Wales' children doing less sport outside school - survey

Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson said sporting activities needed to be "more inclusive and accessible so that everyone can find something that they enjoy"

Children in Wales are doing less sport than they were four years ago, a major survey of 116,000 seven to 16-year-olds has suggested.

Sport Wales found 36% were not doing any activities outside of their school PE lessons, compared with 28% in 2018.

Chairwoman Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson said the results showed a "major shift" was needed to make it "more inclusive".

Welsh Youth Parliament member Maddie Malpas, a keen sportsperson, said taking part was too expensive for some.

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"Unfortunately, where sport should be considered a necessity, in many areas it's considered a luxury," she said.

The Welsh government has previously said it would spend £24m developing community sports facilities over the next three years.

Maddie suggested widening the variety of activities available in schools, away from traditional sports like football, rugby and netball, could help young people to find something they like.

"We do need to do more to ensure that every person has an opportunity to do fitness, and not just do it, but to enjoy it," she said.

"Doing sports out of school is essential and it's really important for your mental health, your physical health and your general health."

She said the cost of living crisis could compound the issue.

"Cost is a huge problem because taking part in sports outside of school can be very expensive," she added.

"Costs are expected to rise but people's budgets are becoming less."

The School Sport Survey showed a near 10 percentage point drop in the number of pupils taking part in organised sport three or more times a week outside of their PE lessons, down from 48% to 39%.

There was a similar reduction in the number of children who said they were playing sport with a community club at least once a week - from 65% in 2018 to 56% in 2022.

Welsh Youth Parliament member Maddie Malpas: "Sport should be considered a necessity"

A gender divide also remains with 43% of boys taking part in organised sport three or more times a week outside of PE lessons, compared to 36% of girls.

The study also highlighted that pupils in areas of high deprivation, as well as those from minority ethnic backgrounds, were less likely to take part in extra-curricular sport.

Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson said sporting activities needed to be "more inclusive and accessible so that everyone can find something that they enjoy".

"The evidence shows we need system-wide changes to what is offered, where it is offered, how it is offered and to whom," she said.

"Society is changing - people have lots more demands on their time and the current cost of living crisis means that they have less money in their pockets too."

Separate research in August showed children in Wales were among the world's least fit, with half of three to 17-year-olds exercising the recommended 60 minutes a day.