Defining success

We want to ensure that:

• Every employee and individual we directly work with feels included and valued by the Youth Sport Trust. We measure this through employee surveys and programme evaluations
• Our organisational policies and practices meet and work to exceed industry standards. We measure this though the Equality Standards for Sport, ISO quality management standards and the Best Companies Index
• The diversity of our leadership is representative, and we continue to proactively advance equality of opportunity for all young people in sport and physical education. We measure this through our Diversity Action Plan, the Equality Standards for Sport, equality impact assessments, programme evaluations and our annual impact reports.

Our Chief Executive, Ali Oliver, sets out why celebrating diversity and promoting inclusion are central to everything the Youth Sport Trust was founded to achieve:

"As we work towards a future where every child enjoys the life-changing benefits that come from play and sport, there can be no bigger priority than breaking down the barriers of inequality and discrimination. Time and again research shows that young people who feel they don’t fit in – perhaps because they have a disability, come from a different background or identify as LGBT – are among the least likely to benefit from the power of sport to help them in life.

"Every child is unique and one of the aims of our work is to help them establish who they are, and who they want to be. At a time when acceptance, fitting in and self-esteem are so high on young people’s agenda, this has never been more important."

"It has always filled me with a great sense of pride to work for an organisation which really does welcome all. YST has a strong organisational culture which respects difference, values individuality and unites people around that thing we have in common – a belief in the future of all young people, and the role sport can play in improving their life chances. 

"Our charity is full of people with different skills, personalities, experiences and identities, all of whom help us make a difference to so many young lives. We believe in allowing people to be themselves, be respected for who they are, and we value the way that individual difference enriches our lives and our work.

"I am passionately committed to ensuring that we maintain and grow this strong inclusive culture at the heart of the Youth Sport Trust. We want to ensure that we attract and employ a diverse range of people and appeal to as many people as possible, regardless of their sex, gender identity, age, race, disability, religion, sexual orientation, marital status or cultural identity.

"Our Equality and Diversity Policy will help us to hold ourselves accountable for ensuring every young person has a genuine and equal opportunity to take part in our work and that this work is actively championing diversity and breaking down barriers. We will do this with a workforce which reflects the communities we serve and where every employee feels valued and has equal opportunities to progress and make their own contribution to improving young lives through sport."

Our Approach

The Youth Sport Trust work with a range of partners to design and deliver a range of positive action programmes and interventions which work to support people with a protected characteristic if they are at a disadvantage, have particular needs or are under-represented in an activity such as sport and physical activity.

When working with partners and designing services Youth Sport Trust follows the same equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) principles to ensure physical education and sport for every child is always:

• Inspirational - Every child is inspired to participate (High Quality Engagement)

• Accessible - Every child can take part (High Quality Provision)

• Meaningful - Every child feels the positive benefit from participation (High Quality Impact)

Please click on any of the below to find out more about our programmes, partnerships and resources that can support practitioners address inequalities in and beyond their own organisation.

Our success in designing and developing effective solutions will be dependent on strong collaboration, especially with children and young people themselves. The Youth Sport Trust are always looking to develop new partnership and learn from others who are passionate about tacking inequalities for children and young people. If you are interested in knowing more about our work or have anything that you would also like to share with us please contact Julie Robbins, Head of Inclusion.