Play Time and Sport with School Children just what the Doctor Ordered

School children across the country are supporting ‘at risk’ older adults to lead healthy and happy lives through a new project developed by children’s charity the Youth Sport Trust and supported by GPs.

The programme brings the two loneliest generations together to play sport and get active and has seen a GP surgery in Weymouth start to prescribe older adults at risk of loneliness regular walks with young people.

The launch of Active Across Ages comes after the Youth Sport Trust and founder, Sir John Beckwith, wanted to create an initiative to tackle loneliness and declining wellbeing in the two most at risk age groups. The Office of National Statistics revealed in 2018 that 14% of 10-12-year-olds often felt lonely and Age UK report there are 1.2 million chronically lonely older people within the UK.

The project supports recently retired individuals or those with long-term health conditions to have good overall wellbeing. It is currently delivered in five areas across the country and builds on the charity’s 25 years of experience in engaging the hardest to reach young people through sporting interventions in schools and communities.