WIREDGOV

In the fifth of our series, we take a closer look at our investment in children and young people – and launch our new Families Fund

One of the key features of our strategy is making sure children and young people from as young as five are able to enjoy the benefits of sport and physical activity.

We want them to be able to feel more motivated, confident and able to get active – which will increase the likelihood of being active later in life.

Our priority is to make sure experiences are fun, enjoyable and of value to those taking part, and that children and young people are better equipped for an active future.

We have committed up to £194 million of investment into children and young people over the next four years. This will be enhanced through our wider work across other areas of our strategy, including local delivery and core markets.

FAMILIES FUND

One of our new areas of investment is our Families Fund.

Our Families Fund will see up to £40 million invested in projects that offer new opportunities for families with children to do sport and physical activity together.

One of our aims of is to support parents on low incomes to make sure their children have positive experiences of sport and physical activity.

We want them to learn new skills, improve their ability and have confidence to be physically active. We also want to give families the inspiration and confidence to take part in activity together.

WHY ARE FAMILIES IMPORTANT?

Our insight tells us that families and, in particular, parents and caregivers, play a key role in shaping a child’s attitudes and behaviours.

This is also true of physical activity and sport. They can:

• Provide support and encouragement – but they can also add pressure
• Share their own sport and physical activity passions – but they can also share their fears
• Facilitate access to various opportunities to be active – but they can also limit options
• Model active behaviour by taking part with children – but can also model sedentary behaviour.

We want our investment to support families on low incomes to allow their children to experience the benefits of getting active, including improved mental and social wellbeing and individual development.

We will be investing in projects that make experiences of sport and physical activity fun and enjoyable – and bring value to children and their wider family.

Find out more about our Families Fund

OUR COMMITMENT

As part of our £194 million investment in children and young people, we will also be investing in new and existing areas of work over the next four years.

Our main areas of investment are:

• Investment in a programme of teacher training, which will be offered free of charge to teachers in every secondary school in England by 2020. The aim is to help teachers better meet the needs of all children, irrespective of their level of sporting ability, and to involve them in shaping the sporting opportunities that are on offer.
• Improving the early experience that children get at school through our work to support the effective use of the doubled Primary PE and Sport Premium funding and our investment into the School Games.
• Continued support for Satellite Clubs. We’ll work with a number of existing partners to enhance and develop the satellite club offer and will solicit new partnerships with organisations that can help us achieve our satellite club objectives.
• Recognising the importance of transitions between both primary and secondary and then onto further and higher education, with an increased focus on supporting inactive children and students to take up sport and exercise. This work includes a £5 million investment aimed at Tackling Inactivity in Colleges and up to £3 million a year in organisations that can help us deliver in the education sectors beyond the formal curriculum, including work that aims to keep young people active through the key education changes.

NEED TO KNOW FACTS

• Fund: Families Fund
• Value: Up to £40 million National Lottery
• Opening: Expressions of interest open 15 May 2017
• Awards: Autumn 2017