Agenda item

 

This item is to consider an update in relation to the Physical Activity for Health (Sport England) Main Bid and Progress Update, as requested by the Health Select Commission during its 2 October 2025 meeting.

 

Additional background information which was shared during the June 2026 which included an update briefing, the Moving Rotherham Strategy 2026-2031 and the Moving Rotherham 2025/26 Evaluation.  This can be accessed via the following link:

 

10 June 2026 Health and Wellbeing Board Meeting Agenda

 

 

The Chair welcomed Gilly Brenner, Public Health Consultant and Carole Foster, Moving Rotherham Programme Manager to the meeting and invited them to introduce the presentation.

 

The Commission received a detailed update regarding the progression of the Physical Activity for Health programme and the development of the main funding bid to Sport England. Members were advised that the programme had previously been presented to the Commission during its developmental phase and had now progressed to the stage of preparing a main award bid. It was emphasised that the preceding year had deliberately been structured as a development and learning period, with the primary purpose being to build understanding, strengthen partnerships, test approaches and gather evidence to inform future delivery rather than to focus solely on implementation.

 

The Commission heard that the programme had been developed in recognition of the wide-ranging benefits of physical activity, which extended beyond improvements to health and wellbeing. Physical activity was described as contributing to independence, healthy ageing, community cohesion, economic participation and wider sustainability objectives. It was explained that the work had sought to build upon existing strengths within Rotherham, including its extensive network of community spaces, country parks, rivers, lakes, canals, trails and green spaces, as well as its established sporting heritage through facilities such as the New York Stadium and Herringthorpe Stadium. Reference was also made to the borough's strong network of community and voluntary sector organisations, established sports clubs, activity providers and strategic partners, including the Yorkshire Sport Foundation, the National Centre for Sport and Exercise Medicine and Sport England.

 

Members were reminded that inequalities in physical activity participation remained significant and that opportunities to be active were not distributed equally across the population. Barriers included income, geography, poor health, disability, social circumstances and the design and safety of neighbourhoods, rather than a lack of motivation or personal choice. Consequently, the programme had focused on understanding how everyday movement could be embedded more effectively into daily life and how environmental and systemic barriers could be reduced.

 

During the development year, work had concentrated on establishing the foundations for a coordinated, place-based approach to physical activity. A range of pilot initiatives and engagement activities had been undertaken to strengthen partnerships, test innovative approaches and improve understanding of the needs of inactive and underserved communities. Training and development opportunities had been provided for partner organisations, particularly to improve understanding of inclusion and the needs of people with disabilities and learning disabilities. Extensive engagement work had been undertaken through Voluntary Action Rotherham and its partners to explore barriers to the use of community and green spaces. Additional engagement had been carried out by the Yorkshire Sport Foundation with local community organisations to gain insight into local circumstances and challenges.

 

Members noted that substantial consultation activity had also taken place with children and young people. Surveys had been conducted with parents of Key Stage 1 children, alongside direct engagement with Key Stage 2 and Key Stage 3 pupils. This had been undertaken to better understand levels of participation, barriers to activity, preferences and aspirations. Further engagement had taken place through Rotherham United Community Trust, including work with young people outside mainstream educational settings and within faith-based settings.

 

Particular attention was drawn to the commissioning of the Every Move Counts service, which had served as a significant test-and-learn project during the development phase. The service had provided personalised coaching support for inactive individuals living with long-term health conditions. Participants had received one-to-one support to identify barriers to physical activity, develop confidence and explore practical ways to become more active. The service had sought to connect individuals with appropriate opportunities and support sustained behavioural change.

 

The Commission was informed that the development year had generated a number of positive outcomes. Awareness of physical activity opportunities had increased among children, young people and communities. Stronger relationships had been established across sectors, and examples were provided of collaborative working emerging through the programme. One example highlighted how Yorkshire Cricket had worked with Rotherham United Community Trust to deliver cricket activities in communities where existing trusted relationships already existed. This was presented as an illustration of how partnership working could maximise opportunities and improve access.

 

The programme had also produced extensive consultation findings, supported by a detailed evaluation report containing over one hundred pages of evidence and insight. Analysis of that information had informed the development of a new physical activity strategy. In parallel, efforts had been made to build system capability, including supporting GP practices to become ‘active practices’ and encouraging healthcare professionals to treat physical inactivity as a significant health risk factor in the same way that they would address smoking or high blood pressure.

 

Members heard that several key themes had emerged consistently from community engagement and consultation. Cost and affordability had continued to be significant barriers to participation. Residents had expressed a strong preference for activities delivered close to home due to transport challenges and accessibility issues. Feedback had identified opportunities to make better use of existing community assets, including cycling infrastructure, while highlighting a lack of early years cycling provision and training. Communities had consistently reported that trusted local organisations and venues were the most effective means of delivering activities and that new initiatives should be integrated into established settings rather than introduced independently. Difficulties in accessing information about available activities had also been identified, alongside the need to improve inclusion and accessibility. Furthermore, consultation findings had reinforced the importance of long-term sustainability and the need to avoid short-term approaches to addressing inactivity.

 

In response to these findings, a new five-year physical activity strategy had been developed. The strategy sought to create the conditions that would enable people to move more frequently in ways that were enjoyable, meaningful and capable of improving health, wellbeing and quality of life. A set of partnership principles had been established to guide implementation. These principles included joining up activity across organisations, involving communities in decision-making, building confidence and capability, encouraging innovation and learning, focusing on long-term sustainability and ensuring that equality, diversity and inclusion remained central to all activity.

 

The Commission noted that delivery would continue through an established partnership structure comprising a broad active network, specialist working groups, core system leaders and the Moving Rotherham Board, which would maintain strategic oversight and report through the Health and Wellbeing Board and the Cultural Partnership Board.

 

The strategy identified three priority audiences for focused action over the next five years. These were children and young people, people living with long-term health conditions and disabilities, and communities experiencing the lowest activity levels due to wider inequalities. Alongside these priorities, the strategy would focus on three cross-cutting themes: communication, inclusion, and placemaking/system change. Communication would seek to improve awareness of opportunities and activities. Inclusion would address inequalities and accessibility issues, while placemaking and system change would focus on embedding physical activity considerations into wider planning, development and environmental decision-making.

 

Looking ahead, Members were advised that the main bid to Sport England would seek investment to deliver activity aligned with the strategy. Proposed initiatives included work with schools to strengthen links between educational settings and community-based opportunities, expanded cycling provision for children, continuation and refinement of the successful Every Move Counts health coaching programme, and targeted investment through the voluntary sector to support hyper-local interventions within communities experiencing the greatest barriers to physical activity. Additional funding would support communications and marketing capacity, inclusion-focused training for providers, wider workforce development, celebratory awards activity to showcase success across the borough, and comprehensive evaluation arrangements to measure and communicate the long-term impact of the programme.

 

The presentation concluded with an invitation for interested parties to participate in the borough-wide active network.

 

The Chair thanked officers for the presentations and invited questions and comments.

 

Cllr Thorp questioned how the programme would engage residents who were not already connected to sports clubs, community groups or organised activities, noting that many residents in their ward did not participate in such networks and therefore might never encounter the opportunities being promoted.

 

In response, the Public Health Consultant explained that many of the programme’s partners were not traditional physical activity organisations but community-based groups already working with residents in local neighbourhoods. They advised that delivery would initially focus on people already engaged with community and voluntary organisations but who remained physically inactive, as this was where the programme could achieve the greatest impact. Alongside this targeted work, wider communications and marketing campaigns would seek to reach residents who were not connected to established organisations. It was emphasised that local communities themselves would help shape the messaging and approach to ensure that activity opportunities reflected local identities and needs rather than having externally designed initiatives imposed upon communities. The Chair further clarified that the geographical focus of much of the work was determined by Sport England funding criteria and guidance.

 

Cllr Thorp asked where within the borough the programme would be focused.

The Moving Rotherham Programme Manager explained that activity would be concentrated within a number of priority neighbourhoods identified through deprivation measures and inactivity data, including Rawmarsh East, Greasbrough, East Herringthorpe, East Dene, Brampton, Clifton, Thrybergh, Hooton Roberts, Kimberworth Park, Eastwood, Masbrough, Maltby East, Maltby and Rotherham Central. Members were advised that these locations had been identified primarily through deprivation indicators and Sport England data, with Hooton Roberts included because it had been identified as one of the most inactive areas in the borough. Whilst children and young people and residents with long-term health conditions would be supported borough-wide, officers reiterated that the place-based investment had to follow the conditions attached to the external funding. Members were also assured that the wider objective was to develop sustainable systems and partnerships that would ultimately benefit the whole borough beyond the lifetime of the funding programme.

 

Cllr Paul Thorp subsequently asked how success would be measured.

 

In response, the Moving Rotherham Programme Manager advised that comprehensive evaluation arrangements would be implemented, including baseline consultation, journey tracking, performance monitoring against agreed targets and the use of public health datasets and dashboards. They highlighted that significant evaluation work had already been completed during the development phase, including engagement with more than 2,000 young people, which had generated valuable evidence regarding barriers to participation and future opportunities for intervention. Progress would be monitored through action plans overseen by the Moving Rotherham Board, with accountability also provided through wider partnership governance arrangements.

 

Cllr Clarke sought assurance regarding the programme’s relationship with food insecurity and healthy eating initiatives, questioning how financial barriers to participation would be addressed and whether data would be available on the socio-economic profile of participants.

 

The Public Health Consultant responded that evaluation work undertaken to date had demonstrated strong engagement from residents registered with some of the borough’s most deprived GP practices. They explained that the programme deliberately sought to remove cost barriers by promoting free or low-cost opportunities such as health walks and local activities. Members heard examples of existing interventions, including discounted leisure provision for residents with long-term health conditions and the successful provision of free swimming opportunities during the school holidays, which had significantly increased participation levels among children and young people. Officers acknowledged the continuing impact of poverty and the cost-of-living pressures and confirmed that affordability would remain a key consideration during implementation.

 

Cllr Clarke raised concerns regarding transport accessibility, particularly for residents living in more rural communities.

 

The Public Health Consultant acknowledged that transport represented a significant public health challenge extending beyond physical activity provision. Members were informed that work was underway to assess transport accessibility across the borough, including access to health facilities, leisure centres and public services. Findings would be used to inform discussions with the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority regarding opportunities to improve connectivity, particularly within rural communities.

 

Cllr Harper questioned how officers would demonstrate that inequalities in physical activity levels had genuinely narrowed between the most and least active communities rather than simply reporting increased participation numbers.

 

The Public Health Consultant explained that the programme would utilise data from the national Active Lives Survey alongside local monitoring information. Whilst recognising limitations in ward-level sample sizes, they stated that officers expected to see positive trends in priority communities over time. They also emphasised that much of the desired behaviour change related to informal, everyday activity that was difficult to quantify directly. Consequently, qualitative evidence, case studies and stories gathered through community organisations and services such as Every Move Counts would supplement quantitative measures to provide a fuller assessment of impact.

 

Cllr Harper asked about sustainability once the existing funding period ended.

 

The Public Health Consultant advised that Sport England funding was currently secured until 2028 and that indications from the organisation suggested a desire to continue and expand place-based investment. Nonetheless, officers were deliberately designing interventions that would create sustainable capacity rather than temporary programmes. Training initiatives had therefore adopted a train-the-trainer approach, whilst longer-term services such as Every Move Counts were being evaluated to identify future funding opportunities and demonstrate their wider benefits to the health system.

 

Cllr Brent asked what evidence officers would expect to present in five years’ time to demonstrate that the programme had improved population health and reduced health inequalities.

 

The Public Health Consultant acknowledged the complexity of attributing long-term public health outcomes to a single intervention but advised that a range of evidence would be assembled to demonstrate impact. Members heard that some benefits, such as improvements in falls prevention, could become evident relatively quickly, whilst wider health and wellbeing outcomes would likely emerge over a longer period. Officers intended to draw together multiple strands of evidence to demonstrate meaningful change.

 

Cllr Rajmund Brent asked how communication and marketing activity would address residents’ difficulties in locating information about available opportunities.

 

The Public Health Consultant explained that a blended communications approach would be required, recognising that different population groups accessed information through different channels. Proposed activity included wider publicity campaigns, hyper-local communications, school-based engagement, digital channels and integration with the developing Gizmo information platform. Members were advised that trusted local networks and word-of-mouth communication remained particularly important. Cllr Rajmund Brent suggested that parish councils could play a valuable role in dissemination, a point that was welcomed by officers. The Moving Rotherham Programme Manager further advised that community-based events would be organised within target areas to showcase local opportunities and connect residents with activity providers.

 

Cllr Duncan focused on work with children and young people and asked how the programme would ensure activities reached children from deprived communities who were least likely to participate in sport.

 

In response, the Public Health Consultant explained that the programme would build on the work of the School Games network, which had evolved significantly beyond traditional competitive sport. Teachers were already being supported to identify disengaged children and introduce them to a wider range of activities including BMX cycling, parkour and other non-traditional options. The intention was to provide sustained engagement rather than isolated experiences and to broaden young people’s exposure to activities they may not otherwise encounter.

 

Cllr Duncan expressed concern regarding how ongoing participation would be sustained after initial engagement.

 

The Moving Rotherham Programme Manager explained that cycling equipment, physical activity resources and related assets would be placed permanently within community venues such as libraries and other settings, enabling continued access beyond the duration of specific projects. The Public Health Consultant also reiterated the substantial cultural shift that had occurred within the School Games approach nationally and locally, with a stronger focus now directed towards inactive children and young people.

 

Returning to the discussion on cycling, Cllr Harper asked what the proposed cycling interventions would look like in practice and whether schools remained active partners in cycle training.

 

The Public Health Consultant advised that traditional cycling proficiency training was now delivered through the Bikeability programme, although officers wished to strengthen local influence over delivery to ensure consistent access across all schools. Additional investment was proposed to support children before they reached formal Bikeability training, particularly those who had not yet developed basic cycling skills. Officers also highlighted opportunities to promote active school environments through the Creating Active Schools framework.

 

Cllr Harrison questioned how governance arrangements would avoid duplication and ensure accountability.

 

The Moving Rotherham Programme Manager explained that all activities would be aligned to a common action plan overseen by the Moving Rotherham Board. They further advised that revised governance structures were being developed to incorporate lived experience, ensuring that residents and participants would help shape and scrutinise delivery. In response to a supplementary question, officers confirmed that organisations such as Scouts, Cubs, Squirrels and Guides would continue to be engaged through the wider active network and local community events.

 

Cllr Ismail raised concerns regarding language barriers within some communities and enquired whether funding would support interpretation and culturally appropriate engagement.

 

The Moving Rotherham Programme Manager advised that flexible local funding allocations would allow communities to determine the support they required, including translation and interpretation services where appropriate. They further explained that work was underway with a range of faith organisations, including mosques, churches and other faith settings, to integrate physical activity within existing activities and educational programmes and to provide training and equipment that would support sustainable local delivery.

 

Cllr Baum-Dixon encouraged officers to consider wider environmental measures that might encourage informal physical activity, including improvements to parks, lighting, CCTV and recreational infrastructure.

 

The Moving Rotherham Programme Manager advised that small-scale community capital funding would be available to address local issues and that larger infrastructure improvements would be considered through the planned sports and built facilities strategy. They also emphasised the importance of collaboration with parish councils and elected members in identifying local priorities and funding opportunities.

 

Cllr Baum-Dixon asked whether sufficient effort had been made to understand how people first became active.

 

The Moving Rotherham Programme Manager explained that extensive consultation involving around 2,000 children and young people had already explored motivations, barriers and participation patterns. The findings had demonstrated a strong preference amongst many children for individual activities rather than organised team sports, helping shape the future programme design.

 

The Chair reflected on the importance of ensuring that learning from the programme influenced wider policy decisions, particularly around neighbourhood infrastructure and public spaces. They also highlighted walking as one of the most accessible and cost-effective forms of physical activity and questioned why it had not featured more prominently within the presentation.

 

The Public Health Consultant responded that walking remained a core element of the overall strategy but had not featured heavily within the funding proposal because substantial provision already existed through initiatives supported by Voluntary Action Rotherham and the Ramblers Association. Officers intended to build upon this existing provision through community-based work rather than create duplicate services.

 

The Chair reiterated their view that walking should remain central to efforts to promote physical activity across the borough.

 

Resolved:-

 

That the Health Select Commission:

 

1. Noted the contents of the presentation received.

 

2. Requested that the Health Select Commission  be provided with the detail of any metrics agreed upon against which progress or success will be measured, clearly identifying how those metrics support tackling health inequalities and general population health, along with progress reports in line with those metrics at relevant intervals.

 

3. Requested that a mechanism via which Elected Members can be updated on the activities being undertaken in their wards connected with the programme and its associated funding so that they can support raising awareness in their local communities, alongside the wider communications and marketing strategy, be agreed and implemented.

 

4. Agreed that a further update on the progress and impact of the programme be provided at the halfway point of the strategy, in late 2028.