School Sport Survey 2022

Active Nation

• 39% (124,000) of pupils took part in organised sport outside of the curriculum three or more times a week (Future Generations Indicator 38) – a 9-percentage-point decrease since 2018.
• 36% (111,000) of pupils reported ‘no frequent participation’ in organised sport outside of the curriculum (i.e., participated less than once a week) - an 8-percentage-point increase since 2018.
• 56% (174,000) of pupils took part in sport in a community club setting at least once a week in the last academic year – a 9-percentage-point decrease since 2018.

Everyone

• Less than two thirds (60%) of schools state that they have the equipment which enables inclusion of disabled pupils / pupils with an impairment or Additional Learning Need (ALN).
• There is a 15-percentage-point difference in participation in organised sport outside of the curriculum three or more times a week between the least (FSM1) and most deprived (FSM4) areas – an increase of an additional 2-percentage-points since 2018.

Lifelong

• 93% (292,000) of pupils in Wales had a demand to do more sport.
• 56% of pupils had unmet demand for sport, the equivalent of 175,000 pupils.

Enjoyment

• 40% of pupils enjoyed extracurricular sport ‘a lot’, compared to 57% enjoying PE ‘a lot’ and 47% enjoying community club sport ‘a lot’.
• 69% of pupils stated that they were ‘very confident’ or ‘confident in trying new sports, while 8% of pupils said they were ‘not confident at all’.

Footnote: Unmet demand refers to demand for any sport among pupils not participating in organised sport outside of the curriculum three or more times a week

1.1 This Report

This State of the Nation Report explores the findings from the Sport Wales 2022 School Sport Survey. The School Sport Survey is one of the largest, per capita opportunities in the world for young people to have their say on sport. This year (2022) over 116,000 pupils responded, from 1,000 schools. The survey took place from 28th March 2022 to 22nd July 2022.

The School Sport Survey is a national survey of pupils from years 3 to 11, looking into attitudes, behaviours and opportunities for young people in sport. The survey is key to understanding who, where, and how often young people participate in, and have a demand for, sport(s). Teachers are also offered the opportunity to share their views on school sport provision and the support they need to deliver it. The results of the survey allow Sport Wales, schools, local authorities, sports and the wider sector to shape the future of sport, in line with the voices of young people. This report contains key data that can help to better understand the sporting landscape for young people across Wales, providing a base of evidence from which to shape policy and practice.

1.2 Methodology of the School Sport Survey

The School Sport Survey is delivered online. Survey links are provided to every school in Wales, which are in turn shared with pupils in a classroom environment. Guidance is also provided to teachers to assist their pupils, should they need to. 

This year, for the first time, the entire participation (pupil) survey was offered to all pupils in Easy Read format, giving an equal voice to everyone. Easy Read is a method of presenting written information to make it easier to understand for people with difficulty reading. The Easy Read design includes image aids, larger and simpler font and adequate and appropriate spacing. This key change upholds our commitment to producing a more accessible and simpler to complete survey.

1.3 Important to know

Independent school data has not been included within this report due to the lower numbers of pupils from these schools taking part. 

Low numbers at regional and local authority levels mean that special school data is also excluded at these levels. However, special school data is included at the national level.

Percentages are rounded to the nearest percent; and population the nearest thousand. 

Any references to differences or similarities throughout are statistically significant.

This report is structured around the Vision for Sport in Wales. The Vision is the platform for cross sector engagement in sport and physical activity, and seeks to transform Wales into an active nation, where everyone can have a lifelong enjoyment of sport and physical activity.

The Vision was co-produced with a wide range of stakeholders and represents the voice of the people of Wales. A collaborative effort in working towards The Vision will:

• Improve population health and wellbeing
• Provide the people of Wales with the skills to reach their potential
• Support communities to flourish
• Create opportunities for everyone to join in
• Promote Wales to the world through our sporting approach

This report is organised in four sections:

• Active Nation
• Everyone
• Lifelong
• Enjoyment

By using this as the basis of the report, there is an opportunity to better understand progress towards the Vision and explore where there is potential to do things differently to meet the needs of young people in Wales.

Diolch yn fawr / Thank you

Sport Wales would like to acknowledge and thank everyone that took part, and all of those who helped to run and coordinate the 2022 School Sport Survey.

The Vision for sport in Wales is to create an active nation, with as many people as possible inspired to be active through sport. The following section explores a range of School Sport Survey data, looking at participation and provision, to help build a better understanding of sporting activity levels and opportunities for young people in Wales.

3.1 National participation 

Across Wales, 97% of pupils took part in at least one sport in the last academic year, equating to over 304,000 pupils. 

Participation in sport varies by setting. 50% (157,000) of pupils participated in extracurricular sport in the last year, while 65% (202,000) of pupils participated in community club sport in the last academic year.

Graph 1: Any participation in sport by setting

Footnote: Extracurricular sport refers to sport in a school club. This might be at lunchtime, after school, at a breakfast club, or with a school club online.

3.2 National frequency of participation

39% (124,000) of pupils took part in organised sport outside of the curriculum three or more times per week (Future Generations Indicator 38). This is a 9-percentage-point decrease from 2018, when 48% of pupils participated in organised sport outside of the curriculum three or more times a week. 

Conversely, 36% (111,000) of pupils reported no frequent participation in organised sport outside of the curriculum (i.e., participated less than once per week). In comparison, only 28% of pupils in 2018 reported no frequent participation in organised sport outside of the curriculum.

Graph 2: Frequency of participation in organised sport outside of the curriculum

Footnote: Organised sport refers to any extracurricular or community club participation.

3.3 National frequency of participation in a community club setting

56% (174,000) of pupils took part in sport in a community club setting at least once a week in the last academic year. This is a 9-percentage point decrease since 2018. 

The most popular community club sport to have been participated in at least once a week was football, with 61,000 pupils saying they took part in this sport regularly. A full breakdown of participation in a community club setting at least once a week can be viewed in appendix B.                                              

Graph 3: Most commonly participated in sports in a community club setting at least once a week

3.4 National membership of a sports club

54% (170,000) of pupils said they were a member of a sports club in the last academic year. This is a reduction on the figures observed in 2018, when 59% of pupils in Wales said they were a member of a sports club.

3.5 National volunteering in sport

Pupils may also work toward an active nation by helping to deliver sport. Pupils were asked if they volunteer or help with a sport at school or in their community. 24% (75,000) of pupils said that they volunteer or help with a sport at school or in a community club.

In 2018, 32% of respondents said that they volunteer or help with a sport at school or in a community club.

3.6 Curricular provision of PE

The following information relates to the responses obtained from the teacher’ section of the survey. 

On average, 93 minutes per week of curricular PE was provided in primary schools across Wales in the 2021/2022 academic year. Similarly, an average of 93 minutes per week of curricular PE was provided in secondary schools in Wales in the 2021/2022 academic year.

Table 1: Average curricular minutes of PE provided per week, by sector

3.7 Online provision of PE and / or sport

This year’s survey also asked schools the extent to which they delivered PE and / or school sport using online methods. 

78% of schools across Wales reported delivering PE and / or school sport remotely using online methods since the start of the pandemic, while 32% of schools delivered PE and / or school sport remotely using online methods since the start of the 2021/2022 academic year. 

9% of schools also reported an intention to regularly use online methods to deliver PE and / or school sport in the future.

3.8 Factors influencing the curricular and extracurricular sport offer

Teachers were also asked which factors predominantly influence the sports on offer during curricular and extracurricular sessions.

Table 2: Factors influencing the curricular and extracurricular sport offer

The availability of sport facilities at the school or in the community were reported as the most likely factors to influence both the curricular and extracurricular sport offer. Meanwhile, teachers reported that pupil preference influences around half of schools curricular and extracurricular sport offers.

4.1 Gender

Historically, there has been a gap in sports participation across Wales, with girls consistently reporting less participation in sport than their male counterparts. Pupils identifying through ‘other’ typically report even less frequent participation in sport. 

In the 2021/2022 academic year, 43% of boys took part in organised sport outside of the curriculum three or more times a week, compared to 36% of girls and 28% of pupils who identified through ‘other’. A similar pattern was observed in 2018 when 50% of boys, 46% of girls, and 39% of those identifying through ‘other’ took part in organised sport outside of the curriculum three or more times a week. 

Meanwhile, those who identified through ‘other’ were more likely to report no frequent activity (participating less than once a week) compared to boys and girls. Girls were also more likely to report no frequent activity compared to boys.

Graph 4: Frequency of participation in organised sport outside of the curriculum, by gender

4.2 Disability, impairment, and learning difficulties

40% (114,000) of pupils without a disability or impairment participated in organised sport outside of the curriculum three or more times a week in the last academic year. By comparison, participation three or more times a week among pupils who reported a disability or impairment was 35% (6,000). 

7,000 pupils with a disability or impairment also reported doing no frequent activity (less than once a week) during the last academic year.

Graph 5a: Frequency of participation in organised sport outside of the curriculum, by disability or impairment.

A similar pattern was observed when comparing pupils with a learning difficulty to those without. Pupils with a learning difficulty were more likely to report no frequent activity (42%), than those without a learning difficulty (34%).

Graph 5b: Frequency of participation in organised sport outside of the curriculum, by learning difficulty.

The 2022 School Sport Survey also asked a series of questions to teachers concerning their provision of PE and / or sport to those with a disability, impairment or learning difficulty.

Table 3: Provision of sport for pupils with a disability, impairment, or learning difficulty

Over three quarters of teachers reported that they have accessible space, are confident in modifying planned tasks and activities, and use additional people to support for the inclusion of disabled pupils / pupils with an impairment or Additional Learning Need (ALN).

However, less than two thirds of teachers report having the equipment necessary to enable the inclusion of disabled pupils / pupils with an impairment or Additional Learning Need (ALN).

Teachers were also asked whether there is an opportunity for disabled pupils / pupils with an impairment or Additional Learning Need (ALN) to participate in PE lessons. 92% of teachers responded ‘Yes, all the time’, while a further 6% responded ‘Yes, some of the time’.

4.3 Ethnicity and Welsh Language

Table 4: Participation in organised sport outside of the curriculum three or more times a week, by ethnicity and Welsh language

Pupils who identified as white and pupils who identified as being part of a mixed or multiple ethnic group were more likely to participate in organised sport outside of the curriculum three or more times a week than their peers who identified as Asian or from another ethnic group. 

Conversely, pupils who identified as Asian were more likely to report no frequent activity (less than once a week) than their peers who identified as White, Black, or from mixed or multiple ethnic groups. 

Welsh speakers were more likely to report participation in organised sport outside of the curriculum three or more times a week. 46% of Welsh speakers reported participation in organised sport outside of the curriculum three or more times a week, compared to 35% of non-Welsh speakers.

Footnote: Welsh speakers include those who are ‘fluent in Welsh’, ‘can chat confidently in Welsh’, or ‘can chat simply in Welsh’

4.4 Geography

Table 5: Participation in organised sport outside of the curriculum three or more times a week, by regional sport partnership

A lower proportion of pupils in Gwent took part in organised sport outside of the curriculum three or more times a week compared with West Wales. 

West Wales had the highest proportion of pupils participating in sport outside of the curriculum three or more times a week compared to all other regional sport partnerships. 

The number of pupils taking part in organised sport outside of the curriculum was highest in Central South (39,000) and lowest in Mid Wales (7,000).

Table 6: Participation in community club sport at least once a week, by regional sport partnership

Meanwhile, Mid Wales had the highest proportion of pupils taking part in community club sport at least once a week (59%), while the number of pupils taking part was highest in Central South (54,000). 

Footnote: Please refer to appendix A for local authority groupings by regional sport partnerships

4.5 Socioeconomic deprivation

Within the School Sport Survey, Free School Meal (FSM) is used as a measure of socioeconomic deprivation, with FSM1 being the least and FSM4 accounting for the most deprived.

A 15-percentage point difference exists between the least deprived (FSM1) and most deprived (FSM4) when considering participation in organised sport outside of the curriculum three or more times a week. This disparity has increased since 2018 where a 13-percentage-point difference was observed between the least and most deprived.

Graph 6: Participation in organised sport outside the curriculum three or more times a week, by Free School Meal quartiles.

The disparity between the least and most deprived is even more stark when considering community club participation at least once a week, with a 20-percentage-point difference observed between the least and most deprived.

Graph 7: Participation in a community club setting at least once a week, by Free School Meal quartiles.

The vision is for life. It responds to the needs of people at different stages of their life. This section explores different factors that may impact young people’s participation in sport at different stages of their life.

5.1 National frequency of participation by year group

Previous years of the School Sport Survey have seen sport participation vary by year group, typically peaking when students are in years 5 and 6, and then generally declining from there. 

The 2022 School Sport Survey shows that in the 2021/2022 academic year, participation in organised sport outside of the curriculum three or more times a week was highest for pupils in year 7 (44%), and lowest for pupils in year 3 (33%). 

Graph 8: Participation in organised sport outside of the curriculum three or more times a week, by school year.

Meanwhile, pupils in years 10-11 were more likely to report no frequent activity (39%) saying they participated less than once per week), while pupils in year groups 5-6 were less likely to report no frequent activity (31%).

5.2 PE and sport helping pupils to achieve a healthy lifestyle

The new school curriculum for Wales emphasises that ‘developing physical health and well-being has lifelong benefits’. The 2022 School Sport Survey asked pupils how much they think PE lessons and sport help them to achieve a healthy lifestyle. 

51% of pupils believe that PE lessons and sport help them ‘a lot’ to achieve a healthy lifestyle. Meanwhile, 7% pupils believe that PE lessons and sport do not help them at all to achieve a healthy lifestyle. 

The following graph shows that primary school pupils are more likely to believe that PE lessons and sport help them ‘a lot’ to achieve a healthy lifestyle than secondary school pupils.

Graph 9: Pupils’ perception of PE and sport helping to achieve a healthy lifestyle, by sector.

5.3 National latent demand and unmet demand for sport

Latent demand is where pupils say they would like to do more of a particular sport.

93% (292,000) of pupils in Wales had a latent demand to do more sport. Primary school pupils were more likely to have a latent demand for more sport (96%) compared to secondary school pupils (91%). 

Unmet demand refers to those who do not participate in sport three or more times a week, yet have a demand to do more sport. 

56% of pupils had unmet demand, the equivalent of 175,000 pupils. Unmet demand was also higher for primary school pupils (60%) compared to secondary school pupils (53%).

Graph 10: Unmet demand, by Free School Meal quartile.

In contrast to the pattern observed for participation earlier in this report, pupils in FSM4 (most deprived) were more likely to have unmet demand than their peers in FSM1, FSM2, and FSM3, respectively. The unmet demand among FSM4 pupils equates to 38,000 pupils, while the unmet demand among FSM1 pupils equates to 41,000 pupils. 

A full breakdown of latent demand and unmet demand by sport can be viewed in appendix C.

5.4 Responding to pupils' needs

Responding to pupils’ needs and desires, and recognising the barriers to participation, is key to being able to make sport a lifelong activity.

The 2022 School Sport Survey asked pupils to select responses to the question ‘I would do more sport if’. The most commonly selected responses across Wales to ‘I would do more sport if…’ were ‘If there were more sport opportunities that suited me’ (37%), ‘If I had more time’ (36%), and ‘If I was more confident’ (25%). The following table outlines the responses by gender.

Table 7: Responses to ‘I would do more sport if…’, by gender

Footnote: ‘If I could manage my period better’ was only provided as an option to pupils in years 5 and above

The vision focuses on creating a wide range of positive experiences so everyone can enjoy sport. This section examines the data on pupil opinion of their sporting experiences, as well as staff views on physical activity provision.

6.1 Enjoyment of sport by setting

The 2022 School Sport Survey asked pupils whether they enjoyed sport in various settings ‘a lot’, ‘a little’, or ‘not at all’. 

Pupils were more likely to enjoy PE lessons, and sport somewhere else ‘a lot’, compared to extracurricular and community club settings. Pupils were least likely to enjoy participation in extracurricular sport a lot than in any other setting.

Graph 11: Enjoyment of sport ‘a lot’, by settings

Enjoyment of sport in different settings also varied by gender, age, and socio-economic deprivation.

Table 8: Enjoyment of sport in different settings by gender, sector, disability or impairment, and socioeconomic deprivation

 

6.2 Perceptions of feeling listened to regarding PE and school sport

The 2022 School Sport Survey also asked pupils the degree to which they believe their ideas about PE and school sport were listened to. 

15% of pupils believe that their ideas about PE and school sport are ‘always’ listened to, while 45% of pupils feel listened to ‘sometimes’.

Table 9: Perceptions of feeling listened to regarding PE and school sport by gender and disability or impairment

6.3 Confidence to try new sports

Young people’s confidence to engage in new sporting opportunities has a large impact on their participation in sport. The 2018 Sport Wales Survey showed that pupils who are very confident in trying new activities are twice as likely to participate in sport three or more times per week.

In the 2022 School Sport Survey, 28% of pupils stated that they were ‘very confident’ in trying new sports, while 8% of pupils said they were ‘not confident at all’.

Graph 12: Confidence to try new sports, by gender

Although boys were significantly more likely than girls to say that they were ‘very confident’ in trying new sports, both genders were equally as likely to say they were ‘quite confident’.

Appendix A: Local authorities grouped by regional sport partnerships.

Appendix B: Community club participation at least once a week, by sport.

Appendix C: Latent demand and unmet demand, by sport.