Less active 5-11 year olds

69% of children aged 5-11 participate in organised sport or physical activity outside of school 2 times or less per week

This cohort may already be starting to exhibit negative attitudes to sport and physical activity. This may be due to lower levels of physical literacy and capability, as well as the influences around them including a lack of family participation in sport and physical activity.

At this age, many children are not confident in a sporting environment. Lifelong attitudes to sport and physical activity emerge through experiences in this critical early stage. If the experience is negative, children tend to avoid sport and physical activity. This is reflected in a steep decline in participation from age 13.

Characteristics

• Often believe sport is too competitive and not fun
• Don't like sport or physical activity due to poor introductory experiences
• More likely to have lower levels of physical literacy than the active 5 – 11 year olds
• Have a perception that you have to be good at sport to be part of a club
• Negative attitudes towards sport often stem from parents
• Impacted by protective parenting behaviours i.e. safety concerns preventing children from participating.

Sports have a critical role to play here. Create a supportive environment that includes children of all abilities and confidence levels. Fun and safe environments help prevent negative attitudes and poor lifelong behaviours developing and encourage children to stay involved in sport.