Supporting Mo Farah to get kids moving this World Children's Day

On World Children’s Day, Sir Mo Farah personally delivered a letter addressed to the Prime Minister, signed by Hannah Cockroft OBE, Keely Hodgkinson, Georgia Bell, Nathan Maguire, Bianca Williams and other key Team GB Olympians and Paralympians.

The purpose of the open letter is to call on the Government to harness the power of sport to improve the health and wellbeing of young people.

The letter urges the Government to create a new national plan that ensures every child has the opportunity to be physically active every day.

Their intervention comes at a crucial time, as only 19% of children aged 1-5 and 47% of 5–18-year-olds are meeting the recommended daily levels of physical activity. The sporting icons are using World Children’s Day, which emphasises fundamental rights for children including health and play, to lay down a marker and call for change.

In the letter, the athletes state: 

“In the UK, far too many children are unable to access these rights through no fault of their own. Whether it’s the mental health crisis, rising obesity levels, increasing loneliness, or excessive exposure to screens and digital trauma, this generation risks failing to achieve their full potential. Now is the time to put children first.”

The athletes are calling for the Government’s new national plan to deliver change by:

• Ensuring early years providers support physical development so all children are healthy movers before starting school.
• Delivering greater physical activity in schools, including increased access to sport.
• Targeting activities towards those whose participation is hindered by systemic barriers.

Speaking on behalf of the letter's signatories, Sir Mo Farah stated:

“While we compete in different events, we are united in our belief that, beyond the sporting field, our legacy should ensure every child in the UK has an active start in life. By encouraging more children to be active from their early years and throughout childhood, we can break down barriers to opportunity and create the healthiest and happiest generation of children ever in Britain.”

The Youth Sport Trust, the leading UK children’s charity for improving young people's health and wellbeing through sport and play, have released a new film to accompany the letter.

In October 2023 on World Mental Health Day, alongside key players from the sport and running industry, we launched our very own open letter to the Government calling on them to put the positive impact of sport and physical activity for people of all ages in tackling the UK's mental health epidemic.

Supporting children and young people to get involved in athletics and running

As a governing body, we have a responsibility and passion in introducing and keeping children and young people involved in our sport. Through our inclusive funetics programme, we welcome children as young as four to have fun whilst learning the key fundamental movement skills to help them throughout their life.

Throughout their journey, these athletes will be supported via our incredible network of over 1800 affiliated clubs and member bodies - all of which will have to achieve the Welfare Club Standard by next April, ensuring that children and adults alike are safely participating in our sport.

Although clubs are always ready to welcome new athletes, there are still several barriers which many children across the country may face.

In 2022 we were proud to launch the Personal Best Foundation, a charity dedicated to supporting children and young people from underserved communities through the power of athletics. Studies have shown that children from low-income families, those from ethnically diverse communities and girls are the least likely to be active which emphasises the importance of having established the Personal Best Foundation.

In collaboration with local delivery partners, Personal Best Foundation is working towards creating accessible and inclusive opportunities within both school and community settings, prioritising its support within the most disadvantaged and least active communities across the country. We are proud that the Foundation's ambassador, Hannah Cockroft, is one of the key signatories on this important cause.