Sport England has announced the results of the latest Active Lives Children & Young People Survey – and there is some very good news for Shropshire, and Telford & Wrekin.
Government guidelines recommend that children and young people should get an average of 60 minutes of physical activity a day, and the survey shows that almost half (46.8%) are achieving this in England, a rise of 3.6% over last year.
At a local level, the proportion of people defined as ‘inactive’ – averaging less than 30 minutes a day – fell by 13.7% in Telford & Wrekin, and 8% in Shropshire.
Telford & Wrekin also saw a significant increase in those who are ‘active’, averaging more than 60 minutes a day. That figure rose by 15.8%
One of the other ways the data is analysed is by the time spent being active both during and outside of school time.
And across Shropshire and Telford & Wrekin, 46% of children and young people are now achieving at least 30 minutes of activity during the school day, compared to an average of only 40% for England overall.
The results suggest there has been a real focus in the local education sector on finding ways to increase physical activity outside of normal PE lessons.
Chris Child, chief executive of active partnership Energize, said he was delighted with the findings: “A whole range of organisations have contributed to these results – from local authorities to schools and community groups.
“It really is a whole system approach that has led to these improvements here in Shropshire, Telford & Wrekin, and we would like to thank and congratulate all the many organisations involved.
“And whilst we are not complacent, these results do show signs of real progress towards the overall goal of reducing inactivity and improving lives right across our county.”
In addition to all the statistics, the survey also highlights the benefits of being active for children and young people – and one of the key points is that the happiness levels reported by those taking part in activity, compared to those volunteering, were exactly the same.
Chris Child added: “As we strive to further reduce inactivity to help children and young people live happy and healthy lives it is worth remembering the significant benefits volunteering can bring, especially when trying to engage those who are less interested in traditional sports.”
Director of public health for Shropshire, Rachel Robinson, added: “It is heartening to see the latest results and whilst there is a long way to go, clearly the collaboration of many agencies across our county is starting to have a positive impact on the health and wellbeing of our young people.”
Liz Noakes, director of public health for Telford & Wrekin, echoed these sentiments, and said how delighted she was in the significant increase in those children and young people achieving the Chief Medical Officer’s advice to undertake an average of 60 minutes activity per day.
The annual survey, conducted by Ipsos MORI on behalf of Sport England, includes data from over 1,900 primary and secondary schools across the country.