Mims Davies MP is supporting the Youth Sport Trust in encouraging young people to celebrate togetherness through the power of sport this summer as part of National School Sport Week taking place between Monday 19 to Sunday 25 June 2023.
During her time as the Minister for Sport and Civil Society, Mims was proud to work on the School Sport and Activity Action Plan which helped children to access 60 minutes of daily sport and physical activity. You can read more about this here
Now in its 15th year, National School Sport Week looks to highlight the importance of physical education (PE) and school sport in enhancing the health and wellbeing of young people. Every year, thousands of schools and individuals across the country mark the week by holding sports days or community sporting events, encouraging active lifestyles.
With summer fast approaching, the Pledge to Play supports the government ask that children are active within school for 30 minutes a day, and then outside of school for at least another 30 minutes, supporting every child to reach the minimum amount of 60 active minutes. The charity has partnered this year with the Together Coalition and hope to see a summer of games and sport, celebrating togetherness and helping young people recover from a year like no other.
Anyone can get involved in the UK-wide campaign by signing up through the Youth Sport Trust’s website to receive a free activity pack including the ultimate guide to staging an inclusive sports day, tips on how to bring young people together through sport, fun activities for parents to organise at home and advice on empowering young people to organise sporting events.
Mims is supporting the campaign and calling on schools, families, and communities from across Mid Sussex to get involved.
Commenting on National Schools Sports Week, Mims said:
During my time as the Minister for Sport and Civil Society, I was proud to work on the School Sport and Activity Action Plan which helped children to access 60 minutes of daily sport and physical activity.
I am therefore delighted to support the Youth Sports Trust’s ‘Pledge to Play’. Sport has such an incredible power to have a hugely positive impact on children’s lives. It increases their physical and mental wellbeing, helps them achieve at school and teaches important life skills such as working as a team, developing the confidence to try new things and taking leadership.
I urge schools across the constituency to put sport and physical activity at the heart of every school day, creating a cultural shift where it becomes routine in the daily lives of young people.
Youth Sport Trust Chief Executive Ali Oliver said:
A good quality Physical Education and school sport equip young people to tackle some of the big challenges they face today – improving their wellbeing, getting them ready to learn and helping them to connect. But in recent years young people have become less active and PE has been undervalued and cut back. We will only turn this around with schools, teachers, parents and other joining together to show why PE and school sport have an essential role to play in every young person’s education which should be considered on a par with maths and English.