Active Lives Children and Young people Survey 2024-25 Explained
Table of Contents
This video features nick Pontefract, chief strategy officer for Sport England, discussing the latest Active Lives Children and Young People survey results, published on 4 December 2025, with accompanying animated graphics.
Nick is pictured in front of a white background, framed by a blue border on the bottom and right sides of the screen, with the Sport England logo in white in the top right corner. Italicized text represents Nick’s speech, while non-italicized text describes the on-screen visuals. The video is set to a generic backing track.
The video opens with “Active Lives Children and Young People Survey 2024-25 Explained” appearing on screen in blue.The text shrinks to the top right corner as an animated version of the report, with turning pages, appears below. Nick’s name and title are displayed beneath him.
“the good news is activity levels are the highest they have been as we started the survey back in 2017.”
the text and animated report disappear as blue arrows move upwards behind Nick.
“We’re not just bouncing back from the pandemic – we’re seeing real progress beyond recovery.”
The words ‘real progress’ appear on screen in large green font, in front of Nick.
“similarly, the proportion of children and young people who are less active is lower than we’ve seen before.”
Nick moves to the left of the screen, and a pie chart detailing activity levels appears on the right. The figures are:
* Less active – 28.4% (less than an average of 30 minutes a day)
* Fairly active – 22.5% (average of 30-59 minutes a day)
* Active – 49.1% (average of 60+ minutes a day)
The ‘less active’ portion of the pie chart is highlighted, accompanied by a downward arrow and -1.1%.
“Though, this needs to be seen in context, only 49% of children are meeting the Chief Medical Officer’s guideline of an hour (on average) of exercise per day across the week.”
The pie chart slides off screen to the right,replaced by a line graph showing the percentage of ‘active’ children and young people (average of 60+ minutes a day) since 2017-18. The graph highlights 43% in 2017-18 and 49% in 2024-25, accompanied by an upward arrow and +1.3%.
“And while this is higher than it’s been before, we still have more to do when more than half of young people aren’t active enough.”
“looking into more of the detail now…”
Active Lives Survey Shows Participation Recovery, But Inequalities Remain
New data from Sport england’s Active Lives Survey reveals a continued recovery in sports participation following the disruptions of the COVID-19 pandemic, but highlights persistent inequalities in activity levels across different demographics. The latest findings show that 63.1% of people in England are physically active, a rise from the low of 55.2% recorded during the height of the pandemic.Though, participation rates remain below pre-pandemic levels, and notable disparities exist based on age, gender, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status.
Pandemic Impact and Recovery
the Active Lives Survey, a nationally representative study, tracks participation in sport and physical activity. The survey data clearly demonstrates the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on activity levels. Participation dropped significantly in the years 2020-2022,before beginning a recovery trend. While the current 63.1% represents progress, it is indeed still below the 65.5% recorded in the year ending November 2019 https://www.sportengland.org/news/active-lives-survey-shows-participation-recovery-inequalities-remain.
Key Findings & Disparities
The survey reveals several key trends:
* age: Older adults (75+) remain the least active group, with only 38.9% meeting the recommended activity levels.
* Gender: Men are more likely to be active than women (66.2% vs. 60.1%).
* Ethnicity: People from Asian, Asian British or Mixed ethnic backgrounds are less likely to be active compared to White British people.
* Socioeconomic Status: Individuals from lower socioeconomic groups are less likely to participate in sport and physical activity.
* Disability: People with a disability are less likely to be active than those without (36.7% vs. 64.2%).
These disparities underscore the need for targeted interventions to ensure that everyone has the opportunity to benefit from physical activity.
Sport England’s Response & Resources
Sport England is committed to addressing these inequalities and increasing participation across all segments of the population. The organization provides funding and support to a wide range of programs aimed at promoting physical activity and tackling inactivity.
Further details and the full report are available on the Sport England website: https://www.sportengland.org/activelives. The website also provides access to detailed data tables and the Active Lives Online tool for more in-depth analysis.
Looking Ahead
While the recovery in sports participation is encouraging, sustained effort is needed to address the underlying inequalities and ensure that everyone in England can enjoy the benefits of an active lifestyle. Sport England’s continued monitoring of the Active Lives Survey will be crucial in tracking progress and informing future strategies.
Key Takeaways:
* Sports participation in England is recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic, reaching 63.1%.
* Participation rates remain below pre-pandemic levels (65.5% in 2019).
* Significant inequalities persist based on age, gender, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and disability.
* Sport England is actively working to address these inequalities and promote inclusivity in sport and physical activity.