Young people participating in netball

A steady rise

New figures demonstrate the positive impact of Active Schools.

The latest data published by sportscotland shows that Active Schools continues to have an impact on children’s physical activity levels with 7.3 million visits made to activities across Scotland in 2018/19, an increase of 0.4% on the previous year.

More opportunities have been created for young people to take part in sport and physical activity through the network with 398,000 sessions delivered, an increase of 2.1% in the last twelve months.

Local authorities have also reported there are now 23,500 deliverers within the network an increase of 3.3% and 89% are volunteers.

7.3m visits to Active Schools sessions
313,000 participants across Scotland

 

Mel Young, Chair of sportscotland hailed the latest figures saying: “It is fantastic to see that Active Schools continues to grow year on year with more opportunities delivered and another increase in the number of people participating.

“We talk about making an impact together and Active Schools is a great example of working with the right partners in the right way to deliver results. The Active Schools network is reliant on strong local partnerships with schools, local authorities, sport development teams, regional managers from governing bodies of sport, volunteers and the clubs who welcome children and young people into their communities.”

Active Schools, one of sportscotland’s longest running flagship programmes, is designed to provide more and higher quality opportunities to take part in sport and physical activity before school, during lunchtime and after school.  Developing effective pathways between schools and sports clubs in the local community is a key factor in its success and there are now 2,700 clubs linking directly with schools giving children and young people the opportunity to continue in sports to the level they choose.

Breaking down barriers

Minister for Public Health, Sport and Wellbeing, Joe FitzPatrick added his support for Active Schools saying: “Physical activity is one of the very best things we can do for our overall health and it is crucial to make physical activity a normal part of daily life from an early age. It also has many mental health benefits and it is encouraging that nine out of ten children felt more confident after taking part in this programme.

“A key feature of Active Schools is that while it has had great success with young people all over Scotland, in particular it is providing opportunities for young people who have barriers to participating, such as children from deprived areas and girls.

“I would like to thank the network of managers and coordinators who work tirelessly to develop and deliver these opportunities to children across Scotland.”

Delivered in partnership with all 32 local authorities and their leisure trusts in primary, secondary and ASN schools, Active Schools is now a well-established network of over 400 managers and coordinators and makes a significant contribution to delivering an active Scotland.

Find out more

You can read the full report on the sportscotland website

 

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