New Government sport strategy welcomed
Public investment into community sport is to reach children as young as five as part of a ground-breaking new strategy on sport announced by Sports Minister Tracey Crouch today.
The move will see Sport England’s remit changed from investing in sport for those aged 14 and over to supporting people from five years old right through to pensioners, in a bid to create a more active nation.
Investment will be targeted at sport projects that have a meaningful, measurable impact on how they are improving people’s lives – from helping young people gain skills to get into work, to tackling social inclusion and improving physical and mental health.
Priorities in the strategy include:
- A new remit for Sport England’s to support children from aged five in sport, outside of school
- Government will continue investment in the Primary PE and Sport Premium
- Government and Sport England, working with the Youth Sport Trust as current delivery partner, will assess the effectiveness and future priorities of the School Games, ensuring that it is appropriately positioned within the wider context of the new strategy. This will take place before the Level 4 Finals in 2016.
- Government will consider the work of School Games Organisers alongside the wider review of the School Games
- Government will seek to better understand the barriers and issues around drop-off in engagement from primary to secondary schools
- Continued commitment to the Bikeabilty cycle training programme to ensure all children have the opportunity to learn to ride a bike
Funding will also be targeted at groups who have low participation rates to encourage those who do not take part in sport and physical activity to get involved. This includes supporting women, disabled people, those in lower socio-economic groups and older people. Sport England will set up a new fund in 2016 to get inactive people physically active and will support and measure participation in sport and wider physical activity going forward.
At the elite end of sport, government is supporting our Olympic and Paralympic athletes beyond Rio 2016 through to Tokyo 2020 with increased exchequer funding.
Click HERE to download the strategy document.