The Active Lives Children and Young People Survey

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What is the Active Lives Children & Young People Survey?

The Active Lives Survey: Children and Young People provides a world-leading approach to gathering data on how children engage with sport and physical activity. It gives anyone working with children (5-16) detailed insight into the current physical activity habits.

The Survey is run by Sport England in partnership with the Department for Education (DfE), the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) and the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS). It is also supported across the West of England by the four unitary authorities, School Games Organisers and Public Health, through broad and deep understanding of activity levels and behaviours to help shape future strategy and investment decisions.

The survey will be school-based and will cover measures of children’s:

Activity levels
Well-being
Physical literacy
Swimming proficiency
Self-efficacy
Levels of social trust

For more information specifically around the background of the national survey please see Sport England’s website - Active Lives | Sport England

How does the survey work?

Each term Sport England provide Wesport with a random sample of schools that have been selected to take part in the survey. One class in up to three different year groups will be asked to fill out the questionnaires.

Find out which schools have been selected this academic year across the West of England.

While not all schools will be asked to take part in the survey this year, Sport England estimate that schools will be asked to take part every three years. They have designed the survey to be as easy for schools to administer as possible. The survey can be done at any point in the relevant term, depending on what works best for the school involved.

Wesport will provide schools with everything they need, including templates for letters to parents, information sheets for teachers and pupils, and technical guidance.

It is possible, and we encourage where able, for schools to opt-in extra classes, year groups or survey the whole school, to gain greater insight through their school report.

Schools who haven't been sampled by Sport England can also opt-in to taking part.

Why should my school get involved?

Access to a detailed report of the school’s outcomes on Physical Activity and Health & Wellbeing which can be used to help identify areas for PE, School Sport and Physical Activity planning
A Healthy Schools Rating from the Department of Education.
Schools who have been sampled get credits to exchange for physical activity + wellbeing equipment
Insight which will be useful in OFSTED Health & Wellbeing reports

Schools who haven’t been sampled by Sport England can opt themselves into taking part in the survey through Wesport. In this case, your school will receive a bespoke report outlining results which can be used as a self-audit tool, and a Healthy Schools Rating. You will not be entitled to the equipment credits.

Schools can take part annually if you want to use it to measure impact/ track change.

*Example reports can be found to the right in our downloads section.

What does the questionnaire involve?

The questionnaires have been designed to be simple and enjoyable for pupils to complete and are tailored to different age groups.

They can be completed on desktop computers, laptops or tablets and take around 20 minutes to fill in. We will also ask one teacher from each school to complete a 10-minute survey to give some broader context to the pupils’ responses. The teacher survey also contributes to the Healthy School Rating Scheme.

For the youngest pupils in Years 1 and 2, we are also asking parents to fill out a questionnaire to give further information about their child’s physical activity behaviours. Some schools may, therefore, be asked to let parents know about this.

Thank you to all of those who took part in the survey during 23-24:

This short video has been produced by our sister organisation in Derby-shire and Nottinghamshire which explains how schools have used the survey, and the benefits which they have seen to taking part.

Click below to read why Westbury-on-Trym CofE Academy, Bristol choose to take part each year...

What do we do next?

School Information + checklist

School Guide Years 1-6

School Guide Years 7-11

If you are interested in taking part contact your local Active Lives Survey leads Andy and Caleb on CYP@wesport.org.uk.

Teacher Resources

The full range of resources for both primary and secondary schools can be found within the School Guides or on Sport England's website here.

Y1-6 Pupil Info + Advice Form

Yr7-11 Parent Letter

Y7-11 Pupil Info + Advice Form

FAQ's

When will schools receive their school report?

School reports will be sent out (by Ipsos MORI) direct to the school the term following completion of the survey, just before half term. Sport England will send out small school reports directly to schools, the term after completion of the survey.

What if our school has a technical issue that we cannot resolve?

School staff, parents and pupils can contact Ipsos MORI's free technical helpline by leaving a message detailing their query. Call 0800 014 9452 or email activeliveschild.help@ipsos.com

If our school is listed in the reserve sample, can we take part in the Survey?

Yes. Reserve schools can ask Wesport if they can join the main sample. Wesport will make a request to Sport England, and inform the school of their response.

Do teachers and parents complete a survey too?

Yes. One teacher completes one survey for the school and parents/carers of Key Stage 1 children answer the 'attitudinal questions' about their child's participation in physical activity. No other parents/carers are required to answer the survey.

How do you take the survey, and how long does it take?

All surveys can be completed on a laptop, desktop computer, smartphone or tablet that has access to the internet. All surveys take 15-20 minutes to complete. Pupil surveys can be completed during the school day or at home, in one sitting only. If teachers are unable to complete the teacher survey in one sitting, their answers will be saved until the next time they log in.

What incentives are there for a school to complete the survey?

All sampled schools are eligible for two types of incentive. These are:

A confidential, bespoke school report which may include a Healthy Schools Rating Award (HSRA) from the Department of Education.
Credits worth £100+ to exchange for activity/sports equipment.

Schools that 'opt-in' to the survey are only eligible for the bespoke school report and HSRA.

How do we select which class in a year group completes the survey?

Sport England recommends that all classes in a selected year group should be listed in alphabetical order based on teacher surname / class name / equivalent. The first class in this list is the class who should complete the survey in 2023-24.

Can a school sample more than the classes selected for the survey?

Yes. Schools can invite year groups, key stages or the whole school to participate. Schools simply need to inform Active Dorset, who will ask Sport England to provide additional URLs for the school.

How many classes need to complete the Survey?

Children from up to three classes are invited to take part in the survey.

Is there a deadline for schools to claim their equipment incentives by?

Yes, schools will need to return their order form for their chosen item(s) to ESPO by:

Summer term 2024 schools: 25^th October 2024
Autumn term 2024 schools: 20^th February 2025
Spring term 2025 schools: 27^th May 2025
Summer term 2025 schools: 24^th October 2025

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Downloads

Information for Class Teachers

Information for Lead Teacher

Example School Report Y1-2

Example School Report Y3-6

Example School Report Y7-11

Healthy Schools Rating Scheme