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 Ac...

The Chartered Society of Physiotherapists (CSP) has announced an innovative project with Sport England and the Centre for Ageing Better to find the best ways to promote the benefits of maintaining and improving muscle strength for people visiting their physiotherapist. The 15-month initiative will explore people’s understanding and perceptions of the importance of regular strength and balance activities, and create messaging and approac...

An independent review into the role of sport in the justice system which highlights the role that sport and physical activity can play in rehabilitation and reducing reoffending, identifies best practice from across the custodial estate and makes recommendations for enhancing provision. Working with people in prison and tackling reoffending is one of the biggest challenges our society faces, and one in which sport has a unique and impor...

A new online training course aims to help coaches and sport and physical activity providers increase their knowledge of mental health. The course is the result of a collaboration between Sport England, UK Coaching, 1st4sport and mental health charity Mind. Mental Health Awareness for Sport and Physical Activity is designed to equip people with the skills to support and engage people experiencing mental health problems, as well as impres...

Sport England have teamed up with the Royal College of GPs (RCGP) to launch the Active Practice Charter that inspires and celebrates GP practices that are taking steps to increase activity in their patients and staff. With one in four people saying they would be more active if it was recommended by a GP or nurse, the charter includes a toolkit that will support time-poor GPs to raise the subject of activity with patients and achieve Act...

Public Health England (PHE) has published a presentation focused on promoting a healthier weight for children, young people and families. This resource is intended to support health and care professionals to be consistent and provide a core set of healthy weight messages throughout the life course. The aim of these slides is to be used as a training tool to inform workforce development. They provide detailed evidence-based healthy...

The Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport and HM Revenue & Customs have issued guidance on using the tax system to offer gym memberships and sports facilities to staff. This guidance provides some advice that employers can put into practice straight away to help their workforce become healthier. The government introduced Cycle to Work in 1999 - an annual tax exemption that allows employers to loan bicycles and cycle safety e...

Why are women continuing to miss out on the benefits that sport and physical activity brings as they get older? This report uses qualitative research to better understand women’s relationship with sport and physical activity in later life. The experiences of women aged between 55-75, their attitudes towards ageing, their motivations and interests, as well as perceived barriers are explored. This report includes practical recommendatio...

Sporting Future set out a new government vision to redefine what success looks like in sport by concentrating on five key outcomes - physical wellbeing, mental wellbeing, individual development, social and community development and economic development. The second annual report on the strategy sets out the progress that has been made in the past year, and focuses on ten key themes and areas of progress: Cross-government working Cha...

The UK Active Blueprint sets out clear and achievable recommendations to get the nation moving. It details an evidence based policy, bringing together existing research, technology, programmes and partnerships to help get Britain more active in a variety of ways. The document brings together input from a collection of stakeholders, thus encompassing a broad spectrum of physical activity policy in order to increase impact. It supports go...