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<p>Sport and physical activity are incredibly important for our physical and mental
health and this government is committed to ensuring every child, no matter their background
or ability, should be able to play sport and be active.</p><p>That is why in ‘Get
Active: A strategy for the future of sport and physical activity’ we introduce an
ambition that all children should meet the Chief Medical Officers’ guidelines on physical
activity, with a target of getting 1 million more active children by 2030.</p><p>Schools
play a key role in allowing all children to have high quality opportunities to take
part in PE and sport, setting them up for a lifetime of physical activity. In July
we published an update to the School Sport and Activity Action Plan. This builds on
the announcement we made in March that set out new ambitions for equal access to PE
and sport, with guidance on how to deliver 2 hours of quality PE a week, alongside
over £600 million funding for the Primary PE and Sport Premium and School Games Organiser
network.</p><p>Outside of the school day, the £57 million Opening School Facilities
programme will support the most inactive young people to access facilities that will
enable them to play sport and take physical exercise. By opening school sport facilities,
including swimming pools, disparities in access to opportunities seen between socio-economic
groups will begin to be tackled through the programme.</p><p>Over the school holidays,
the Government offers £200 million of support per year to the Holiday Activities and
Food programme, which provides disadvantaged children in England with enriching activities
(including physical and creative activities) and healthy meals. Last summer, the programme
reached over 685,000 children and young people in England, including over 475,000
children in receipt of free school meals.</p><p>We are also investing over £300 million
in grassroots football and multi-sport facilities across the UK by 2025 which will
further support youth participation in sport.</p><p>The Government is additionally
providing significant arts and cultural opportunities for young people both in and
out of school.</p><p>This includes our creative careers promise, which is backed by
£115m a year to increase young people’s access to cultural and music education. The
upcoming Cultural Education Plan will support all children and young people to access
a broad range of high-quality cultural and creative activities and experiences inside
and outside of school. Our Enrichment Partnerships Pilot aims to improve the availability
and quality of enrichment activities in up to 200 secondary schools within Education
Investment Areas. In addition, 79% of the organisations in Arts Council England’s
2023-26 Investment Programme portfolio are delivering activity specifically for children
and young people of all ages, wherever they live.</p><p>Separately, the Government
funds a diverse portfolio of music and arts education programmes that are designed
to improve participation in the arts for children. The National Saturday Club, for
example, gives 13 to 16-year-olds across the country the opportunity to study the
subjects they love for free, including arts and creative subjects, on a Saturday at
their local university, college or cultural institution. Government and Arts Council
England also co-fund 15 National Youth Music Organisations offering large-scale, inclusive
performances, high-quality music programmes, residencies, summer schools and workshops,
to help develop young people’s skills, experience, and knowledge of music, supporting
them to excel as young creatives outside of school.</p><p>The National Plan for Music
Education includes £25m funding for musical instruments and equipment for schools,
and the Music Progression Fund supports disadvantaged pupils with music tuition. Furthermore,
we have created four new Music Hub Centres of Excellence to improve inclusion and
create pathways to industry for talented young people from all backgrounds.</p>
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