The Chief Medical Officer recommends that children complete an average of at least 60 minutes of activity every day and 47 percent of children achieved that figure in the most recent survey, published in December 2019. That same figure ranged from between just 14 and 22 percent during lockdown. Most worrying of all, approximately one in 10 children reported doing no daily activity at all during lockdown.
“A later return to school for many pupils will mean children will continue to miss out on the important contribution of PE and sport to their physical development and wellbeing,” said Ali Oliver, the chief executive of the Youth Sports Trust. “It will be vital that schools are encouraged and empowered to deliver these as part of their re-introduction curriculum if we want to ensure this generation of young people do not become the ‘lost generation’ who miss out on the life-changing benefits of sport.”