Care-experienced children and young people are a ‘hidden group’ often overlooked in physical activity policy, according to a new report launched today by the Local Government Association (LGA).
There are currently 83,630 children in care in England, alongside 50,670 care leavers aged 17–21. The LGA is urging the Government to prioritise this group in its forthcoming physical activity strategy and expand data collection to track their participation and experiences.
Councils are also calling for funding for further research into the barriers faced by care-experienced children so they can design more effective interventions.
The report – Guidance on improving opportunities for physical activity for care-experienced children and young people – was commissioned by the LGA and produced by Coram and Stormbreak, with input from 55 care-experienced young people.
Cllr Julie Jones-Evans, chair of the LGA’s Culture, Tourism and Sport Committee, said supporting physical activity is a vital part of councils’ ‘corporate parenting’ role.
Dr Katharine Stockland, research manager at Coram, said: ‘Our research shows that it is particularly important that care-experienced children and young people have the freedom to choose the activities that are best suited to them, and that these activities are trauma-informed.
‘While this report highlights many existing examples of best practice, there is still more to do, particularly in terms of increasing national data collection and in-depth research on this important topic.’
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