1. We were delighted Lisa Nandy, MP for Wigan and Culture, Media and Sport Secretary, joined our CEO Ali Oliver, Mr Motivator and local educators at the Wigan PE, School Sport and Physical Activity Conference last month. Organised by Youth Sport Trust, Wigan Athletic Community Trust and local School Games Organisers, the event brought together local and national partners to explore how PE, school sport and more active lifestyles can support children’s wellbeing and the development of key life skills.
2. Our recent Set for Success Inspiration Day at Wimbledon included a video message from Sport Minister Stephanie Peacock, in which she celebrated the achievements of participants and reiterated the role sport can play in providing access to skills such as communication, confidence and resilience, important in both education and the workplace. Set for Success is an intensive youth leadership initiative funded by the Wimbledon Foundation in partnership with Barclays and delivered by Youth Sport Trust. It seeks to support young people at risk of not achieving their full potential.
3. Our CEO Ali Oliver gave evidence to the Women and Equalities Select Committee as part of their inquiry into community cohesion. Informing a session exploring how sport can strengthen communities, Ali highlighted the impact Youth Sport Trust programmes such as Breaking Boundaries and Birmingham Connect have had in bringing people from different backgrounds together, and providing forums to learn about and understand each other.
4. Our National Manager for Women and Girls, Wendy Taylor, spoke at the Fix the Kit event in the House of Lords launching the Inclusive Sportswear Charter. Led by former Hockey Olympian and Gold Medallist Tess Howard MBE, Inclusive Sportswear is working to address kit policies contributing to the alarming dropout rates of women and girls in sport. The Charter includes five core principles – choice, comfort, identify, collaboration and belonging – aiming to ensure no one is sidelined because of what they are required to wear.
5. Chris Wright, Youth Sport Trust’s Head of Wellbeing, took part in the latest meeting of the APPG (All-Party Parliamentary Group) on Play, contributing to a discussion on making play statutory in Key Stage One and aligned to a Westminster Hall debate led by Dr Roz Savage MP. Elsewhere, Kelly Fellows (Development Manager for Inclusion) attended the APPG on swimming, contributing to a conversation on school swimming and water safety, including how the new curriculum should respond to the specific challenges facing children from under-served communities.
6. The Government  has announced nearly 1,000 community projects across the UK will benefit from new sporting facilities. At least half of all funding will go to the 30% most deprived communities in the UK and will include facilities that can host PE and school activities alongside community use. Meanwhile the Department for Culture, Media and Sport initiated the new Team Up campaign, highlighting the power of sport to tackle loneliness amongst young men and supported by stars such as Conor Benn and Luke Littler.
7. We have responded to a number of consultations including calling for the retention of Sport England’s role as a statutory consultee in the planning process, urging proposed new guidance on screen limits for under-5s to also raise awareness amongst parents of how physically active early years children should be, and highlighting the contribution sport can make in supporting young people to develop skills, through consultations seeking to address employment challenges this generation faces.
8. Finally, January marked two years since the launch of our manifesto ahead of the 2024 election. A lot has happened since including plans for a new PE and School Sport Partnership Network, changes to the curriculum and assessment, new guidance on breakfast clubs and school uniform and PE kit, and more. Take a look at our summary of key highlights.

As ever, if you have any questions or would like any further information, please contact [email protected]