Activity levels for Children and Young People in Suffolk are on the rise again after a turbulent year which at the height of the pandemic earlier this year saw activity fall significantly.

The latest Active Lives Survey results published by Sport England shows a 4.8% increase in the number of children and young people in Suffolk achieving the Chief Medical Officers guidelines of 60 minutes per day compared to this time last year.

Gareth Davies, Director of Active Suffolk said:

"We are delighted with the latest Active Lives results for Children & Young People but are mindful that there is still a significant amount of work to do in order to return activity levels to pre-pandemic levels."

He continued "We look forward to our continued support of the Local Authorities across the county where we are seeing that specific, targeted interventions are yielding particularly positive results."

One such intervention is the Active Schools programme in West Suffolk, which was funded by the NHS Realising Ambitions fund via Suffolk Community Foundation, in which Active Suffolk has worked in partnership with Abbeycroft Leisure Trust to develop and deliver a bespoke physical activity development plan for each school in the programme.

Warren Smyth, CEO of the Abbeycroft Leisure said:

"It is great to see that children and young people in Suffolk are getting active again following such a challenging period. The Active Schools programme is a great initiative that enables schools to access a wide range of support to get children and young people taking part in physical activity. We are pleased to be playing our part, along with many other individuals and groups, to ensure that people have every opportunity to engage in a broad range of opportunities to lead a more active lifestyle."

The Active Lives Survey results shows that activity levels in West Suffolk are higher than the Suffolk average.

Cllr Jo Rayner, Portfolio Holder for Leisure, Culture and Community Hubs at West Suffolk Council, said:

"I am glad to see once again West Suffolk is leading the way in vital initiatives to help support our communities keep fit and healthy. The pandemic has shown the link between people's wellbeing and the need to encourage people to stay healthy as they can. This is achieved by a range of partners working together on a number of supporting initiatives to reach a common goal. I am delighted we could play our role in this which is part of our wider work which has included millions of pounds of investment in new leisure facilities across West Suffolk including Haverhill and Newmarket as well as the recently opened Mildenhall Hub and the new Brandon centre."

The Active Schools project takes a whole school approach to improving levels of physical activity for children. Working in partnership with the schools and a wide-range of organisations during the pandemic has highlighted the commitment and dedication of the teaching staff.

Adrian Orr, Assistant Director for Education and Learning at Suffolk County Council said:

"I'm delighted to hear that activity levels for the children and young people of Suffolk are on the rise again. It has been an incredibly challenging 20 months for children and families and so much of what we took for granted has not been possible. Physical health and activity are central to wellbeing and this news bodes well for a positive outlook in 2022!"

To read the full Active Lives report for Suffolk click HERE