Introduction from our CEO

Youth Sport Trust targeted programmes and interventions:

Below, you can read more about the work we are doing and the impact it is having on the people we work with.

Delivering against our strategy

In 2022, we launched our new 13-year strategy, Inspiring Changemakers, Building Belonging.

The aim of the strategy is to effect change, focusing on three main objectives so that a child starting school in 2022 will leave the education system in 2035 having been able to access the life-changing benefits of play and sport to help them achieve their full potential.

By taking urgent action now to build back healthier, happier, more resilient young people, we will establish an evidence base on which we can drive a generational shift and ultimately achieve societal change by 2035.

This impact report covers the third year of delivery against our new strategy, reflecting on what we have achieved against our three overarching objectives.

Delivering the right outcomes for young people

Across all Youth Sport Trust programmes and interventions, we seek to improve the physical literacy of young people as research shows that having a positive and meaningful relationship with movement and physical activity makes us more likely to become and stay active, benefiting our health, wellbeing and quality of life.

Improvements in physical literacy were the most commonly self-reported benefits by young people as a result of taking part in a Youth Sport Trust programme. This was closely followed by improved wellbeing.

Physical Literacy

Wellbeing

Notably, many of the young people who engaged with our programmes reported that participating had a positive impact on the overall amount of time they spent being physically active (67%).

Delivering the right outcomes for education

Now more than ever, schools in the UK are facing pressing challenges, including record levels of persistent absence, increasing pupil needs relating to SEND and mental health concerns, widening social inequality gaps in attainment and a break in the social bond between schools and families as a long tail impact of the Covid-19 pandemic lockdowns.

Interventions which utilise sport and physical activity can be a powerful tool to re-engage students in their learning and strengthen the connection between pupil and teacher. As a result of participating in one of our programmes in the last academic year, those involved reported the following results:

Reaching the right young people across all of our work

A key cornerstone of our strategy is ensuring that we reach more deeply into under-served communities and target the young people who are most likely to suffer from the impact of societal disadvantages.

We have been delivering upon this objective by sharpening the recruitment criteria for our programmes, and by forging new relationships with schools that serve young people in areas of need.

Over the last academic year, of the young people who accessed our programmes*:

*These figures exclude the young people participating in the School Games programme (where demographic data is not available) and the young people participating in The FA Girls Football programme, where the intentional gender-based targeting skews data significantly.

** In the academic year 2024/25, Youth Sport Trust has changed the way we measure deprivation. We no longer asked about ‘Free School Meals’ and instead captured eligibility for Pupil Premium (England), Pupil Development Grant (Wales) or Pupil Equity Fund (Scotland).

While our overall reach has increased compared to the previous year, the proportion of young people participating in our programmes who are from low-income families or with SEND decreased. This reflects year-on-year shifts in programme composition, where some programmes have a specific focus on one characteristic (e.g. Girls Active or Inclusion).

Where we can target our programme delivery to specific groups, we are reaching deeper into low-income communities, for example, through our Growth Area work and the Set for Success programme (46% and 52% low-income students participating, respectively).

Diversifying our workforce

An important part of our ability to connect more deeply with communities in need is to ensure that our workforce is representative of the UK population so that we can bring lived experience and diversity of thought into all levels of the organisation, from our board of trustees and our strategic leadership team, through to our wider staff group including our learning academy of tutors and athlete mentors.

The profile of leaders of the Youth Sport Trust, including our trustees, our youth board and our strategic leadership team in 2024/25:

The profile of the workforce of the Youth Sport Trust, including employees and the learning academy in 2024/25:

Our Diversity Inclusion Action Plan has been refreshed in line with the next phase of our strategy from 2025-2028. You can read more about our commitment to continuous improvement here.

The average score for how confident the Youth Sport Trust workforce is in their EDI knowledge is 4.6/6"

Leadership Development Programme

In response, the Youth Sport Trust launched the Leadership Development Programme for PE Leaders from ethnically diverse communities. The programme consists of tailored CPD and is supported by industry experts to achieve the following outcomes:

1. Strengthening ethnic diversity in the PE leadership profession 

2. Further enhance attendees’ leadership and decision-making in PE, school sport and physical activity 

3. Provide a space for sharing learning and networking 

4. Work with the Youth Sport Trust to ensure the support of the charity is better positioned to support educators from ethnically diverse communities

Read more about one practitioner's reflections on the programme and the critical importance of representation in PE. 

Helping young people achieve their full potential

A core part of the work that the Youth Sport Trust undertakes to create change and increase opportunities is delivered through programmes. Below you will see a snapshot of some of the key programmes that the charity delivered over the past 12 months, and the impact on the young people participating.

Supporting the mental health of boys as they transition through adolescence

Boys Move

Programme participants agreed that the programme has improved their happiness (92%) and how connected they felt towards others (77%).

It is our ambition that every secondary school in the UK has a male role model trained in leveraging the vehicle of sport to support adolescent mental health. Find out more about the Youth Sport Trust Boys Move programme.

Jack’s Story 

“Jack* started rearing his head a lot after we had to send our biggest hitter to an alternative provision, as if he was trying to be the new alpha. This was parallel to issues between mum and dad, who had split up. A lot of his behaviours were explosive and out of proportion to the incident, and he was often very remorseful, suggesting it was cries for attention rather than malice.

“Boys Move allowed him to channel this energy better and become more reflective on his actions. Mostly though, I think the sport gave him an escape and the gardening gave him a purpose and something to care about in school […] He was also very good at using the composure room. This idea came from young offender prisons; it is basically a sensory reset room where children who cannot regulate go to reset and then return to lessons.” 

*Jack’s name has been changed to protect his identity.

Putting PE, school sport and physical activity at the heart of whole school improvement

Well School Relaunch

49% of parents believe that their child's school should be doing more to support pupil wellbeing." - Youth Sport Trust, 2025

Towards the end of the academic year, we launched the Well Check. A free-to-access self-review tool that helps schools assess their current level of provision across the four pillars and corresponding steps to success. Within the first term of launch, over 374 schools had completed the Well Check and were in receipt of a tailored action plan to aid them in improving their provision.

During the next academic year, we will launch the Youth Sport Trust Well Schools accreditation scheme, which, following on from the Well Check, will allow schools to be officially recognised as a Youth Sport Trust Well School, following an evidence submission and review by a peer reviewer.

Empowering more young leaders and leveraging their influence to create more inclusive, supportive environments for their peers is central to our ambition to drive human connection through sport and play.

Over the last academic year, across both targeted and national programmes, the Youth Sport Trust has trained and supported almost 80,000 young leaders.

In doing so, not only have we improved their leadership skills (80%), but we have also increased social wellbeing, improving the amount of time young people spend being active with others (68%) and improving how connected young people feel to others (75%).

Below is a snapshot of some of the ways we have empowered more young leaders across our work.

Empowering Youth Sport Trust Young Leaders to deliver after-school enrichment

82% of young people who participated in the clubs agreed they felt more connected to others and 86% agreed that the clubs increased their overall enjoyment of taking part in physical activity.

In April 2025, almost 100 young people attended the Youth Sport Trust Young Leaders camp at Dearne Valley. The principles of Multisport Clubs were shared at the camp, and young leaders were able to participate in a packed and inspiring programme designed to develop their confidence, leadership skills, and teamwork. The camp offered a blend of practical and reflective workshops, including communication and empathy, responsibility and problem solving, planning and delivery, and an introduction to the SMILES and STEP principles - key frameworks for creating inclusive, engaging physical activity sessions.

89% of camp attendees agreed that the experience helped improve their confidence as an activity leader.

Enabling advocates to create change for communities

Young Ambassadors Wales

Young Ambassadors is a national movement active across Scotland, England and Wales and designed to empower young leaders to influence and inspire others through physical activity to create positive and meaningful change, build friendships and improve wellbeing.  

The initiative aims to support young leaders, enhancing their skills and confidence so that they can advocate for an active, healthier nation and lead community activities which build belonging and tackle inequalities. The movement is led by the Youth Sport Trust. In Wales, it is funded and supported by Sport Wales and the National Lottery. In Scotland, the programme is funded by the National Lottery and run alongside sportscotland.

In England, the programme was relaunched in the 2023/24 academic year with an initial 90 Young ambassadors trained. Over the last year, a further 248 Young Ambassadors in England have received training, and the Youth Sport Trust is actively seeking funding to scale the programme further.

Supporting vulnerable students through the power of peer mentoring

Lidl Sport for Good

Lidl Sport for Good is a programme run by Lidl Northern Ireland in partnership with the Youth Sport Trust to promote positive mental health and increase engagement in physical activity. The programme is delivered by Youth Sport Trust athlete mentors alongside a cohort of student mentors.

The programme aims to improve students' resilience, self-esteem and confidence, and also provides sporting equipment to participating schools.

Over the last academic year, 425 young people from 28 schools were trained to be student mentors. The trained student mentors supported 1,415 vulnerable students via peer-to-peer groups.

Mentors agreed the programme had a positive impact on their ability to motivate others (77%), teach others new things (79%) and form relationships built on trust (65%). Mentees in the peer-to-peer groups agreed that the programme helped them feel more optimistic about their future (64%) and improved their sense of belonging to their school (52%).

Teachers from the participating schools felt that the programme improved young people’s resilience (95%), happiness (100%) and connectedness to others (100%).

One of the schools involved in the programme was the City of Armagh High School, which got involved in the project as they felt that using the mentors was a great way to make the programme sustainable.

“The mentors delivered a sports fun day with a healthy break included. The fruit pots for each child were prepared by the sports mentors. The day consisted of nerf war, gym challenge, dodgeball and a team-building exercise, and the children rotated around the four stations.

“The principal was so impressed that she would like it to be a permanent fixture on our school calendar for other pupils to participate in. The idea of a new buddy system in school has been thought about as well. Mentors will be leading some activities for an upcoming P6 Activity Day and will use their knowledge gained through this programme with the primary school pupils.

Managing this event has shown us that there is more to sport and mental health than people would think. It has shown us valuable life skills and knowledge that we will continue to use." - Sports Mentor

By evidencing the benefits, highlighting current challenges around access, influencing and campaigning for system change, and delivering programmes which seek to tackle inequalities, we will raise the profile and place of PE and school sport in wider society.

Improving PE and sport for pupils with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND)

As highlighted in Paralympics GB’s Equal Play campaign, only 25% of young people with SEND are regularly participating in physical education and school sport, with 1 in 3 disabled children taking part in less than 30 minutes of sport and physical activity per day during term time.

The Youth Sport Trust is committed to ensuring that all young people can experience the benefits of PE, sport and play, particularly those who are most likely to benefit both mentally and physically. Analysis we published with State of Life found that the wellbeing impact of physical activity at school was almost double for those children who are disabled and/or receiving Free School Meals than those who aren’t.

Inclusion 2028

May 2025 saw the Youth Sport Trust successfully secure the Department for Education Inclusion 2028 contract to lead a consortium of partners to improve access to PE and school sport for pupils with SEND.

Inclusion 2028 builds on the successful delivery of Inclusion 2020 and Inclusion 2024, the latter of which delivered the following outcomes over the last three years:

• 6,797 school staff trained through CPD opportunities delivered by Lead Inclusion Schools nationwide
• 837 inclusive festivals delivered, reaching 1,526 schools
• 15,835 pupils participated (of which 86% were pupils with SEND), gaining confidence, teamwork, and communication skills
• 30,000 pupils with SEND attending inclusive events, with 11,365 schools engaged
• 2,463 young leaders trained to deliver inclusive activities (27% with SEND)
• 252 professionals trained on water safety for pupils with SEND by Swim England, improving the confidence of staff to support pupils with SEND in water-based activities and increasing the safety of pupils with SEND in and around water
• An increase in the proportion of pupils with SEND achieving 20, 30, and 60 active minutes a day, leading to greater enjoyment, confidence and engagement in PE

Inclusion 2028 aims to:

• Support a network of over 50 Youth Sport Trust Lead Inclusion Schools to provide expert training in supporting children with SEND across 8,000 schools over the three years of the contract
• Provide leadership opportunities for 1,500 pupils who will develop activities for their peers
• Deliver 600 new extra-curricular clubs, offering greater access for pupils, including those with diverse needs

Inclusive Health Check

The Inclusive Health Check is a free, online self-assessment tool embedded within the School Games programme, funded by Sport England, Department of Health and Social Care and Department of Culture, Media and Sport, and endorsed by the Department for Education. It helps schools reflect on whether their school sport and physical activity provision is truly inclusive for pupils from under-served communities.

By completing the Inclusive Health Check at least annually, schools can track improvements in inclusive practice and generate measurable evidence to support internal development and external reporting. Sections can be revisited and updated at any time, providing flexibility for ongoing review.

To complete the Inclusive Health Check, schools are asked a series of questions to assess their inclusive practice, which have been co-created with expertise organisations striving for equality, including Women in Sport, Sporting Equals and Activity Alliance. After rating their confidence in supporting specific groups, schools receive tailored resource suggestions to create an action plan to guide next steps. 

Completion of the Inclusive Health Check is also a mandatory part of the School Games Mark application, contributing to achieving a School Games Mark award. During the last academic year, 8,279 schools completed an Inclusive Health Check. You can read more about the Inclusive Health Check and the impact it is having on provision. 

Mason won the Youth Sport Trust Young Changemaker Awards 2025 Inspirational Inclusive Young Leader Award after participating in the Inclusive Youth Leadership Camp.

Delivering positive experiences through competition

School Games

School Games Mark

9,462 schools achieved a School Games Mark in 2025, with 5,563 schools (58%) achieving a Gold - up from 5,264 schools in 2024. Overall, the award saw a 6% increase in applications over the last academic year, with a 10% increase in applications from secondary schools.

Breaking down gendered barriers to PE and school sport

Delivering equal access to girls

In 2025, 90% of schools in England with Key Stage 2 and/or Key Stage 3 provision were delivering equal access to girls to football within the curriculum, up from 88% in 2024. Since 2020, the number of girls attending schools with equal access has risen significantly to 2.6 million (an increase of 31% since 2020/21). Read more about the progress being made against equal access here.

The Barclays Girls’ Football in Schools Strategic Leads for King Edward VI Aston and Hall Green won the 2025 Strategic Leads Award for Outstanding Contribution to Diversity. Watch this short video to learn more about the inclusive multi-cultural competition they ran in celebration of the Women’s Euros. 

Examples of great practice within the programme include partners working to break down cultural barriers to access. One Schools Rugby Manager in Leicester took proactive steps to address cultural sensitivities and participation barriers among students from Muslim faith schools, including adapting the rules so participants could wear a tag belt, avoiding physical contact at a mixed gender event while ensuring equitable participation.

To further address barriers, a Year 7 girls-only T1 Rugby Event was held. The event was attended by six schools, including an all-girls Muslim faith school and involved 44 girls, 30 of whom were from ethnically diverse communities. The event served as an introduction to rugby for many of the girls involved. 

Lidl #SeriousSupport

The Lidl #SeriousSupport programme is funded by Lidl in partnership with the Ladies' Gaelic Football Association and delivered by the Youth Sport Trust. The programme uses Ladies Gaelic Football as a vehicle to increase and maintain girls’ engagement in sport and physical activity.

Over the last academic year, 26 schools were engaged in the programme, and 721 girls participated. Of those, 94% reported that they now feel more positive towards being active, and 88% of girls agree that their awareness of the positive values from being active has increased.

Evidencing the need for change

The Youth Sport Trust’s Research and Insight team are at the forefront of evidencing the societal impact of PE, sport and play so that all young people can access its life-changing benefits. In addition to directing and sharing new research, we work with partners across the sector to source, translate and magnify the research of others to drive systemic change.

As part of our campaigning work, we commissioned YouGov to collect views on the Always Active Uniform policy. The research shows that the majority of both primary school parents and teachers are supportive of a more flexible, activity-friendly school uniform. We continue to work with both national and international partners and academics to continue to build a compelling evidence base for Always Active Uniform, supporting cross-sector advocacy in this area.

The Youth Sport Trust’s latest annual PE and School Sport Report highlighted the issues facing children and young people today and the importance of taking urgent action. Including new research we conducted with teachers, parents, children and MPs, it continues to be a valuable source of evidence for use across the sector, alongside our Knowledge Bank and factsheets. This year’s launch was supported by a webinar, giving an additional accessible way for a broader audience to engage with the work.

Supported by Sport England System Partner funding, the Youth Sport Trust continues to build and facilitate the PE and School Sport Research Forum: a network of researchers, academics, charities, government officials and practitioners working together to share and mobilise the latest evidence and best practice across the sector. Youth Sport Trust researchers also contribute to several advisory boards, sharing our evidence and expertise to shape significant research projects, improve delivery and best practice, and drive policy change.

National School Sports Week 2025

Always Active

Strengthening the sector

During the 2024/25 academic year, we continued our work as the convenor of the School Sport and Activity Sector Partnership, which involved over 100 participating organisations.

Across the year, we hosted three online forums plus an in-person Summit, along with the leadership of three Action Groups focused on physical literacy, youth voice and workforce development.

Key progress has been made through the collaborative efforts of the Physical Literacy Action Group, which developed and continues to cascade training in the context of Education alongside the development of the Physical Literacy toolkit.

Throughout the engagements, we have facilitated input from three Government Departments (Department for Education, Department of Health and Social Care, and Department for Culture, Media and Sport) as well as profiling practice from over 16 members of the partnership, all of which aim to progress the ambitions of the Sector Pledges. Read more about the pledges.

Funding our Mission

Our income 2024/25

The income below relates to the financial year 2024/25, which ended 31 March 2025.

Our income 2023/24

Thank you to our Funders and Partners

A special thank you to the National Lottery for the funding from our partnership with Sport England which continues to support our work, making a difference to children’s lives on a huge scale.