The latest Active Lives survey results for children and young people (CYP) have been released today and they show that there has been little movement in activity levels, with 3.3 million (47.8%) of 5 to 16 year olds taking part in sport and physical activity for an average of 60 minutes a day, and therefore meeting the Chief Medical Officer's guidelines.

The results also show that stubborn inequalities remain, with girls and children from less affluent families still less likely to be active than boys and those children from more affluent families. Children from Asian, Black and other ethnic backgrounds are still the least likely to be active.

The report also highlights that those children and young people with two or more characteristics of inequality, such as Asian girls, are significantly less likely to be active than those with no inequality characteristics at all, which demonstrates that the work that Active Partnerships, and wider partners, do to tackle these inequalities is more vital than ever.

It is also clear from the report that the long-term impact of the Covid-19 pandemic is still being felt on children and young people's relationship with sport and physical activity, with children who were in nursery to school year 4 when the pandemic struck in 2020 having been particularly disadvantaged.

Andy Taylor, CEO for the Active Partnerships National Organisation, commented on the latest figures:

"Today's Active Lives results, which cover the 2023-24 academic year, show that there has been little movement with activity levels, confirming that there is still a long way to go when it comes to achieving the increase that the network and the sector wants to see.