participate in sports. For example, some sports may be seen as male-dominated and are
perceived as not inclusive to women; or dominated by a certain ethnic group and not perceived
as inclusive to other ethnicities. A balance of exclusive and inclusive provision can be achieved in
order to cater for everyone’s needs, abilities and interests. However, women-only or disabled-
only provision – to name a few – can be valid in order to boost participation of certain
underrepresented groups in sport.

1.1.3 Elite squads
When it comes to elite squad selection – the same principle applies for employment in any job –
the best person for the task is recruited. However, not everyone may have had the same
opportunity. Therefore, it is critical to check that the systems and processes involved in squad
selection are fair and equality proofed.
1.2 What Must Be Done?
1.2.1. Reinforcing awareness and improving diversity
More awareness-raising activities are essential. These activities must be in close cooperation
with governing bodies of various sports as well as sports federations and clubs. For example,
more diversity programmes need to be implemented in order to encourage ethnic minority
participation. These activities should include the removal of barriers for minorities in acquiring
leadership positions.
1.2.2 Stronger enforcement
National Governing Bodies need to not only implement anti-racism campaigns but also enforce
effective anti-racism and discrimination regulations and equality measures.
1.2.3 Faith Centre Engagement
It has been shown that BME communities are less likely to participate in standard sports club
and organisations. However, there are opportunities to increase BME participation through the
use of faith centres. Although more research is still needed, Sporting Equal’s initial findings
show that faith centres could potentially drastically increase participation levels of
underrepresented groups. Therefore, rather than relying on sports clubs – which can often be
very unwelcoming for minority groups – faith centres should also be seen as a way of facilitating
the increase in participation in sport.
1.4 Financial Aspect
Over the course of the next two years, over £1 million will be invested by Sport England into
Sporting Equals, an organisation that exists to actively promote greater participation in sport
and physical activity for people from disadvantaged communities particularly the black and
minority ethnic (BME) population. This investment is part of a £500 million funding package,
which will cover approximately 46 different sports and will be distributed over the course of the
next four years. Approximately 20% of the population in England and Wales is made up of black

and minority ethnics; with London’s population being 55% ethnic minorities. However there is a
severe underrepresentation of these communities within sport. With the above-mentioned
investment, Sporting Equals will be able to make a notable difference in the inclusion of
underrepresented groups as well as being able to implement long-term opportunities and health
outcomes to those communities. Furthermore, the new funding will aid Sporting Equals to
further expand and deliver proven participation-inclusive models across the country. For
example, Sporting Equals “SportZones” which travel the country and provide the opportunity to
mix with different communities and try different sports. SportZones targets those communities
that are considered excluded as well as helping to turn interest in a sport into regular
participation of the sport.

Challenge No. 2: How to ensure that disabled participants are
properly catered for and that we continue to deliver
improvements in the perception of disabled people and
opportunities for disabled people’s participation in sport
The Disability Discrimination ACT 1995 (DDA) protects disabled people in that it is against the
law to discriminate against people in respect of any disability they may have; be it a physical or a
mental impairment. For a person to be defined as disabled, the impairment must be substantial
and long term as well as having an adverse effect on the person’s ability to perform day-to-day
activities. Using this definition of a disability, approximately one in five people are classed as
disabled – approximately 17% to 20% of the population. Furthermore, approximately 70% of
disabled people have not taken part in any physical activity in the past month compared to 48%
of non-disabled people. However, seven in ten disabled people want to be more physically active
which represents a huge underrepresentation of disabled people in sport.
By 2022, we aspire to increase the amount of disabled people regularly taking part in sport as
well a decrease the gap of employment rates between disabled and non-disabled people.
Looking ahead to 2017, the Olympic Stadium will stage both the World Athletics Championship
and the IPC Para-Athletics World Cup concurrently for first time. This will hopefully not only
increase awareness of disability sports but also help to inspire a generation to take part in
disability sports.
Although Sport England has made disability sport a priority, having already been spent over
£160 million trying to increase participation of this group, there is still a lack of participation
and a lack of opportunities for
disabled people in sport. This
high level of physical inactivity
is mainly due to the many
barriers of entry that disabled
people must overcome in order
to participate.
2.1 Barriers to Entry
2.1.1 Lack of help and

support
Lack of carers, support or assistance can be a major barrier for disabled participants who need
help to participate in sport. The facilities of the sporting organisation or club need to be made
accessible and must be able to accommodate carers. Facilities may be wrongly assumed to be
inaccessible; therefore this must be correctly communicated to the disabled community.
2.1.2 Lack of awareness of sporting opportunities
Lack of awareness is due to the fact that it is not easy to find information about suitable sports
clubs. Disabled people often find themselves very isolated and therefore are not in contact with
people who can supply them with information about sporting opportunities within their local
community.
2.2 What Must Be Done?
2.2.1 Increase Awareness
Increasing the awareness of disabled people within sport, as well as their requirements in order
to participate, is extremely important. At university level, sports degrees should include
awareness-raising modules around disabled people’s participation in sport. Furthermore, those
people who are involved in leading sports groups and clubs need to inform themselves as to
what disabled people can and can’t do, in order to motivate these individuals in a correct and
inclusive way. Those in charge of sports groups and clubs must also be trained to be able to spot
and overcome any potential problems that may arise; this also includes the need to be aware of
other illnesses such as epilepsy.
2.2.2 Increase Disability-specific Equipment
The number of sports facilities providing adaptive equipment, to enable the participation of
disabled athletes, needs to be increased. Among others, this should include items such as
different types of wheelchairs depending on the sport (for example rugby wheelchairs are
rugged with front fenders that protect the legs whereas racing wheelchairs are much more
lightweight and are equipped with pneumatic tyres). Gym equipment must also be adapted to
meet the needs of disabled people. For example, weights that can be strapped to the wrists
rather than having to be held with the hands, as well as exercise machines that allow the user to
stay in their wheelchair.
2.3 What Can Be Implemented?

2.3.1 Playground to Podium
Playground to Podium is a national strategy designed to identify, develop and support talented
young disabled athletes with the intention of helping these amateur athletes to become high-
level performance athletes. This initiative was developed by the Youth Sport Trust, Sport
England, UK Sport and the British Paralympic Association. Since its inception, the initiative had
identified and supported many talented young disabled athletes and has also been the catalyst
for the development of infrastructure to further support young disabled people in order to help
them engage and remain interested in sport. Two athletes who were spotted due to the initiative
in 2010, Sophie Kamlish and Jamie Carter (15 and 17 years old respectively), went on to
represent Team GB in the London 2012 Paralympic Games as part of the athletics team. As well
as athletics, a number of other sports specific pathways have been put in place by Playground to
Podium, including archery, football, gymnastics, swimming and many more. Although
Playground to Podium has recently come to the end of its four year funding, the English
Federation of Disability Sport (EFDS) has reviewed the initiative and due to its phenomenal
success will be grated another £8 million in order to get more disabled people playing sport.
2.3.2 Training Physical Education Teachers
One of the quickest and easiest ways in which to increase sport participation of disabled people
is through integrating young people with disabilities in their school PE lessons. However, many
physical education teachers within schools do not know how to involve children with
disabilities, and furthermore, do not know what they can and cannot achieve in sporting terms.
Therefore, physical education teachers should receive training on how to include people with
both physical and mental disabilities in sports lessons. Throughout the country, training courses
will be offered every 2 months in which teachers will also be provided with a range of materials
to support their learning, including instructional videos and manuals.
2.4 Financial Aspect
Over the course of the next two years, Sport England will be awarding over £12 million to seven
sports organisations to boost grassroots sport. The majority of this funding will be used to
support equality and diversity within sport as well as helping leaders of sports groups and clubs
become better, more well-rounded coaches. Almost half of the £12 million - £5 million – will go
towards Sports Coach UK, with the English Federation of Disability Sport (EFDS) receiving over
£2.3 million.

Challenge No. 3: How to ensure that the leadership and
workforce in sport is diverse
Our aim is to ensure that the leadership and workforce in sport is reflective of all sections of
society. Equal opportunities need to be provided to everyone regardless of gender, race,
disability, religion or belief, or age. Any form of discrimination, be it direct or indirect
discrimination, will not be tolerated. Direct discrimination would be, for example, if someone
were to be rejected from an organisation due to their race not being considered to fit with the
organisations image. Indirect discrimination, on the other hand, occurs when someone is
unjustly put in a disadvantageous situation compared to everyone else due to, for instance, their
gender. For example, if a minimum height requirement is put in place this is likely to eliminate
more women than men. The definition of discrimination used also includes any and all forms of
victimisation and harassment.
3.1 Equality Commitment
We wish to create sporting environments across the UK in which individual differences are
acknowledged and valued. Employees in the sporting industry, as well as any other working
environment, are entitled to working environments in which everyone is respected and where
there is a zero tolerance towards bullying and harassment.
3.2 Implementation
In order to ensure that the leadership and workforce in sport throughout the United Kingdom is
diverse, those working at management level in sporting organisations – including Sport England
and National Governing Bodies – must not only implement this diversity policy but must also
lead by example and set the standard of behaviour in order to make sure that the employees
they manage abide by this policy and
advocate the same ideas with regard to equal
opportunities. All relevant employees must
be communicated the policy as well as be
provided with equality training; particularly
those who are involved in selecting and
recruiting potential employees, who must be
trained specifically in non-discriminatory
selection techniques. Furthermore,
reasonable adjustments must be made in order to meet the needs of disabled employees.

Employees must also be made aware that violating this policy will be considered a disciplinary
offence.
Specific projects, such as Sporting Equal’s Leaderboard, aim to improve diversity within sports
leadership. Greater support by Sport England and various National Governing Bodies will be
made available to SE Leadership as it has proven to be a highly successful project in providing
opportunities to the BME community as well as attracting talented individuals from under-
represented groups.
3.3 Complaints
Any employee, or potential employee, that believes they have fallen victim to any form of
discrimination – be it conscious or unconscious discrimination – has the right to file a grievance
report and speak to their superior. It must be made clear to all employees that all allegations
regarding discrimination will be dealt with in confidence. In order to diversify the workforce in
sport it must be made clear that anyone who is found to have been discriminatory towards
someone else in the workplace must be made subject to disciplinary action. Discrimination has
no place in sport. Therefore, any form of discrimination must be taken very seriously, possibly
resulting in dismissal of the perpetrator.
Section Word Count: 2,555 Excluding Titles & References

Theme Two: Children &
Young People: By Rory
Cook
Introduction:
Sport has a major influence in children and young people’s lives.
It is something that is not only so vital for their learning and
social development but most importantly, provides many health
benefits. It is imperative that sport is something that becomes
ingrained into children and young people’s daily routine as they progress through life.
Initially, school is where the majority of children will begin playing sport regularly and
£150 million of ring fenced funding is already being invested into primary school
physical education (DCMS, 2015). School sport acts as a major learning curve for
children by giving them the physical skills to develop and also provide them with the
education on the importance of being active throughout life.
In 2011, the School Games were introduced in the UK to provide school children with an
environment in which competitive sport is encouraged. The School Games have played a
big role in increasing participation numbers in sport with numbers of eligible students
increasing from 7.09 million in 2013/14 (Youth Sport Trust, 2014) to 8.36 million in
2014/15 (DCMS School Games Indicator, 2014/15). This success is down to the
realisation that competitive sport is important for children.
As children leave school, and become young adolescents, it is vital that they continue to
be enthusiastic about playing sport and taking part in regular exercise. Further and
higher education provides opportunities for this to be possible, however, it is important
that students are still encouraged to play sport and take part in physical activity.

To provide children and young people with the finest opportunities to play sport and
stay active it is essential that the Department for Media, Culture and Sport, the
Department for Education, the Department of Health and the Youth Sport Trust continue
to work with each other and local government to meet the following objectives:
1. How to make sure that the impact of the PE and Sport Premium is sustainable over
the long term?
2. How to encourage young people to be active and the role that schools can play in
supporting this?
3. How to continue to make the School Games relevant both in encouraging competitive
sport and as part of the talent pathway?
4. How to make the sporting offer for children and young people outside of school and
school hours as attractive and accessible as possible?
5. How we can encourage sport participation in further and higher education?

1. How to make sure that the impact of the PE and Sport
Premium is sustainable over the long term?
Physical education (PE) is a vital aspect of a child’s life and aims to help school pupils
obtain long-lasting habits of physical activity that will provide them with a higher
quality of life (Granero-Gallegos et al, 2012). Therefore, it is imperative that the
provision of PE in primary schools is done as effectively as possible and that PE is
continued as pupil’s progress through school.
In March 2013 the Coalition Government introduced the PE and Sport Premium, which
provides ring-fenced funding of £150 million to improve the provision of PE in primary
schools across England (DCMS, 2015). In February 2014 David Cameron, committed to
funding the PE and Sport Premium until 2020 (Youth Sport Trust, 2015).
Currently the money that schools receive can be used in any way they feel is necessary
(DCMS, 2015). This means that some schools may not be using the money they receive
as effectively as others. Therefore, the Department for Education and the Department
for Culture, Media and Sport will use an incremental approach to ensure schools are
using this funding in the most efficient way possible.
In the UK, an evident problem in primary school PE is the lack of depth in the amount of
sports offered to children, and this needs to be addressed. When children are young they
need to be given the chance to try as many sports as possible to see what is best suited
to them, and what they will want to continue playing as they progress through life.
The best way to achieve this is to provide current school teachers with additional
coaching qualifications, to provide schools with a wider choice of sports. This will be
accomplished by subsidising the cost of coaching qualifications for school teachers.

Moreover, another way to achieve this is to look for sport coaching experience when
employing new school teachers; obviously without overlooking teaching qualities and
experience.
It is hoped that using the funding from the PE and Sport Premium to widen the range of
sports available to school children will improve the enjoyment factor of physical
education. Another objective is to provide more and more school pupils with a sport that
is suited to them as we progress towards 2020.
Furthermore, the Department for Education and the Department for Culture, Media and
Sport will also work together to tackle the problem of “drop-off” points as school pupils
progress through to secondary level. These “drop off” points arise due to extra work and
social commitments, and the aim of this initiative is to reduce the amount of pupils
stopping sport as they progress through school (DCMS, 2015).
This will ultimately be achieved through a bottom-up approach with school teachers
encouraging continued participation in sport, and promoting the idea that physical
education is just as important as any other school subject. Therefore, sport should not be
sacrificed as children get older and have more work pressures, and teachers should
reinforce this idea.
Using funding from the PE and Sport Premium the definitive aim of this initiative is to
see a reduction in the percentage of school pupils reaching the “drop off” point as they
progress through school. These figures will be reviewed annually at the end of each
academic year to determine any progress.

2. How to encourage young people to be active and the role
that schools can play in supporting this?
Physical activity in children and young people provides many benefits that not only
improve health but also allow children to develop socially. Physical activity in schools
improves the mood of children, reduces stress and can also help them become more
mature adolescents. As a result, physical activity at a young age is highly associated with
better academic outcomes (Taras, 2005).
For this reason the Chief Medical Officers have stated that children should undertake at
least 60 minutes of physical activity every day (DCMS, 2015). However, undoubtedly it is
not possible for schools to incorporate 60 minutes of physical education into the
everyday school curriculum.
It is important to mention at this stage that physical activity in not solely playing sport.
Anything that requires more energy than resting can be classed as physical activity.
Thus, a possible solution could be to incorporate physical activity into children and
young people’s everyday day life.
The Department for Education and the Department of Health will be expected to co-
operate with each other to implement physical activity into children and young people’s
everyday life, using a bottom up approach. Due to the ambiguity in this area, multiple
streams will be used to increase the activity of children and young people (Zahariadis,
2003).
Firstly, the Department of Health will work with school teachers to increase their
awareness of the benefits of physically active pupils, and provide methods of
incorporating physical activity into school lessons. An important starting point for this
policy to be implemented successfully is to educate teachers in the motives behind the
idea, as they will be the driving forces behind this initiative.
The main objective of this policy will aim to make every school day as active as possible
for pupils. This could involve teachers giving pupils a two minute break during lessons

to get out their seats and walk round the classroom, or even teachers asking pupils to
stand up out their seats if they have something to say in class.
Secondly, another aspect of this policy aims for schools to encourage children to be as
active as possible outside school hours. This could be achieved by schools offering
inducements to pupils for walking or cycling to school. Inducements are important for
children and young people as more often than not they need an aspect of extrinsic
motivation for encouragement.
It is also essential that parents and guardians are involved in this initiative, as they will
play a large role in increasing the amount of physical activity children and young people
do outside of school hours. Schools will be expected to play a big part in increasing the
awareness of parents, and inspiring them to encourage their children to become more
active.
This initiative will be incorporated in all schools at the start of 2016, with the aim of a
noticeable increase in physical activity in children and young people by the end of 2018.
The cost of this policy will be very little in comparison to the substantial benefits
expected to be gained. This initiative will need an investment of £3 million annually
from the Department of Health and the Department for Education.

3. How to continue to make the School Games relevant both in
encouraging competitive sport and as part of the talent
pathway?
The School Games were designed to build on the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games
and they provide an excellent opportunity for children and young people to take part in
competitive school sport, with £21.6 million of public funding being invested to support
the initiative in 2014/15 (DCMS School Games Indicator, 2014/15). Youth Sport Trust
(2014) released an article in November 2014 stating that the School Games is delivering
a real return on investment, mentioning a total of 17,800 schools, and 7.09 million
eligible students participated in the event over the 2013/2014 academic year. In the
2014/15 academic year these figures increased to 19, 511 schools and 8.36 million
eligible students (DCMS School Games Indicator, 2014/15). Table 1 and Table 2 show
that the School Games have been an undisputable success since they were established in
2011.
Table 1
0
5000
10000
15000
20000
25000
2011/12 2012/13 2013/14 2014/15
Number of Schools Participating in the
Shoool Games
Number of Schools
Participating in the Shoool
Games

Table 2
It is clear that the School Games is improving year on year, however, it is important that
participation rates keep rising and that the success of the School Games continues to
flourish. To achieve this it is imperative that the Youth Sport Trust and the Department
for Culture, Media and Sport continue to work together to ensure there is continued
development of the School Games. This will be done through multiple streams with the
main focus on increasing participation numbers.
Firstly, an aim of the School Games is to become more inclusive for school children
across the whole of the UK over the next few years. Currently, the majority of schools
competing are predominantly from England. Consequently, it is imperative that schools
from Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland become more involved in the School Games.
Currently only English schools can compete at Levels 1, 2 and 3 of the School Games
with Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland being excluded from this and only being
eligible to compete in the finals (DCMS School Games Indicator, 2014/15). Therefore it
is essential that we increase participation within the rest of the UK over the next few
years. This initiative will hopefully aid in developing talent pathways as we progress
towards Rio 2016 and more realistically aiming to see greater results by Tokyo 2020.
0
1000000
2000000
3000000
4000000
5000000
6000000
7000000
8000000
9000000
2011/12 2012/13 2013/14 2014/15
Number of Eligible Students for the
School Games
Number of Eligible Students
for the School Games

Secondly, with increased funding the aim will be to increase the number of sports that
are available at the School Games, including increased opportunities for disabled
youngsters. Currently, there are 30 sports for schools to choose from, but there are
other developing sports that would benefit from being part of the School Games. This
would also increase participation throughout the UK as a wider choice of sports will give
children more options on what sport they want to take part in.
Increasing the current funding allocated to the School Games by £4 million annually the
fundamental objective of this will be to use an incremental approach to have five more
Olympic and Paralympic Games sports included in the School Games by 2019. This will
ultimately lead to greater success in these sports in Tokyo 2020 and beyond.

4. How to make the sporting offer for children and young
people outside of school and school hours as attractive and
accessible as possible?
Playing sport outside school hours is extremely important for children and young people
due to the limited amount of sport available to them within a school day. Howie et al.
(2012) reveal that research has proven that playing sport outside school hours
increases the chance of children continuing playing sport in later life. Moreover, they
also mention it has been established that children that participate in sports outside
schools hours have greater social competence. Therefore, it is essential that children are
encouraged to participate in sport outside schools hours, and there are plenty of
opportunities available to make this possible.
The aim of this initiative is to increase the sport participation of children and young
people outside school hours by making opportunities as attractive and accessible as
possible. For this initiative the Department of Health and the Youth Sport Trust will
work together cooperatively using an incremental approach to increase the sporting
opportunities for children and young people outside school hours.
As part of this plan, children and young people who live in similar areas will be given the
chance to come together at local schools and community sports clubs to play a range of
different sports on weeknights and during the weekend. The motive behind this idea is
to encourage children to play sport by offering a wide range of sports often not available
at schools.
At some schools only a selection of sports are played due to the fact that the majority of
children want to play the same sports. For example: football, rugby and hockey.
However, some children may prefer different sports if they were given the opportunity.

Therefore, using the strong links already in place between schools and community
centres the plan is to encourage them to work together and create a larger selection of
sports for children to choose from.
Consequently, young people with similar interests will be given the opportunity to come
together and start playing a new sport that may not be offered to them at school.
Benefits gained from this will not only include giving children greater sporting
opportunities but the social skills gained from meeting children living in the same area
will be invaluable for social development.
The aim is to offer a wide range of different sports to all communities throughout the UK
with the numbers of sports offered increasing year on year. Ultimately the goal is to
have as many children and young people getting involved in these sports.
Due to the existing links between schools and community sports clubs the
implementation of this initiative looks to be reasonably straightforward and relatively
low cost. Youth Sport Trust and the Department of Health will be expected to invest £5
million annually into this initiative. The plan is to start grouping schools and community
clubs together at the start of 2016, with the hope that this idea is spread throughout the
majority of the UK by the end of 2019.
5. How we can encourage sport participation in further and
higher education?
When young people leave school and decide to progress their learning further at
universities and colleges, there is often a tendency to stop playing sport. The value of

recreational sport in higher education has been proven to provide many benefits
including higher graduate employability, enhanced student experience and increased
student attraction and retention (Sport England, 2015). Therefore, endeavouring to
increase sport participation in further and higher education is of paramount importance.
In 2011 Sport England invested £8 million of lottery funding into 41 projects as part of
the “Active Universities” initiative. The aim of the project was to increase participation
rates. This was a massive success with them achieving 130% of the overall participant
target and a 2% increase in participation at universities over a three year period (Sport
England, 2015).
Now that this project has come to an end it is important that Sport England continue to
engage with British Universities and Colleges Sport (BUCS) to ensure sport participation
rates continue to rise. This will be done using a small fragment of the £11.3 million from
the Sport Activation Fund, set to last until 2017 (Sport England, 2014).
After using a rational decision making model a relatively cheap plan was decided upon
that has very little risk and will hopefully help achieve the desired outcome. The aim of
this initiative is to continue to increase the amount of children and young people in
higher education who play sport on a regular basis, by trying to change students’
perceptions in the way in which sport is viewed.
Therefore, the idea is to make students aware of the benefits that come with playing
sport at university and college by hosting lectures on the topic. Although there are many
health and social benefits that come with playing sport, these will not be the main focus.
Students will predominantly be educated on the benefits of sport in enhancing their CV

and increasing job opportunities. This will hopefully encourage more students to get
involved in university sport.
It is important that this is presented to first year students at the start of the academic
year, as this is when they are most receptive to starting new activities. There will also be
one lecture per semester to inspire students to keep playing sport or start if they haven’t
already. The aim is that this will help students develop a lasting sporting habit while
they study at university or college.
This initiative will be reviewed twice annually to make sure it is having the desired
effect and participation figures are continuing to rise. Funding for this initiative will
come from the Sport England’s Sport Activation Fund which aims to get 195,000 new
students playing sport, and this initiative will support in reaching this target.

Theme Three: Participation:
By Michael Turrell
Introduction:
Sport is a major element of any nation, it portrays a nation’s beliefs,
cultures and identity, and nothing provokes this identity more than
when competing in a global sporting competition such as the
Olympics or World Cup. This was seen heavily in the 2010 football
World Cup in South Africa who have a troubling history with
divisions between social and ethnic groups, it was a great chance for
this nation to be united, and with tensions rising in the UK between different cultures and
religions, sport now more than other can be manipulated in bringing people together. Sport is
gradually blurring social and political borders, criticism coming in the shape of whether sport
just paper crack over the problems or can it be a long term solutions. There is more and more
literature concluding that sport plays a significant role in youth development, improving their
academic ability and mental well-being contributing to fewer behavioural problems. Sport is
seen to be an influential vehicle in improving the social good of a country, Sport can provide
those who are deprived and have lack of ambition, qualification and motivation, transferrable
skills and experience through the training, teamwork that are involved. Regular participation in
sport has its physical, mental and social benefits that can reduce the amount of illnesses related
1. How to address the recent decline in the number of people that regularly take part in
sport and deliver a long-term sustainable increase in participation?
2. d. How to specifically target under-represented groups?
3. Understanding the role of the private sector, and how public sector bodies, National
Governing Bodies (NGBs) and other sports bodies should work with the private
sector to help deliver an increase in participation
4. How to use the power of sport to achieve broader positive social outcomes and
whether some funding should specifically be spent for that purpose

to lack of physical activity that the NHS faces.
1. How to address the recent decline in the number of
people that regularly take part in sport and deliver a
long-term sustainable increase in participation?
Since 2005 UK sport participation has increased by 1.4 million; however this
increase came in two spells; after London won the 2012 Olympic bid and another
during the games, when participation
is expected to increase, however since
then the general trend is that of
gradual decline. In a six month period
from October 2014 to March 2015 this
number dropped by 220,000 people
(BBC 2015).
This decline has been attributed
mostly to those with a lower
socioeconomic status, who are
dependent on welfare help, and with
local authorities having their budgets cut and funding for school sports partnership
cut by £162m (The Guardian 2015), this decline in participation will only grow as
people simply can’t afford to participate in sport. With the 2017 World athletic
championships the next major sporting event this poses the next best opportunity
for this to improve.
Why we need to address this issue?
This decline in participation needs to be addressed,
as regularly participating in sport brings numerous
benefits to an individually such as health benefits
including; reduced risk of CVD, CHD and other
“London 2012 was an incredible success and a high point for
British sport, it showed that the UK has an elite sport system
to rival any nation in the world after the incredible record
medal haul from Team GB and Paralympics GB athletes,
However, there are challenges to address to help further
improve sport in this country. Sports participation figures
have declined recently and the government wants to ensure
that public funding is targeted at those organisations who
can deliver in encouraging people to get involved in sport
and physical activity.”
Tracey Crouch- Sports Minister.

diseases related to obesity (Mootz 1999) , with matrix knowledge group estimating that
regular participation in sport can save between “£1,750 and £6,900 per person” in NHS
costs. There are also economic benefits to the UK from sport, in 2010 sport related
activity contributed over £20 billion to the economy, and over 2% of jobs in the UK are
sport-related (Sport England) showing us that sport plays a significant part in the UK
economy and that we need to support the movement to increase participation in sport.
Social benefits such as; high self-esteem, higher attainment and improved drop-out rate
underlines why sport participation must be increased.
How can we do it?
Who we target:
Sport England and the other National Government bodies (NGBs) should consider who
they are targeting their participation campaigns at. The current 14-25 group which they
measure neglects the earliest stages of sport participation. This is where we should
heavily be targeting our sport participation campaigns and this can be done through
school sport and physical education. Sport England should take the leading role in
leading the school sport policy to create a sporting habit so that participation in sport is
maintained once children leave, this can allow the DCMS school sport strategy to be
integrated more effectively through one single governing body. School sport and PE
provide sport England the best opportunity to implement policies to entice younger
children into playing sport as it provides all children no matter their social background
access to sport and hopefully enjoying sport through excellent PE lessons.
This theory is supported by David Kirk in his paper ‘Driving up Participation the
Challenge for Sport’ where research around early years’ experiences were reviewed and
linked to sport participation in later years. He
concluded that “The birth-date effect and
maturational age have a profound influence on
the possibility of continuing participation in
sport for many children during the critical 11- 16
age range when it is alleged drop-out rates rise
steeply. It is during this early to mid-
adolescence period that the most dramatic maturational differences appear between age

This Girl Can
 This Girl Can is a nationwide campaign
developed by Sport England and a
number of partnership organisations
 It is aimed to reduce the difference
between men and women participating
in sport
 Studies showed women were
participating in sport due to social
aspects such as judgment
 The findings were the driving force
behind the campaign’s creation, which
aims to empower women and
encourage more to get active
 The campaign has now reached over 13
million women
peers. It is also during this period that it becomes increasingly difficult for young people to
gain a regular place in a sports team if they lack competence, experience and physical
maturity”
He continued that “quality early learning experiences not only develop physical
competencies but, crucially, develop perceptions of competence that underlie the
motivation that is vital to continuing participation, and that between the ages of 11-14
(KS3) these perceptions are well established” stressing the importance of early learning
experiences and their impact on later drop out.
Social Factors:
The Taking Part Survey at DCMS revealed
that 34% of people have peers and friends
who they participate in sport with this is
why initiatives that consider the social
factors of sport such as peers, confidence
and accessibility must be further developed
and funded, the most relevant campaign for
this is Sport England’s “This Girl Can”.
Campaigns that try to combat barriers to
participation need to be promoted. By
improving their research approach,
governing bodies can understand the latest trends and cultural patterns; this
information should be made available to those organisations that are looking to increase
participation through endorsing the social aspects of sport.
Bottom-up approach:
Fig.2 : http://www.sportengland.org/our-
work/national-work/this-girl-can/this-girl-
can-mantras
Sport England. (2015). This Girl Can. Available:
http://www.sportengland.org/our-work/national-work/this-
girl-can/. Last accessed 12th Dec 2015

The government should look to impose a bottom-up approach in regards to both
research and implementation of policies this is aimed to empower local people. A
bottom-up approach creates a sense of ‘ownership’ of a project. And those which are
built through or alongside already existing community programmes provide a greater
sense of involvement and ownership, this involvement has been proved to contribute to
a long-term participation in the project. McDonald and Tungatt (1992).
How will we fund these changes?
We propose the funding for these changes be made available through “the Community
Sport Activation Fund” this programme was aimed to support grassroots activity at a
local level, the programme is worth £45.7m and can be invested in what’s best in what
area.
On top of this the Youth Trust revealed that they expect £150 million in each of the next
two years to support the delivery of PE and sport in primary schools. (Youth Trust Sport
2015), this money can be used for Sport England to introduce a high quality strategy for
participation increase.

2. How to specifically target under-represented groups?
There have been an abundant of government initiatives aimed to facilitate UK sport in
their aim to improve the diversity of their participants, however statistics still show that
diversity in sport participation and sports coaching is low, specifically individuals from
Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) groups. Sports coach UK (2011) stated that only 3% of
all UK coaches are from BME groups, and only 1% of qualified coaches. This
underrepresentation is throughout sport not just coaches and players but within the
organisations and governing bodies within UK sport. The situation is getting worse and
worse and with the increased media pressure documenting the issue such as Guardian
(2013) documenting about the demoralisation of black coaches , matched by the
BBC(2013) who reported about the lack of opportunities for Black coaches, this issue
needs to be addressed. Long et al. (2009) established that racism can be suffered in
grass roots and elite level sport; this is a major reason as to why some members from
the BME groups partake in physical activity where they can participate alone rather than
in organised sport.
The continually stereotyping
and difference in cultural
norms that younger people face
these days are massive; these
can contribute to low self-
esteem in day to day life not
just in sport. Statistically
speaking minority students are
reported to have lower
attainment at school and higher
dropout rates (DuBois 1996).
(Alva 1993) supported this theory claiming that certain particular socioeconomic and
sociocultural circumstances of those in risk in minority groups include; family size and income,
academic underachievement and a native language that is not English, etc. This is where an

inclusive campaign that tries to integrate those who are left out of mainstream sport
participation can have a massive impact to reduce cultural differences and tensions in the UK.
How we can do it?
We believe that funding should be heavily spent in the research aspect of this section, by
improving the quality of research of BME member’s participation we are in a better
posit ion to implement an effective projects in a bid to increase participation in these
minority groups. Millions of pounds is waste each year with failed initiatives who get
funding yet fail to make an impact, by investing in organisations such as ‘Sporting
equals’ who provide “vital intelligence and understanding of BAME communities”
(Sporting Equals 2015) which helps governing bodies when engaging with these
members. Intelligence given to governing bodies will help structure a more specific and
individualistic approach rather than the one-size fits all approach that is currently in
place. This information will not only be given to governing bodies but can be given to
private companies so that they can adjust their marketing campaigns to entice BME
members to consume their product.
Studies have suggested that the majority of BME members are more likely to participate
in sport if their friends are participating alongside them, this backs up the theory of
emphasising the social aspect of sport participation, and need to invest in cultural trends
that will grasp a friendship group rather than individuals. Role models are placed under
the social motivation, the government need to recognise the role that role models can
play ‘inspiring a generation’, these role models are a success story , and can represent an
area and show BME members that they have an exit through sport.
How will we fund these changes?
Sport England has pledged to £1 million to help the BME communities get involved in
sport over the next two years. (Sport England 2015), this helps to create and run
successful and sustainable projects in the bid to increase participation , it does this by
allowing £50,000 to community initiatives in deprived inner-city boroughs aiming to
increase not only sport participation but employment opportunities as well. This in turn

results in a greater social cohesion for integration for ethnic minorities. Over 50 projects
they were able to achieve £1m in match funding from private companies.

3. Understanding the role of the private sector, and how
public sector bodies, National Governing Bodies (NGBs) and
other sports bodies should work with the private sector to
help deliver an increase in participation
Although elite sport is widely renowned as a ‘money spinner’, this is the total opposite
for grass root sport, with private sector companies unenthusiastic about investing a vast
amount of money. This is down to the lack of a clear and marketable strategy and
structure within grassroots sport, even though there is an incredibly high demand for
the UK to copy the German template for grassroots football that includes additional
commercial sponsorship alongside a reformed and effective national campaign to
improve sport for all. The lack of spending by local authorities in local facilities and the
increase in privately owned gyms and leisure centres who charge a considerable amount
means that the areas with lower socioeconomic status do not have the provision to
participate in sport.
The increase spotlight on ‘Corporate social responsibility’ can help to improve the
private funding in UK sport participation, governing bodies know they have to improve
their commercial attractiveness, and the question of what is ‘responsible sponsorship’ is
limiting their efforts. As mentioned sport is recognised as an attractive venture for
businesses and engaging with local communities through sport can help a company’s
social responsibility.
The major difference between public and private funding is their directions, private
sector companies have the primary goal of improving their business by increasing their
profits, this puts them at an advantage when responding to new trends, and increasingly
popular sports, potentially creating a new craze within their marketing department. In
contrast public sector organisations have a stricter budget and have to try secure the
funds, making them less likely to response to new trends effectively (Stewart
2015).Private sector can provide large facilities in order to entice a vast number of
customers, and can help reach certain participants that the governing body might not be

able to reach, due to their knowledge and broad networks. Partnering with private
companies will ultimately help each party accomplish their shared goals.
How we can do it?
Grass root sports need to be emphasised as an attractive market to private sector
companies, and that investing in youth sport can be of a benefit to private organisations.
Previous success private company stories need to be broadcasted, for instance SSE a
British energy company, who partnered with Sportaid to ‘provide financial support and
training to the sports stars of the future’ (Baker 2015). This programme looks to
financially help and mentor athletes aged 13-25 who have been recognised as potential
Olympic standard (SSE 2015), although SSE now support over 100 athletes their
programme is designed for elite sport athletes and shaping them into top professional
athletes, but can be used as an example to other private sector companies that
partnership in sport organisations can be successful, when looking for mass
participation in sport, one of the lead private firms is Investec who sponsor the
‘ Independent School Football Association and England Hockey’( Investec 2015), and
recently have announced their investment in participation in school sports, which
matches our objective stated before of using the school system to deliver long term
sport participation. In general more needs to be down to attract investment from private
sector companies, whether it is through monetary or political incentives. Private sector
companies need to be explained the benefits of sport to young adolescents that include,
training and employability skills, which could benefit the company with cheaper labour,
who are skilled.
Private organisations spend millions of pounds a year on market research, (Nicholson
2011) tells us that several commercial firms especially those who are interested in
clothing and sporting goods manufacturing collect household surveys that although
clearly isn’t the most accurate and representative data, shows us trends in different
sports participation along with valuable information about what sport is popular hence
should be included in any sporting participation initiative. The government should be
urged to work together, sharing their knowledge and market research not only within
themselves but with public sector organisations, the transparency and merge of

information would allow for a higher quality sport programme reaching many more
players than would be reached if implementing on their own

4. How to use the power of sport to achieve broader positive
social outcomes and whether some funding should
specifically be spent for that purpose.
Young people in the 21st century have an abundance of lifestyle choices that compete to
take up their free time. Sport is one of their choices and is finding it difficult to maintain
its place within a young person’s time, this can be due to the influence of advanced
technology that means some adolescents are rarely getting out the house let alone
participating in sport. Computer games and consoles are taking over the appeal of
actually going out and participating in sport, there are even now ‘wizboards’ that are
replacing walking. To improve its popularity with adolescents, sport will have to keep
adapting its image and perception to cater for all needs, keeping up with new social
media trends so it can entice young people who are on the internet to participate.
Currently psychological factors are the major barrier to participation with low self-
esteem, body image and low self-assurance a key issue in a young person taking up
sport, and continuing it through adulthood. Many studies have stated that sport can be
intimidation for those with previous bad experiences in sport and those with low
confidence, this poses a challenge to the deliveries of the people who have never
experienced being intimidated by sport or the facilities, so empathising with those
participating is as important as the content being delivered.
Extrinsic factors act as a barrier to participation, the increase in cost of facilities, and the
limited access to them for certain young people, these factors act as a catalyst for drop
outs. This is a secondary factor that supports the negative socio-psychological factors.
The latest report from Sport England’s ‘active people survey’ showed that “an average of
25.9 per cent of people in the lowest socioeconomic group take part in sport once a
week, compared to 42.7 per cent in the highest socio-economic group”.

The Boxing Academy. (2015). About Us. Available:
http://www.theboxingacademy.co.uk/. Last accessed 13th Dec 2015.
Programmes that encourage participation successfully have the possibility to challenge
anti-social behaviour, for example projects like the Premier League’s ‘kicks’ project
which through sport development sessions looks to reduce anti-social behaviour and
therefore crime, seeing a
reduction of 60% in areas in
which they target (Premier league
2012). These projects occupy
young anti-social adolescents, and
keep them busy and off the
streets, interesting 4children
reported that ‘Seven out of ten
parents and their teenagers say
that anti-social and criminal behaviour is linked directly to boredom’. Once these young
people have offender, sporting initiatives can help rehabilitate and reintroduce them
into society improving social cohesion.
The DCMS in 2014 revealed that participation in sport can bring a 11 percent increase in
people actively going out an looking for jobs, this shows that sport can provide
motivation for those lacking it , with their increase employability skills , those
participants can find new
confidence to go out and apply for
jobs.
The is no doubt that increasing
sport participation will help the health status of those who partake, with physical
inactivity in young people estimated to cost over £53 billion over a lifetime
(StreetGames 2012), the savings to public spending that can be significant, this money
could be spent elsewhere, within the new sports strategy.
How we can do it?
NGBs need to have greater accountability and transparency when deciding how their
funding gets spent; currently they do not have to justify how the fund will be spent on
those who need it the most. Most NGBs are funded to simply increase participation and
Case Study- The Boxing Academy
 Based in Hackney, the boxing academy offers young
people who are at risk of being excluded from state
education a chance to be mentored and supported
by a dedicated boxer within a class of six.
 They look to use the ‘beneficial effects of sport’ , to
mentor their students into well respected members
of society.
 They look to teach their pupils anger management,
install a belief and confidence in their leaning, and
ultimately try to encourage them to pursue further
education, training or employment

do not require to present percentages or amount invested, it seems as though NBGs only
incentive provided is to ensure participation is increased rather than making sure the
most disadvantaged is engaging in sport, even with the large amount of money (£500m
between 2013-2017) given to them by Sport England. There are only a few little
community projects that look to use sport as a tool for social good, with the RFU’s
flagship programme ‘try for change’ , which looks to raise awareness of the power rugby
can do for social good (RFU 2015). With more responsibility placed on NGBs it will mean
money will be invested more carefully and evenly to make sure sport is improving the
social state, and that funding in particular sports will have to be monitored and
evaluated on effectiveness, for example the LTA where rewarded by increased
investment due to their efforts in increasing participation, even though less than 13% of
people who play tennis have a low socio-economic status according to the ‘active people
survey’.
Provide effective coaching
The impact that effective coaching can have upon an individual’s life is momentous and
not recognised, disadvantaged young people who are disengaged from society with the
right coaching and mentoring can become a well-respected member of society, if they
are installed with right morals. If coaches can overcome the time and financial
constraints of achieving coach badges then they can be effective in developing self-
confidence, and improve their pupil psychologically. This is all well and good
theoretically however coaching is not known as a career , as the financial gain from
coaching is not significant unless they reach the elite levels, this needs to be addressed
so that more people can see coaching and getting coaching qualifications as a feasible
career.
Sport England should take a lead in delivering a ‘Community Coaching Programme’,
there are many little programmes trying to train coaches to improve coaching quality
and giving coaches a chance to engage and gain experience in coaching, by taking the
lead a delivering a programme, Sport England can ensure that coaches in the UK are
getting quality training and can be trained to teach multiple sports and engage those
young people in disadvantaged areas.

Physical Activity Strategy Page 43 of 76
Theme Four: Physical
Activity: By Douglas
Johnson
Introduction
Around one in two women and a third of men
in England are damaging their health from
lack of physical activity (PA) and it is
estimated that this costs the UK £7.4bn a year
(Varney et al. 2014). The World Health Organisation (WHO)
ranks it as the fourth overall leading risk factor for global
mortality causing an estimated 3.2 million deaths globally( WHO
2008). The associated health risks degrade quality of lives
worldwide.
These facts are striking and were selected to be so, but as a
society we are still not sufficiently dealing with inactivity. For
many years the effects of inactivity and successful initiatives and
policies have been known yet a lack of congruent policy has
meant that the problem is now worse than ever. Theoretically
there are three factors that inform prioritisation for public health
action: prevalence and trends of health disorder, magnitude of
the risk associated with exposure and evidence for effective
control (Kohl et al. 2012). However, too often tradition, pressure
from interest groups, media attention and other external forces
overcome this approach(Kohl et al. 2012).
Figure 1: Definitions from Public
Health England
Definitions:
Physical Activity:
Body movement that
expends energy and
raises the heart rate
Inactivity:
Less than 30 minutes of
physical activity in a
week
Sedentary: Time spent in
low-energy postures e.g.
sitting or lying
Everyday activity:
Includes cycling,
walking, heavy
housework, active or
manual work
Active recreation:
Includes dance, yoga,
active play, recreational
walking or cycling
Sport:
Includes swimming
rowing, fitness training,
climbing, parkour,
tennis, organized sports

This paper will therefore look to structure and promote these initiatives through
the lens of three of the four domains of PA; active transport, workplace activity and
leisure time activity. Furthermore, the paper will look to provide simple and cost
effective measures with a focus on making the healthy choice the easy choice. The
propensity to integrate PA into daily life means that it is a promising and fruitful area in
the fight against non-communicable diseases and the sedentary lifestyle currently
crippling our people and society. This section of the strategy has been structured
according to the key challenges set out in the Department for Culture, Media & Sport’s
consultation paper outlined below.
 How to measure Physical Activity?
 How to specifically target the different health outcomes that physical activity can
deliver, including how they can contribute to preventing or treating diabetes,
obesity, dementia and mental health problems;
 How to raise awareness of the UK Chief Medical Officers’ guidelines on physical
activity (2.5 hours of moderate intensity activity over a week for adults) and ensure
our interventions enable more people to meet them;
 How to ensure that the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), the
Department of Health (DH), Sport England and Public Health England work together
as effectively as possible, and how other parts of government can play their part;

1 Challenge No. 1: If it’s important, measure it!
1.1 How physical activity currently measured?
1.1.1 The use of surveys has long been used to assess levels of activity in England.
These include: Health Survey for England, Active People Survey, National Travel
Survey and General Household Survey. As of 2008, objective measures using
motion sensors such as pedometers and accelerometers have been applied in
order to more accurately measure activity( NHS, 2009). Trojano et al (2008)
noted a discrepancy in the amount of PA people self-reported and how much was
objectively measured. According to the study 45% of people met the guidelines
for levels of PA when self-reporting but in reality only 5% met the guidelines
when objective measures were used. The limitations of self-report measures are
reflected in data presented in Figure 2 showing decreases in the levels of physical
inactivity but counter-intuitively accompanied with growing levels of non-
communicable diseases.
Figure 2: Katzmarzyk & Tremblay, 2007

Best Practice Case Study: Canadian Health Measures Survey (CHMS)
Survey Parameters
 Budget was equal to $33 million over 6 years
 Around 5000 people were surveyed over a two year period
 Ages assessed ranged from 6 to 79
 Direct measures were completed in a mobile clinic.
Methods
 A combination of self-report and direct measurements was used including
questionnaires, blood and urine samples, skin calliper measurements and BMI.
 Results have been used for advocacy, setting targets, tracking progress, shaping
policy and strategies and evaluation of health campaigns.

1.2 Conclusions
1.2.1 Self report measures are not without their merits, they provide a cheap and easy
way of reaching large populations. They have their place as part of an assessment
of public health. Due to the significant limitations of self-report measures there
should be a shift an increase in the use of direct measures such as the use of
accelerometers, blood and urine samples as well skin calliper measurements and
cardio-respiratory function. The costs are extensive but the importance of
accurate measurements warrants the outlay in public expenditure. If Canada is
doing it, why is the UK not?

2 Challenge No.2: How to target different health
outcomes that physical activity can deliver & the domains
of physical activity
2.1 Introduction
2.1.1 This section will look to break the recommendations into three of the four
domains of PA as shown below. The average person now works 47 hours a week
(McGregor 2014) and sleeps 45.5 hours a week (Artis 2014) not leaving a lot of
time left over for exercise especially when you include eating, cleaning and other
essential demands on your time. It is therefore very difficult to make up for time
spent sedentary in leisure time and those that exercise recreationally can still
suffer the ill effects of remaining sedentary during other parts of their day.
Household activity will not be considered as a policy area due to ethical concerns
of inducing people in their own home.
Active
Transport
Leisure
Time
Activity
Workplace
Activity
Household
Activity
Domains of Physical Activity

2.2 Domain 1: Encouraging Active Transport
Overview
In England about 25% of journeys are shorter than 1.6 km in length. In Europe more
than 30% of trips made in cars cover less than 3km and 50% less than 5km (Breuer
2002). One study in China found that active transport alone was able to reduce obesity
and depressive symptoms in children ( Sun et al. 2015). Policies that encourage people
into active transport have the advantage of being able to be integrated into the daily
routine of commuting as well has having environmental benefits such as reduced air and
noise pollution. Moreover, according to Public Health England roughly every £1 spent on
cycling saves the NHS £4 and a ‘Walking for Health Project’ showed a return of £8 for
every £1 spent.
Recommendation No. 1: Safety for pedestrians and cyclists
2.2.1 The importance of safety on the road cannot be overstated. Beyond the intrinsic
reasons for implementing safety policies, there are benefits in terms of the effects
on PA (FPH 2008). In the early 90s the City Council of York made simple changes
to policies on cycling and walking. The results are below.
Figure 3: York policy success
2.2.2 How?
 Cycle lanes should be widely available and clearly marked (Pucher et al. 2010)
 Reducing the speed of traffic through limits or speed bumps
 Separate traffic signal phases for bicycles at intersections can provide time for cyclists to
cross an intersection without vehicle traffic

 Infrastructure such as bike lanes should be well maintained. E.g. cycle lanes
without potholes
 Frequent pedestrian crossings
 20mph zones around school routes (City of Edinburgh Council 2010), which in Bristol
has resulted in an increase of 12% in cycling.
Recommendation 3: Mixed land use
2.2.3 Different types of facilities in one place such as schools, shops, offices and cafes
encourage walking or cycling to areas where multiple activities can take place in
one trip. One study found that with the presence of different types of facilities
resulted in a fourfold increase in the amount of walking as a travel mode (Dons et
al. 2015).
Recommendation 3: Install secure bike shelters at all rail stations
2.2.4 Hunt & Abraham (2007) found that
parking for bikes was very important
equivalent to a reduction of 26
minutes of cycling time of a journey
in the eyes of a cyclist.
Recommendation 4: Programmatic Interventions
Bike & walk to work & school days
 In San Francisco bicycle counts remained 25.4% higher one month after the event
(Pucher et al. 2010)
 In Victoria, Australia one quarter of first-time cyclists were still bicycling five months
later (Australian local government, 2010)
 There have been numerous examples of these initiatives across the world with positive
results including features such as Walking School Buses and competition boards
between classes.

Initiatives
 Cyclovias involve cutting off roads so that cyclists can enjoy them without traffic. Bogota
has the world’s largest with 700,000 to 1 million participants. The popularity of cycling
in Bogota has tripled as a result(Pucher et al. 2010).
2.2.5 Brighton and Hove Health Walks: Initiative where 1000 people a year walk along
the bus routes instead of using the bus(Edwards- Colledge).
Recommendation 6: High Quality Public Transport
 Service quality is one of the key determinants of demand for transport (Polat 2007) . If
we are looking to encourage people to use public transport instead of cars, the quality of
service and low fares must be a priority. Moreover, high quality public transport systems
can improve traffic safety on the roads by as much as 50% (Dalkman et al. 2015).

Key Methods
 All residential areas are 20mph zones
 Many point closures to reduce rat running
 Basic good housekeeping such as visible yellow lines at
junctions & removing pavement parking in over 60 streets.
 Aesthetic changes such as making streets tree lined and
providing some of the cleanest streets in London
 Name plates of streets are in title case and at a visible height to
improve navigation
 Pavements have been renewed an widened in a number of
towns in Hackney
 Pedestrian crossings are single stage not staggered
 Street furniture such as benches has been placed to minimise
obstruction
 Thousands of cycle racks have been installed
 877 out 958 car-free schemes were approved.
Best Practice Case Study: Hackney (Stops (2014))
Overview
2.2.6 Hackney has been transformed into one of London’s most active boroughs
through the implication of simple measures. Hackney has achieved this by
creating a better balance between cycling, walking and motor vehicles. The
results speak for themselves.
Key Figures
 More residents cycle to work
than any London borough
 More residents cycle than
drive 15.4% vs. 12.8%
 14,054 walking commuters
were recorded in the 2011
census, up from 7,811 in
2001
 Hackney has the highest ratio
of female to male cyclists
(37% are women) of any
London borough

2.3 Domain 2: Activity in the Workplace
Overview
2.3.1 The workplace is where people spend the most
time sitting. Schools will not be covered as it was
extensively covered in theme 2.
Recommendation 1: Reducing Sitting Whilst Working
2.3.2 James Levine has done extensive research into sedentary time at work. One study
in which he installed standing desks for 28 participants resulted in a decrease in
the sitting times of 21% without having an impact on productivity (Dutta et al.
(2014). Crucially, the participants did not compensate for increased standing
time with more sedentary behaviours outside of work. In another study, which
took place over a year, Levine put treadmills under desks of some employees
found that it significantly reduced sedentary behaviour (over an hour a day) and
work performance actually improved.(Ben-Ner et al. 2014).
2.3.3 Improvements with health & performance provide good incentives to employers.
The standing desks which were used were in the range of $400 to $900 which
equates to about the same price for high quality office chairs. The treadmills were
around $1000 dollars. The government could provide tax benefits in the form of
VAT exemptions for these goods and could look to phase in standing desks for all
government staff.

Recommendation 2: Encourage Active Transport
2.3.4 Create legislation for new office buildings for bike shelters as well as showering
facilities. This is an area in which the government can and should lead by
example with their own buildings and incentives for transport.
Recommendation 3: Encourage the use of Stairs
2.3.5 Using stairs instead of the lift is a good and
easy way of expending energy without it
cutting significantly into your day.
2.4 Domain 3: Leisure Time Activity
Overview
2.4.1 People’s propensity to exercise in their free time is a result of a number of
factors. One such way in which people can be induced to be more physically
active is through changes to their environment.
Recommendation 1: Aesthetics
2.4.2 Making an area more attractive affects the overall experience during use, such as
when cycling or walking through an area. This makes intuitive sense but has also
been shown to improve levels of PA in research (Bauman & Bull, 2007). For many
neighbourhoods simple steps such as removing graffiti, cleaning up litter, making
sure facilities are clean and well presented including freshly painting will make
the use of these areas more appealing.

Recommendation 2: Street connectivity
2.4.3 Connectivity refers to the ease at which people can walk or cycle around a
neighbourhood and between places. Making sure that there are sufficient
footpaths and cycle paths and that they follow a logical pattern such that they
provide a more direct route will increase the use of this infrastructure(Frank et al
2012) .
Recommendation 4: Safety & surveillance
2.4.4 Perceptions of safety greatly affect the usage of a certain area. Urban designs that
reduce crime can enhance PA as well as having further benefits such as mental
and social wellbeing of a community.
Recommendation 5: Engage with the community (National Heart
Foundation Australia, 2011)
2.4.5 The British Heart Foundation brought out a tool that asks the community to help
provide feedback on the walkability of local neighbourhoods. The rationale is
that local residents know and understand their neighbourhoods at least as well
as anyone else and their feedback can assist planners. The tool provides a
checklist for pedestrians to undertake to assess their routes.
Figure 4: Street connectivity

Recommendation 6: Community Use of School Facilities (NSW
Government 2009)
2.4.6 Schools have great facilities for sports but are not always open to community use.
These facilities are often unused after school hours and should be open to
members of the public for use in leisure time. It is important that it is done in a
manner that does not interfere with the school’s teaching and learning
programmes. Furthermore, the safety of the children with the presence of
additional members of the public at schools is paramount.

Other Policy Areas
2.5 Integration of physical activity into primary health care systems
Overview
2.5.1 The health care system has an important role to play in the prevention of many of
the non-communicable diseases associated with physical inactivity. Health
workers are in a position of trust and authority in the eyes of patients and
therefore play a role in educating patients (Mendis 2010). Moreover, they are in a
position to promote PA as they have direct contact with people who suffer the
consequences of a sedentary lifestyle.

2.6 Role of Department of Health (Kohl et al. 2012)
Recommendation1: Physical Activity as a standalones area like
tobacco & alcohol consumption
2.6.1 Kohl et al. argue that PA has been coupled with other public health agenda, such
as diet, in the past and has not been fully recognised as a standalone public health
priority. This needs to change with PA achieving the same status in public health
as the other three pillars in combating non-communicable diseases (alcohol
abuse, tobacco consumption and poor dietary behaviours).
2.6.2 ACSM/ NSPAPPH have brought out qualification in becoming a physical activity
public health specialist. This is a good step and the next would be to integrate
these specialists in to the health system.
Recommendation 2: Detect and treat individuals at high risk
2.6.3 Screenings for those with certain cancers has improved over the last few
years(WHO, 2008), but there is still much to be done. If we take those at high risk
of cardiovascular disease as an example we can see that they can be treated with
generic medicines such as aspirin and statins as well as a special exercise regime
with the view of prevention. Similar interventions can be integrated for diabetes
and some cancers (WHO 2008).
.

3 Challenge No. 3: Raising awareness of the official
guidelines on physical activity
3.1 Public education including mass media (Bauman & Chau 2009)
Overview of effectiveness of mass media campaigns
3.1.1 Mass media offers the opportunity to have significant population reach with
campaigns on tobacco and drugs being shown to be effective (Wakefield et al
2010). It is important, according the WHO, that these campaigns should not be
‘short-term efforts’ and that PA messages should have a clear brand or campaign
theme.
3.1.2 In an analysis of campaigns from 1980- 2008 Bauman and Chau (2009) found a
median value of 64% for awareness suggesting that these initiatives have the
propensity to be successful.

Successful Case Studies
ParticipACTION Campaign
3.1.3 This was a well-branded campaign active in
Canada from 1971-2000 with age specific
initiatives. Awareness for this campaign
remained high and Canadians perceived it as
important but no evaluation was carried out
to see what its contribution to activity levels
in Canada were.
This Girl Can
3.1.4 A straight talking campaign in which women are
depicted with cellulite, runny mascara and wobbling flesh in an
effort show “real” women exercising. It has had a huge reach
hitting 25 million online views(Sanghani 2015). The campaign
used a combination of outlets including TV ads around women
sporting events as well as, a web app and a line branded
clothing.
Why were they successful?
3.1.5 Successful campaigns happen when government support is sustained, there is
sufficient funding for media reach and related public health programs support
the campaign.

3.2 Recommendations: (Bauman & Chau 2009)
Recommendation 1: National, Regional & Local Agencies consistent
mass communications relative to national physical activity guidelines
3.2.1 Picking out key components of the activity guidelines and making sure all levels
of government are focussing on the same messages for maximum impact.
Recommendation 2: Build on campaign message by delivering
services, programs, environmental changes and policies.
3.2.2 A successful campaign becomes it own brand. The development of this by adding
exercise programs or policies under this branding will help generate awareness
and interest in those programs, policies and services.
Recommendation 3: Make sure resources are such that the campaign
can generate good reach and engagement
3.2.3 The messages of PA are important for the prevention of a variety of NCDs and it is
therefore worth investing in such a campaign. A sustained campaign will build on
itself over time but it can only do this if it has enough financial security to ensure
its longevity.
Recommendation 4: Effectiveness of campaign should be evaluated in
a standardised manner
3.2.4 Use a combination of surveys & questionnaires with modern analytics of internet
traffic such as website visits, social mentions unique visitors to analyse impact.
The important thing is to find the right combination of metrics and to standardise
them so you can evaluate the campaign over time.

4 Challenge No.4: Ensuring the successful integration of
major government departments
4.1 Introduction
“Physical activity and public health is a new discipline, merging several areas of
specialisation including epidemiology, exercise and sport science, behaviour science,
and environmental health science, among others; these different areas are needed to
tackle the global pandemic of physical inactivity because multidisciplinary work is
essential”
The quote above from Kohl et al.(2012) as well as the previous section in this document,
illustrate the complexity in terms of the number of methods that can be used to tackle
inactivity. Further, this shows the need for the integration of a number of governmental
departments in order to develop effective policies. Integration in government refers to
the coordination of working arrangements where multiple departments or public sector
organisations are involved in delivering a public service or programme (NAO, 2013).
4.2 National Audit’s Office (NAO) Model for Departmental Integration
4.2.1 The NAO scrutinises public spending for Parliament and is independent of
government. In 2013 they created a model for the successful integration of
government departments. They focussed on four key areas, three of which are
pertinent to this strategy namely, securing commitment from all parties, ensuring
sufficient capability to implement integration effectively and continuous
improvement to ensure that the benefits of integration are sustained. The
Department of Health should be taking the lead in increasing PA due to the
considerable associated health benefits. Many of the policies outlined in the
previous section involve the Department for Transport, Culture, Media & Sport,
Department of Education as well as National Governing Bodies, the NHS and
County Sports Partnerships.

Commitment to integrated work
4.2.2 All parties must be committed to the working with other departments as it is
impossible to effectively tackle inactivity without a multi-faceted strategy. It is
important to emphasise the shared objectives of the departments. For instance,
the department of transport will benefit from promoting active transport by
reducing congestion on the roads.
Implementation Capability
4.2.3 Resources need to be well allocated in order to allow for successful
implementation of every strategy. With many departments facing cuts after the
Autumn Statement the Department of Health and Sport England’s funding
increased showing a growing commitment from government to prioritise these
areas. Awareness of the added complexity involving the integration of
departments is important to the success.
Sustained Effort
4.2.4 Once integration has occurred, continued effort is required in order to maintain
the benefits. In particular, constant monitoring of the various facets of the
integration is necessary to understand the performance of the collaboration.
Figure 5:

Section Word Count: 3281

Summary
This paper has looked to address four key areas of a modern active nation; fairness and
equality, children and young people, participation in sport and physical activity. With a
backdrop of declining levels of participation and activity accompanied by increases in
the rates of non-communicable diseases we, as a nation, need to question whether what
we have been doing has really been effective. Some may question the role of government
in the involvement in this aspect of people’s lives, whether it is ethical to induce people
into certain behaviours and who decides what constitutes good behaviours. The
question that needs to be asked in this context is “what is the alternative?” Do we
continue on this road to increased levels of diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular diseases
and cancers with the associated consequences of soaring health costs not to mention the
effects of people’s lives? Or do we use evidence based policies and initiatives that have
been show to work to combat this health crisis? We are induced through reinforcement
from an early age through to the end of our lives. From a practical stand point it would
be impossible for society to function without this. It is therefore through this
perspective that we have rationalised the need for effective government interventions.
Fairness and equality are two principles which are universally accepted as core to any
pluralistic and open society. However, significant inequalities still exist in a variety of
areas. Sport, which entails a large social aspect, has the opportunity to close some of
these gaps as people share their common interests. This strategy focused on a few key
areas particularly pertinent to sport namely, inclusive tolerance of a number of
disadvantaged groups, how to improve sporting experiences for the disabled and
ensuring that the diversity of sporting participants is reflected in the leadership and
workforce of sport. Firstly, in order to ensure that disadvantage groups were included,
the strategy suggested that cultural awareness and engagement with faith and race
groups was important for their participation. Secondly, when tackling the gap in
opportunities for disabled persons, educating PE teachers on the best ways of involving
disabled children as well as being able to fast track disabled athletes through the
Playground to Podium initiative were found to be effective. Lastly, through the
implementation of equality policies and streamlining of complaints procedures the
workforce and leadership of sport can become a more equal and fair landscape.

The relationship between participation in sport at young age and continued
participation into adulthood has been well established. The importance of this
relationship is reflected in the government’s ring-fencing of the Primary PE & Sport
Premium policies, the only ring-fenced curricular subject. The £150 million funding from
this will not only be used to improve PE itself but also to help incorporate more physical
activity into the daily lives of school children. This strategy has looked to emphasise the
need for competitive sport at school through initiatives such as School Games as well as
looking to extra-curricular opportunities, using school facilities, to improve the
opportunities for young people. Lastly, this paper looked at how young people can
continue their participation throughout the key drop-off points in adolescence through
the Sport Activation Fund. Keeping people active through this transitional period could
have lasting effects on how active their adult lives become.
The third aspect covered in this strategy is participation. The main theme in the policy
for participation was to make sure that quality of research and information was
improved and then shared to relevant parties, ensuring that effective programmes can
be produced. Another policy focused on the role of monitoring the various initiatives of
NGBs with a view that improved and centralised monitoring would lead to gains in the
effectiveness of programmes. With the exception of one policy, the recommendations
have used a top down approach to policy creation. With a focus on the understanding of
clearly set objectives, NGBs can see improvements in the successful implementation of
their policies. One such example involved Sport England’s coaching and delivery
programme where minimising the agents involved in the initiative resulted in improved
implementation of their objectives. This section of the strategy stressed the importance
of research and evidence as a basis for providing a theoretical context to developing
effective policies.
Physical activity is the final theme considered in this proposal. Shifts in lifestyles have
resulted in a society where people spend over half their waking hours sedentary.
Moreover, the WHO has ranked inactivity as the fourth leading risk factor for global
mortality behind alcohol abuse, tobacco consumption and poor dietary behaviours. The
main objective of this section was to provide simple policies that could be integrated

into daily life. These policies are not new or revolutionary; we have known them for
some time with all having a considerable evidence basis behind them. Tackling the cause
of many NCDs has not been the priority for a health system that instead focuses on
treating the symptoms resulting in soaring health costs and significantly reduced quality
of life for many of the UK’s citizens. It is time for a change.
Section Word Count: 851 Excluding Titles & References
Total Document Word Count: 13,466 Excluding Titles & References (Physical Activity
Section to be Attached at a later date)

References:
Bibliography Fairness & Equality – Gerard Grimes
Age UK (2008), “Equality & Human Rights in Sport and Physical Activity”, last viewed December
13th 2015
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Physical Activity and Sport in Ireland”, last viewed December 9th 2015
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Sport England (2012), “2013-2017 whole sport plan investments”, last viewed December 12th
2015
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