Sport England's Active Lives Children and Young People survey summaries the activity levels of children and young people (aged 5-16) in England from September 2021 to July 2022.
As with the adult survey, this allows us to see how active children in Berkshire are compared to the rest of the country and how they change each year. It breaks activity levels down into three categories; active (an average of at least 60 minutes a day), fairly active (an average of 30-59 minutes a day) and less active (less than an average of 30 minutes a day).
Headline results for England:
- Activity levels have generally recovered to pre-pandemic levels but this isn't universal and some inequalities remain; the activity levels of children aged 7-9 and black boys in particular remaining lower than prior to the pandemic.
- 3.4 million (47.2%) children and young people are active and meeting the Chief Medical Officer guidelines. This is an increase of 2.6% compared to 12 months ago.
- 30.1% are less active now which is 2.3% less than 12 months ago.
- In Berkshire the rate of activity is 46.5%, 12 months ago it was 46.2% but this change is not significant. Windsor and Maidenhead has the highest rate of activity at 55.8%.
Boys are more likely to be active than girls at 50% compared to 45% although positively more girls are active now than before the pandemic. Children and young people with Black, Asian and Other ethnicities are the least likely to be active. Activity levels are back in line with those seen pre-pandemic for all ethnicities except of black boys whose activity levels are 7.7% lower.
The infographic above also highlights some demographic differences. Adult physical activity habits often develop in childhood, which is why it is vital that more children get more active in Berkshire and Get Berkshire Active is working towards increase physical activity levels for children across Berkshire. For more information on the survey and for full results please visit Sport England's website to find out about the child and adult surveys.
