We were delighted to hold a fringe event featuring Nigel Huddleston MP, Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, and Dr Luke Evans MP, Shadow Health Minister, who joined speakers from education and the Youth Sport Trust to explore the contribution a nation of active and well schools could make to childhood and life chances.

Sara from the Youth Sport Trust’s Youth Board chaired the event, and began by sharing some of her own experiences of sport and a desire to make sure all young people are given access to similar opportunities. Sara then introduced Nigel Huddleston, who previously served as Minister for Sport in government, and who highlighted the particular challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic, many of which continue today. Sharing that the Conservative Party is in the midst of a policy renewal process, he spoke about evidence showing academic results are better for fitter, healthier children, as well as the need to support all children to find physical activities they enjoy and for all activities to be open to boys and girls.

Garret Fay, CEO of Insignis Academy Trust, spoke next to share his insights as an education leader. He explained for many children, their only opportunity for regular physical activity is through PE, and that secondary aged pupils lose about 60% of their fitness over the summer holidays. Letting children wear PE kit for the whole school day helps improve participation in PE immediately, he explained, as well sharing how schools can use non-traditional sports which prioritise fun and engagement to help every child develop a passion. Garret spoke about the need to improve school-club links, which can help increase access to different sports and increase participation levels.

Drawing on his background as a GP and role in the Shadow Health Team, Dr Luke Evans MP articulated the role of physical activity in delivering physical and mental health benefits, and how sport can support community cohesion whilst developing life skills such as discipline and teamwork. He made the case for greater use of facilities including at schools, as well as doing more to signpost children and young people towards opportunities at schools and in communities. Explaining the contribution physical activity could make in tackling prevalent issues such as depression and eating disorders, he set out an ambition to develop policies which use the power of sport as an early intervention to prevent negative outcomes in childhood.

Finally, Youth Sport Trust Schools Director Kay Batkin detailed her own experiences of sport and physical activity in school ad throughout childhood. After explaining how Well Schools use the power of PE, sport and play to support progress in schools, she set out the need to transform PE and school sport for the modern age, to respond to the needs and challenges facing this generation of young people. Kay ended by calling for a joined-up approach to increase physical activity in childhood, supported by a cross-party consensus, to improve young people’s lives and develop an active and well generation.

Elsewhere, with much discussion across the conference about how to respond to the 2024 general election defeat, it was positive to hear a number of politicians extoll the virtue of sport in improving not just physical health for children, but also wellbeing and life changes. This included:

• Louie French, Shadow Sport Minister, who spoke about the leadership skills he developed through sport including on the rugby pitch, and how this co-curricular learning helped set him up for future employment opportunities. Highlighting the importance of access to facilities, including at schools, he also spoke about the importance of politicians to listen to young people so policies and programmes respond to their needs.
• Damian Hinds, the former Education Secretary who sits on the Culture, Media and Sport Committee, and who argued sport is one of five foundations of character. Aspiring to deliver opportunities to participate for every child, he called for benchmarks for sport alongside other creative subjects, to guide schools and develop a comprehensive co-curricular programme of activity.
• Education Secretary Laura Trott, who warned of the damage digital culture is doing to children and young people, and called for a ban on smartphones in schools. She argued this can help children feel safe and removing smartphones is often met by a sense of relief, calling for the Government to take immediate action.

With conference season almost over, Parliament returns next week with a number of developments on the horizon including the Curriculum and Assessment Review final report, Enrichment Framework and National Youth Strategy. As ever, we will share key highlights and updates here – if you have any questions in the meantime, please contact [email protected]