Childhood obesity rates in the UK have reached alarming levels, with worrying statistics showing many children are missing out on crucial physical development. Chris Sharman, a leading children’s activity coach, is determined to reverse this trend by enhancing training for those working with young people, in a bid to improve children’s fitness and fight the growing issue of physical inactivity.
A Crisis in Physical Literacy
The pandemic intensified the problem of childhood inactivity, with lockdowns limiting outdoor play and exercise. But even before that, the UK’s children were facing a crisis. Worryingly, fewer than half of children in the UK meet the Chief Medical Officer’s recommended 60 minutes of daily physical activity. For children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), this figure drops to just 34%.
More concerning still, recent reports reveal that children aged 8 to 18 spend an average of 7.7 hours per day in front of screens. This sedentary lifestyle, combined with the lack of adequate physical activity opportunities, is setting children up for lifelong health issues. Chris Sharman, founder of Kidztivity, believes that early intervention is key.
The Vision for Change
“I’ve always enjoyed seeing the life-changing impact it can have on children when we provide them with positive physical activity experiences,” Chris explains. “These experiences create healthy habits that stay with them into adulthood.”
Chris’s vision is clear: more children, more active, more often. But to achieve this, he says the children’s activity sector needs better training opportunities for professionals. The recruitment and retention of skilled staff is a significant challenge, with many leaving for better-paid careers. “We need to show people how rewarding it is to work with children,” Chris adds.
The Skills Gap
Recent studies highlight a startling gap in children’s physical development. Half of all children under 16 cannot kick a ball, 25% struggle to run properly, and 90% lack the ability to throw correctly. These deficiencies in basic motor skills lead to a lack of confidence and disengagement from sport and physical activity altogether.
Chris believes the solution lies in addressing the skills shortage among children’s activities professionals. “National Governing Bodies (NGBs) train coaches to work with teams, but they don’t prepare people to work with mixed-ability children, of varying ages, in non-club settings. This is the reality of our sector, and training needs to reflect that.”
A Collaborative Approach
To combat this issue, Chris is working to professionalise the sector. By building a community of children’s activity providers, he hopes to share best practices, tackle common challenges, and work with government bodies to secure better funding and focus on physical literacy.
Kidztivity, Chris’s consultancy and training provider, is already making strides. Working with SMEs, startups, and big brands like Disney and David Lloyd, they design children’s activity programmes and train professionals to deliver them. Most recently, they helped develop a children’s holiday club for Oxygen Activeplay, a chain of indoor entertainment parks.
Shaping the Future
Chris’s ambition is to encourage more people to enter the sector by offering specialised courses and raising awareness about the diverse opportunities available. “There are endless possibilities,” he says. “From working in schools, leisure centres, and holiday parks to coaching sport around the world. We’re shaping the future generation, and there’s nothing more impactful than that.”
By equipping the next generation of children’s activity professionals with the tools they need, Chris Sharman is helping to build a healthier, more active future for the UK’s young people.