Championing an Active Future for Every Child

We’re proud to support National School Sports Week 2025 - a national campaign led by the Youth Sport Trust which takes place from Monday 16 to Friday 20 June 2025. This year’s theme, Always Active, is a powerful reminder of the need to ensure every child has the chance to enjoy 60 active minutes of physical activity every day, regardless of their background or circumstances.

With only 47% of children currently meeting the UK Chief Medical Officers’ recommended activity levels, the need to act is clear. The challenge is even more acute in areas of high deprivation, where children often face the greatest barriers to getting active, from limited access to community sport to fewer safe, affordable opportunities to play.

At the Personal Best Foundation, we are focused on helping to address this gap, specifically through after-school athletics provision. Our schools programme works in partnership with schools in the most disadvantaged communities, where children are most at risk of inactivity, to provide inclusive, trusted, and accessible after-school clubs.

These clubs do more than help children get moving. Our pilot programmes have shown that after-school sport in school settings leads to improved fitness, confidence, self-esteem, and a stronger sense of belonging - all while supporting parents with much-needed wraparound care in the hours after school.

Recent data from the Youth Sport Trust underscores the importance of this provision. Participation in school based active clubs has increased since 2017, while participation in community clubs has declined, placing growing pressure on schools to offer extracurricular opportunities. Yet only 52% of parents currently feel their child gets enough time for sport and play at school, a drop from 59% in 2023. It’s clear that after-school clubs are an increasingly vital outlet, particularly for children who face the greatest barriers to being active.

We’re committed to making a difference where it’s needed most. And with the support of our new partnership with Citroën, we’re excited to extend the reach of our schools programme, enabling even more children in underserved areas to benefit from after-school sport.

As we stand alongside the Youth Sport Trust in championing National School Sports Week, we remain focused on one clear goal: helping ensure that every child has the opportunity to be Always Active, starting with the time after school.