Local BBC radio stations across England, and BBC radio stations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are coming together to ‘Kit out the Nation’.
In July, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee published data from Sport England which showed 100,000 fewer children met the recommended level of activity in 2020 than in 2019 and it was “of significant concern”.
There has been a long-standing issue around access to sport and exercise because of the affordability of kit. Also, good condition equipment, that would otherwise go to landfill or simply remain in cupboards, could get an extended life and help a young person get active.
Hearing about the initiative, Toby Ellis, Teacher and Lower School Lead at Foxfields Academy in Blaby, Leicestershire, contacted Leicester based CEL Sports.
Scott Moore from CEL came to visit the school:
“It was great to meet the pupils and teachers at Foxfields Academy. They are a relatively new school that needed extra PE equipment. Thanks to the BBC initiative, we have been able to donate multi sports kits, mats for jumping, hurdles, sensory balls, badminton and tennis rackets. We were kindly donated these items and the pupils at Foxfields are going to get so much out of them.”
Charlotte Hardy, Head of School at Foxfields:
“We are a Social Emotional and Mental Health (SEMH) School. We opened in October 2020 and have doubled in size very quickly hence needing the extra sports equipment. We’re a school that helps children regulate their emotions to help them concentrate on their learning. These donations of equipment will have a huge impact on the pupils, helping them to get active and engage with their learning.”
BBC Radio Leicester visited Foxfields to see the pupil’s response when the equipment arrived in school, CLICK HERE to hear what happened.
