Sport For Life
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Table of contents
Introduction
Welcome to Sport for Life the sportscotland Corporate Strategy.
Sport for Life outlines our vision, mission, principles and outcomes.
We first launched Sport for Life in 2019 and updated the strategy in line with the Physical activity for health: framework in 2025.
We want the people of Scotland to live life to the fullest - and for sport to play a part in making this happen. We all have our own reasons for taking part in sport, whether it's fun, socialising, improving our wellbeing or winning medals. Sport has the power to change lives, so whatever gets us into it, there's always more we can get out of it.
Overview
Our vision:
An active Scotland where everyone benefits from sport
Our mission:
To help the people of Scotland get the most from the sporting system
Our principles:
- Inclusive
- Accountable
- Responsive
- Person-centred
- Collaborative
- World class
Our outcomes:
Increased number and diversity of people:
- Participating in sport
- Progressing in sport
- Achieving in sport
Our vision
Our vision is for an active Scotland where everyone benefits from sport.
In an active Scotland we will all find ways to be physically active every day. This can mean keeping moving at home and at work, taking an active approach to getting around or choosing to be active in our leisure time.
More of us will take part in sport because we see it being relevant to our lives. This means being involved in ways that suit us, meeting fewer barriers and feeling more included.
We will all experience more of the benefits of sport. For some of us, by taking part. For others, through our communities.
"Creating a culture of active healthy lifestyles in Scotland will underpin a great sporting nation"
The benefits of sport
We want the people of Scotland to live life to the fullest - and for sport to play a part in making this happen. We all have our own reasons for taking part in sport, whether it's fun, socialising, improving our wellbeing or winning medals. Sport has the power to change lives, so whatever gets us into it, there's always more we can get out of it.
By taking part in sport, we want the people of Scotland to enjoy as many of these benefits as possible. Even if individuals don't get into sport directly, everyone can enjoy the advantages sport can create for our communities and Scotland as a whole.
- Sport helps keep people active: We live in an increasingly inactive world. Being inactive reduces life expectancy and is linked to serious health problems. Yet we're designed to move - from first steps to dancing and playing games. Sport builds on our natural desire to move. It gives us a sense of purpose and lets us take on personal challenges, or play as part of a team. Sport makes it easier for us to incorporate physical activity into our routine.
- Sport supports health and enhances wellbeing: Sport helps us unwind and feel more relaxed. It's a way of making friends and can help people feel part of the community. Sport gives us energy, confidence and mental resilience. It also helps us develop physical strength and combat health issues.
- Sport helps the economy thrive: Sports supports productivity, saves on health expenditure and helps to generate employment and tourism.
- Sport strengthens communities: Taking part in sport improves social connections and reduces social isolation. It can also lower crime rates and antisocial behaviour and helps develop a sense of civic pride.
- Sport develops knowledge and skills: Sport helps build a talent pool for employers by helping young people to develop in many ways. It can help keep them engaged at school and beyond, teaching them how to communicate, lead, plan, make decisions and work in teams.
"Sport can raise esteem and improve health and increase wellbeing through belonging to a community"
The Scottish Government has a vision for a Scotland where more people are more active more often. Alongside making improvements on poor diet, alcohol, smoking and drug misuse, physical activity is vital to enabling a healthy population. Over 3,000 deaths in Scotland were directly attributable to inactivity in 2022. For a more active Scotland, a variety of organisations need to work together with communities and individuals in different settings. To help focus this work, the Government has published the Physical Activity for Health Framework. This provides a systems-based approach to improving levels of physical activity at both national and local level which is firmly founded on evidence-based international guidance. It aligns to Scotland's National Performance Framework. The Framework sets out eight strategic delivery outcomes:
- Active systems
- Active places of learning
- Active travel
- Active places and space
- Active health and social care
- Active sport and recreation
- Active communications
- Active workplaces
The Framework highlights the need for all actions to be equitable, inclusive and proportionate to need.
Our mission
Our mission is to help the people of Scotland get the most from the sporting system.
A sporting system for everyone
We believe in a world class sporting system that makes the best use of Scotland's assets and adapts to change. It helps the people of Scotland take part in sport at the level they choose.
Environments
We see people taking part in sport and physical activity across different environments.
- Schools and education: Helping build competence and confidence in sport by providing positive sporting experiences at schools, colleges and universities.
- Clubs and communities: Offering local opportunities for people to take part in sport and physical activity and develop to the level they choose.
- Performance Sport: Helping sports create the conditions that enable people to progress and achieve, by creating the right partnerships and performance development environments.
The sporting system encourages these environments to work together to help people participate, progress and achieve in sport.
People and Places
Scotland offers excellent opportunities to be physically active and get involved in sport, thanks to its fantastic people, facilities and outdoor spaces.
We want the people of Scotland to make the most use of these amazing sporting assets
- We have talented people working in sport: At the heart of our sporting system are the thousands of skilled staff and committed volunteers who help others take part and progress. We see them in our outdoor environments, communities, places of education and work, and in our sports clubs and performance programmes.
- We have a great range of sports facilities: There are many places in Scotland to play sport and get active. We have facilities in communities, schools, colleges and universities. There are thousands of gyms and sports clubs plus outdoor and national sports centres. Alongside our international sports venues, these facilities help us enjoy sport at every level as well as attracting events and tourists to Scotland.
- We have an exceptional natural environment: Scotland's water, air, mountains and countryside play host to a huge range of sports and activities. Whether a nature lover or an adventurer, everyone is welcome to enjoy Scotland's outdoors and access it responsibly.
Playing our part
As the national agency for sport, our role is to make sure sport plays its part in an active Scotland. We do this by influencing, informing and investing in the organisations and people who deliver sport and physical activity.
As a public body funded by Scottish Government and the National Lottery, we report through Scottish Ministers to the Scottish Parliament.
For more information on exactly what we deliver, please see the sportscotland Annual Review.
We have more impact by working together across and beyond sport
Our partners in the sporting system are public, private and voluntary organisations. These range from local authorities and sports governing bodies to charities and the education and health sectors. Together with these partners we create Scotland's sporting assets - planning, building and running sustainable sports facilities, making the most of our outdoor spaces. We also use our expertise and resources to develop the skilled people who make sport happen.
Sport is having to adapt to the impacts of climate change. The sporting system can play a positive role by improving our environment sustainability and by helping to communicate to the public the importance of reducing our environmental impacts.
sportscotland helps organisations inside and outside of the sporting system make the best use of the money, time, expertise and information invested in sport. This means having the right partnerships and working together in a collaborative way.
We make sport more accessible for people who don't take part
Whether it's performing on the world stage, or communities looking for ways to come together, the starting point is getting people involved in sport. The sporting system gives people a choice of how they take part. Sport happens across different environments, from schools, colleges and universities to sports clubs, communities and performance sport, with people choosing the one that suits them best. However, not everyone feels included in sport, and we want that to change. By listening closely to what matters to people, the sporting system creates opportunities in sport that really meet people's needs.
sportscotland works with partners, sports clubs and communities to gain insights and make it easier for people to take part in sport. We use these insights to make sport more inclusive, with some opportunities tailor-made for specific needs.
We are clear about how people can progress to the level they choose
We want everyone to take part in sport at whatever level they choose. This could mean going for a walk with friends, trying a new sport, joining a club, or moving from recreational to competitive sport. For some people it will be about performing consistently in competitions or on the world stage. Using development and performance pathways helps people progress to their chosen level, supported on their journey by people and resources.
sportscotland helps sports develop robust pathways which enable people to progress to their desired level, take on different roles and potentially move across sports. Working closely with our partners, we ensure resources are suitably aligned across all environments.
We lead the sporting system to contribute to a Scotland where more people are more active more often
The Physical activity for health framework provides a systems-based approach to deliver a more active Scotland. Delivery of Framework requires sport to play a role alongside health, transport, education, the environment, local government and others.
The sporting system will play a vital role across the strategic delivering outcomes. This includes active sport and recreation for all, and also outcomes such as active systems, active places of learning, active communications and active places and spaces.
We lead the sporting system to contribute to the Physical Activity for Health Framework's systems-based approach and to demonstrate its contribution by showing how we're helping people participate, progress and achieve in sport.
We celebrate how sport benefits people's lives
By helping people to participate, progress and achieve in sport, the sporting system creates wider benefits in areas such as health, education, communities and the economy. These benefits can be either inherent or intentional. Either way we want people to be aware of them.
sportscotland works collaboratively with partners to promote how sport benefits people's lives to key stakeholders inside and beyond sport. These are just some of the ways sportscotland can help people get the most from the sporting system.
Our principles
"Not everyone in Scotland will be sporty but everyone can be active in some way"
We want to use the best approach to deliver the benefits of sport to the people of Scotland. To do this, we're guided by six key principles:
- Inclusive: We understand the barriers people face and proactively address them so everyone has the opportunity to get involved in sport and physical activity.
- Accountable: We plan well, we measure our performance and we are accountable for delivering outcomes.
- Responsive: We adapt what we do based on how we're doing and what's happening around us.
- Person-centred: We listen to people and put their voices at the heart of our thinking.
- Collaborative: We develop and strengthen partnerships and collaborations across the public, voluntary and private sectors.
- World class: We do everything to the highest possible standard, while seeking to continuously improve
Our outcomes
| Outcomes | Indicators |
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Participate: How many people are we reaching? |
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Progress: How many people are at each stage of the pathway? |
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Achieve: How are we performing on the world stage? |
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Inclusion: Inclusion underpins everything we do |
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Image - ©Ed Smith
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