The Youth Sport Trust remains committed to equipping educators and empowering young people across the country, but we recognise that there is a need to have a heightened understanding and focus on locations that serve young people where inequality of access to the benefits of play and sport is greatest. 

To support these efforts, we identified 20 key focus areas across England, known internally as ‘Growth Areas’, where, through a whole organisation commitment, we will concentrate our capacity and resources and establish an evidence base to inform action. These areas have been selected as a focus as they demonstrate:

• high levels of childhood obesity 
• high levels of deprivation 
• low levels of participation in sport and physical activity 
• readiness to work with us 
• potential and/or existing collaborations 

To date, the following outputs have been delivered within Growth Areas to deepen understanding and develop stronger local relationships on the ground 

• 161 school insight visits conducted 
• 18 local insight reports produced
• 49 insight sharing forums held  
• 20 local area forums have been established 
• 20 action plans have been created, which include a total of 156 actions 

As a result of the local action plans, the following outcomes have been delivered across all Growth Areas; 

• 1,592 practitioners and 2,285 young people have received training to equip them to provide more positive experiences for the young people they engage 
• 53,371 young people have participated in Youth Sport Trust programmes including; 
  • 46% from low-income families​ 
  • 47% from ethnically diverse communities​ 
  • 29% with special educational needs or disabilities (SEND) 

 Over the last year, the Youth Sport Trust funded 15 local innovation projects to offer tailor made solutions to address local challenges. Some of our initial focus areas have seen increases in the proportion of young people achieving the national physical activity guidelines. Notably, between 2022/23 and 2023/24, Islington had a 16 percentage point increase, and Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole, and Hartlepool both had a 10 percentage point increase (Source: Active Lives Children and Young People Survey). 

Please click on the right-hand side to read the executive summary of the Growth Areas Progress Report.