Sport England says keeping active is important for mental health

A new report is highlighting how important physical activity is for mental health.

Children and young people's activity levels are still being negatively impacted by the pandemic at a time when getting active is more important than ever for their mental health, according to a new report.

The survey from Sport England found that during the academic year 2020-21, there were 94,000 fewer active children and young people compared to the year before the pandemic (2018-19).

Sport England - which provides funding for lots of different sports - also found that activity levels had dropped more for families with less money.

It is calling for more to be done to ensure children and young people enjoy sport so that these changes don't become permanent.

What were the report's findings?

Overall, children and young people are doing fewer activities than they were before the pandemic.

They also reported being less confident and not enjoying physical activity as much.

While girls, especially girls aged 12-16 are traditionally less likely to take part in in sport, it seems over the pandemic boys have been more affected.

The figures from Sport England show there has been a drop in activity levels for boys, while amongst girls there has been an increase.

Activities like dancing increased during the pandemic

The report suggests this could be down to boys playing more organised sport, like football and cricket, while teenage girls may have found alternative activities, like walking and dancing, which have not been restricted.

The report also found that the gap between children from poorer backgrounds and those from wealthier families has increased, with those from less wealthy families even less active, partly because of a lack of access to outdoor space.

Like previous studies from Sport England, the findings show that Black and Asian children are less active.

Black boys have been particularly affected by the pandemic and their activity levels fell more than boys overall.

Swimming is the activity that's seen the biggest drop overall - though again there was a partial recovery in the summer term - and reports says there are worrying drops in swimming ability among primary school children.

What is being done to get kids more active?

The Chief Executive of Sport England says that although some of report is worrying, the impact of the pandemic on activity levels could have been worse.

He says lots of people including children have worked really hard to keep kids active.

Sport England say it is important that children enjoy physical activity

Sport England says they are putting a lot of money into different activities to keep keeping children active like School Games and a digital platform for online PE lessons.

It says it is important that children and young people are given experiences that are fun and inclusive.