Activity levels for children have returned to pre-pandemic levels, a Sport England report has found.
The survey into more than 100,000 children aged five to 16 in England - released this morning - showed that 47.2 per cent had the Chief Medical Officers’ guideline of 60 minutes or more physical activity per day.
But London remains below the national average with 45.3 per cent of children sufficiently physically active every day.
It covers September 2021 to July 2022, and the national figure equates to 3.4 million children, up 219,000 for the previous year when some Covid-19 restrictions were still in place.
Across England, as in previous years those from low affluence families were the least likely to be active at 42 per cent while that figure rose to 52 per cent among the highest. And children from black, Asian and other ethnic backgrounds were also likely to be less active.
Participation in team sports is still below pre-pandemic levels but there was a 3.3 per cent rise in basketball activity while 100,000 more girls are now playing football than in 2017.
Sport England chief executive Tim Hollingsworth said: “It is encouraging to see that activities for children and young people have recovered to pre-pandemic levels.
“But we have a long way to go still to change the overall level where it needs to be, to help children and young people from all backgrounds enjoy the benefits of sport and physical ability.
“That’s why we will advocate for children and young people, particularly those facing inequalities and less likely to take part in sport and physical activity to be given a voice in decisions which affect their experiences to help ensure that those experiences are positive.”
