CHILDREN’S ACTIVITY LEVELS RISING IN THE BLACK COUNTRY

The Active Lives Children & Young People Survey 2024/25 shows that 50.1% (89,500) of 5–16-year-olds in the Black Country are achieving 60+ minutes of activity a day – a 7.1% increase on last year’s figures.

Sport England’s new survey reveals that 49.1% (3.6m) of children nationally are active for 60+ minutes daily. There are 580,000 more children meeting the Chief Medical Officers’ guidelines of taking part in an average of 60 minutes or more of sport and physical activity every day than there were seven years ago – an increase of 5.8%.

At a Black Country level, the key highlights are:

• Sandwell – 59.6% (31,500) of children aged 5 to 16 do 60+ minutes of activity a day, ranking 9th out of 247 local authorities.
• Walsall – 46.4% (19,600) of children and young people were classed as active, an increase of 8.6% on 2023/24.
• Dudley – 48.1% (19,900) of children and young people were active, a 4.1% jump.
• Wolverhampton – 49.2% (20,800) of children and young people were active, a 4.1% increase.

Out of the 43 Active Partnerships surveyed, 24 had higher activity rates than the national average - the Black Country ranked 16th.

Notably, the proportion of ‘less active’ children and young people – those who achieve less than an average 30 minutes activity per day – fell sharply to 28.1% (50,200), a decrease of 7.9% on the 2023/24 academic year and now below the national average of 28.4% (2.1m).

Much more work to do

Commenting on the national figures, Sport England’s new Chief Executive Simon Hayes said children’s activity levels were now the highest since the Active Lives Survey began in 2017-18, reflecting the positive impact that schools, clubs, community organisations and many others are having across the country.

Despite encouraging progress, he cautioned that the report makes clear how much more work there is to be done. “It cannot be right that fewer than half of children are moving as much as recommended, and that stark inequalities mean too many amongst the poorest in our society miss out. We need a renewed national effort to change this,” he said.

The report, published on 4 December, reveals that significant inequalities remain in activity levels, with Black and Asian children and young people, and those from the least affluent families, still less likely to play sport or be physically active than the average across all ethnicities and affluence groups.

Andy Taylor, CEO of the Active Partnerships National Organisation, said: “These inequalities must continue to be addressed, and they demonstrate why working in a place-based way, as Active Partnerships do, is so important, as it allows us to take a detailed look at those areas that have underserved communities and create the bespoke solutions needed to overcome specific and localised barriers to being physically active."

Active Black Country supports the commitment of the Active Partnerships network and Sport England to working with all partners, including schools, local authorities and community organisations, to ensure that every child can enjoy the physical, social and mental benefits of an active and healthy lifestyle.

Through a raft of initiatives including the School Games, the Opening School Facilities programme, together with improvements in PE and school sport provision and Black Country-wide water safety and aquatics sessions, Active Black Country continues its efforts to create and maximise inclusive opportunities for children and young people to move and be active across diverse settings.