Children & Young People Newsletter January 2026
Primary PE & Physical Activity Conference - Bookings Open
The 2026 Primary PE & Physical Activity Conference, organised by Active Kent & Medway is taking place on Thursday 26 March, 9:00 – 15:30 at Kent Event Centre, Detling.
Bookings are now open for this face-to-face conference. The event provides a chance for primary school teachers, sports deliverers and activity providers across Kent and Medway to hear from leading experts and take away ideas to implement in schools. Schools can use their Primary PE Premium to pay for their space as well as the cost of teaching cover.
Follow this link for full conference details and to book your place
Active Lives - latest figures
The latest Active Lives Children and Young People Survey from Sport England reveals encouraging progress. Across England, 49.1% of children and young people are achieving the Chief Medical Officers’ guideline of an average of 60 minutes of physical activity per day, the highest level since the survey began in 2017. However, this still means that over half of young people are not active enough, and inequalities remain.
Boys (52%) are more likely to be active than girls (46%), and children from the most affluent families (58%) are significantly more active than those from the least affluent (45%). Ethnic disparities persist, with Black and Asian children less likely to meet activity guidelines.
In Kent and Medway, 48% of children and young people are active, that’s over 30,000 more active children since 2017-18. However, there are still 52% of children and young people who are not active enough and the same inequalities seen nationally are evident locally.
Information Sessions and CPD
Everyday Active Schools Information Sessions
Discover how the Everyday Active School programme can benefit your school by attending one of our FREE Everyday Active Schools Information sessions:
- Thursday 12 February, 15:45 – 16:30
- Thursday 5 March 15:45 – 16:30
The session will provide an overview of the programme, explain its key features and highlight the positive impact it can have on pupils, staff and the wider school community. Whether you’re a school leader, teacher, or part of an organisation involved within education, this is a great opportunity to learn more and ask questions.
FREE Schools Cricket and PE CPD Courses 2026
The Kent Cricket Foundation is delighted to offer two FREE Cricket and PE CPD Days for both Primary and Secondary school staff.
Course dates: Thursday 19 March (Beckenham) and Friday 24 April (Canterbury). Both courses are aimed at giving you the knowledge and confidence to deliver cricket within your school.
The formal CPD course has been developed by Chance to Shine and the Youth Sports Trust, with the PE National Curriculum at its heart and delivered by qualified tutors from the Kent Cricket Foundation Coach Development Team and Community Coaches, who deliver cricket in schools year-round.
When Faith Matters
Join this online event organised by Youth Sport Trust to hear from the Muslim Sports Foundation about their groundbreaking work, real-life case studies, and the barriers faced by girls from diverse backgrounds.
Learn how to adapt your practice to better engage girls from Diverse Backgrounds.
Date: 24 February 2026, 13:30 – 14.30
Mental Health Support and Resources
Children’s Mental Health Week
Children’s Mental Health Week 2026 will take place from 9 – 15 February. Place2Be‘s official resources are available for you to download, whether you’re a primary school, secondary school, family, community group or workplace.
The theme for 2026 is ‘This is My Place’, and their aim is to support the systems around children and young people to help them feel they belong.
Mental Health Resources and Training
Active Kent & Medway is committed to improving the mental wellbeing of young people while also supporting partners to access mental health services, resources and training.
Our mental health support pages include a range of support, training and resources plus research on the importance of young people being physically active for positive mental wellbeing. We highly recommend taking a look at the impact of the mental health pilot projects that have taken place in a number of secondary schools across Kent.
The Daily Mile: Mental Health Toolkit
With one in five children in the UK now facing a probable mental health condition, the need for meaningful, everyday support in schools has never been greater.
The Daily Mile Foundation has partnered with SAMH (Scottish Action for Mental Health) to launch a brand-new Mental Health Toolkit, free resources designed to help schools support children’s emotional wellbeing through movement and simple, classroom-friendly activities. All resources are easy to use, require minimal preparation, and are designed to fit into the school day alongside PSHE or wellbeing sessions.
TSC Mini London Marathon
The TCS Mini London Marathon in schools is back for 2026, and it’s bigger than ever. Last year, almost half a million children and young people registered to walk, jog or wheel their way around a two-mile course at their school for the TCS Mini London Marathon in Schools.
This year’s participation window has been extended (schools can register and take part any time from Monday 23 February to Friday 1 May 2026) and there will be prizes and exciting reveals along the way.
Once registered, you’ll receive a Participant Guide which will help you to plan your event.
Family Hubs Report 2025
Active Kent & Medway have been working in close partnership with Kent Family Hub to support Hub staff in promoting the benefits of physical activity for family wellbeing, while offering inclusive opportunities for referred young people to join free weekly multi-sport sessions.
After consulting with the young people, we worked with local community providers to deliver physical activity sessions at nine family hubs across Kent.
The impact and learning of this work have been well received and we are committed to continuing our work with youth services to embed physical activity as a key tool to support families and young people’s mental and physical wellbeing.
Other News
Contact Us
We’d love to hear from you
If there’s anything in this newsletter you’d like to discuss, then just get in touch and one of our team members will get back to you as soon as possible. Please email: activekent@kent.gov.uk
If you received this newsletter via a colleague and you’d like to receive future newsletters into your own inbox, just follow the link below: