Written by Stuart Felce, UK Director, Sport and Community Safety

This month saw the conclusion of the first ever Youth Justice Sport Fund programme, designed to use sport as a way to engage at-risk young people in a way that can help to steer them away from crime and antisocial behaviour.

Launched in December of 2022, the programme delivered £5 million spread across 220 trusted community organisations around the country, along with training and support, to deliver projects that combined accessible sport and physical activity with wraparound support for young people to help them build confidence, connect with trusted mentors and develop pro-social attitudes that can set them on the right path for the long term. The fund is the first of its kind delivered by the Ministry of Justice, and has been co-ordinated by StreetGames and the Alliance of Sport for Criminal Justice, with the support of the Sport for Development Coalition.

The primary target of this intervention was what is known as the “secondary cohort” of at-risk young people aged 10-17 across England and Wales. Secondary prevention supports children and young people who could be considered to be at risk of entering the justice system due to particularly challenging circumstances or additional vulnerabilities. This includes those at risk of school exclusion, those experiencing complex safeguarding issues, and those identified by the police as being at-risk, or already being involved in anti-social behaviour, as well as a more targeted approach to young people who are at-risk as a result of the area where they live, i.e. those living in areas with high rates of youth crime or in the bottom 20% for deprivation, where children are at greater risk of being perpetrators or victims. Targeted interventions provide more intense support for young people at the most risk and, as such are necessary. They require trained, skilled staff and suitably equipped organisations to be effective.

With the first programme now drawing to a close, we’re excited to find out more over the coming months about how projects have approached the challenge and the impact it has made in local communities. But what is already clear is that some of the most at-risk young people across the country have received support that is tailored to their needs and has begun to give them the skills and mentoring they need to build a pro-social identity, recognise the control they have over their own choices and behaviours, and begin to really think about what they can achieve in the long term.

It’s a sad but undeniable fact that young people living in low income, underserved communities face real challenges and are more at risk of becoming victims or perpetrators of youth crime. Sports-based interventions can help break this cycle and provide the support and mentoring that young people need. Sport, provided in a safe, supportive environment, gives young people a sense of belonging, and exposes them to diverse, positive role models. It builds confidence, teaches new skills, and perhaps most importantly it offers these young people a safe space to go, with trusted mentors who can give them the support they need and which too many of them aren’t getting elsewhere.

As we celebrate the UN Day of Sport for Development and Peace, it is a great opportunity for us to reflect on the real difference we can make when access to sport is opened to all, and the role sport itself can play in helping young people to develop their full potential, build lasting relationships, and learn to see themselves as a part of something bigger in a way that can help them find their place in their community and their society.

StreetGames are marking the International Day of Sport for Development and Peace (IDSDP) this April 6th by supporting the first anniversary of the #OpenGoal campaign.

#OpenGoal has been shaped by StreetGames and fellow members of the Sport for Development Coalition to showcase how sport and physical activity can contribute to building a fairer, more equitable and sustainable future. In particular, it focuses on how the 400-plus members of the Coalition specifically support a series of positive health and societal outcomes such as reducing crime and anti-social behaviour, and building stronger communities and social cohesion.

IDSDP takes place each year on April 6th and, according to the United Nations, presents “an opportunity to recognise the positive role sport and physical activity play in communities and in people’s lives across the globe” – a theme that resonates particularly strongly in 2023 because of the cost-of-living crisis which has followed the Covid-19 pandemic, and continued conflict and displacement around the globe.

First and foremost, #OpenGoal will see the Coalition call on UK Government to ringfence funding committed for jobs, health and tackling crime towards targeted sport-based interventions that can save public money and generate multiple returns on investment, from improving the physical and mental health of individuals facing disadvantage and discrimination, to increasing educational attainment and the ability to secure employment.

A good example of this is the £5million Youth Justice Sport Fund created by the Ministry of Justice in November 2022, and co-ordinated by StreetGames and the Alliance of Sport in Criminal Justice on behalf of the Coalition. More than 200 community-based organisations have received funding through the MoJ initiative, offering a range of exciting activities from BMX to boxing.

Mark Lawrie, CEO of StreetGames, said: “At StreetGames, we know that sport is about far more than physical fitness and that often those who would most benefit from sport do not have the opportunity to play. Our research shows that for young people at risk of becoming involved in crime, effectively delivered Doorstep Sport can have a transformational impact on their lives – developing skills, connecting them with diverse, trusted role models, and providing a safe space and sense of belonging. Ongoing engagement in sport and volunteering can support young people onto positive pathways and help to keep them and their communities safe.”

#OpenGoal will see the Coalition work across multiple sectors, for example by working with partners to secure more private sector and corporate investment into targeted programmes tackling the social issues faced by young people in disadvantaged communities across the UK.

Finally, #OpenGoal will champion sport’s role in tackling inequalities and building a fairer society through national and local media, helping to amplify the business case for scaled investment in targeted sport and physical activity-based interventions.

To find out more, follow @SFDCoalition #OpenGoal on Twitter or visit https://www.sportfordevelopmentcoalition.org/open-goal-framework

A citywide programme of sport and physical activity in Plymouth is helping to support vulnerable children from low-income families at risk of being drawn into crime and anti-social behaviour to stay out of trouble and develop skills for the future.

The programme is being delivered locally by local sport groups, supported by with StreetGames in partnership with the Plymouth Drake Foundation’s Plymouth Children in Poverty initiative (PCIP), a charity whose mission is to eradicate the social injustice, ill-health and misery caused by child poverty in Plymouth.

This new funding will support community organisations across Plymouth to run programmes designed to steer young people away from law-breaking and into positive activities aimed at teaching teamwork, resilience and discipline. The programme builds on the success of last year’s pilot that saw StreetGames work with community partners in Plymouth to tackle the twin issues of boredom and alienation – leading causes of petty criminality and anti-social behaviour. The programme saw highly-qualified tutors and hand-picked local sports volunteers provide not only structure and expertise, but living, breathing proof of the transformational power of Doorstep Sport.

Sessions were designed to provide participants with the chance to develop themselves, and feedback from the project confirmed that many of the young people involved grew in confidence over the course of the programme, trying new activities and even leading activities themselves.

Kerry Bidewell, PCIP Development Manager, said “Generational poverty is an incredibly hard cycle to break and by working together we are so much stronger and we will disrupt the poor outcomes that poverty inevitability creates; PCiP and StreetGames are enabling children and young people in Plymouth to create a better future for themselves.”

Graham Helm, StreetGames National Partnerships Manager, said: “We’re really excited to be partnering with Plymouth Children in Poverty to deliver this ambitious new programme for young people to engage in Doorstep Sport. The funding is a vote of confidence in the power of sport to provide young people in Plymouth with a positive pathway and to help prevent them from falling into the criminal justice system.”

A citywide programme of sport and physical activity in Plymouth is helping to support vulnerable children from low-income families at risk of being drawn into crime and anti-social behaviour to stay out of trouble and develop skills for the future.

The programme is being delivered locally by local sport groups, supported by with StreetGames in partnership with the Plymouth Drake Foundation’s Plymouth Children in Poverty initiative (PCIP), a charity whose mission is to eradicate the social injustice, ill-health and misery caused by child poverty in Plymouth.

This new funding will support community organisations across Plymouth to run programmes designed to steer young people away from law-breaking and into positive activities aimed at teaching teamwork, resilience and discipline. The programme builds on the success of last year’s pilot that saw StreetGames work with community partners in Plymouth to tackle the twin issues of boredom and alienation – leading causes of petty criminality and anti-social behaviour. The programme saw highly-qualified tutors and hand-picked local sports volunteers provide not only structure and expertise, but living, breathing proof of the transformational power of Doorstep Sport.

Sessions were designed to provide participants with the chance to develop themselves, and feedback from the project confirmed that many of the young people involved grew in confidence over the course of the programme, trying new activities and even leading activities themselves.

Kerry Bidewell, PCIP Development Manager, said “Generational poverty is an incredibly hard cycle to break and by working together we are so much stronger and we will disrupt the poor outcomes that poverty inevitability creates; PCiP and StreetGames are enabling children and young people in Plymouth to create a better future for themselves.”

Graham Helm, StreetGames National Partnerships Manager, said: “We’re really excited to be partnering with Plymouth Children in Poverty to deliver this ambitious new programme for young people to engage in Doorstep Sport. The funding is a vote of confidence in the power of sport to provide young people in Plymouth with a positive pathway and to help prevent them from falling into the criminal justice system.”

Thousands of young people at risk of becoming involved in crime will be put back on the right track thanks to a new £5 million fund for crime-cutting sports schemes.

Charities across England and Wales will be able to bid for new money to run programmes designed to steer young people away from law-breaking and into positive activities aimed at teaching teamwork, resilience and discipline.

While the number of young people in custody remains at a record low, statistics show around 80 per cent of prolific adult offenders begin committing crimes as children – with the economic and social costs of reoffending costing the taxpayer an estimated £18 billion per year.

This new funding builds on the Government’s work to catch and prevent youth offending earlier than ever – helping to prevent these young people becoming involved in crime or anti-social behaviour.

Earlier this year, the Deputy Prime Minister announced the biggest funding package in a generation to tackle youth offending and cut crime, including £60 million for early intervention.

The new funding also delivers on the commitment made in the Prisons Strategy White Paper – published in December last year – to introduce further measures for early intervention to cut youth crime, keep streets safe and create fewer victims.

Deputy Prime Minister, Lord Chancellor and Justice Secretary, Dominic Raab, said: 

“I have seen first-hand how local sports projects can transform the lives of young people from tough backgrounds, getting them off the streets and teaching them life skills including teamwork, discipline, and resilience.

“That’s why we’re investing £5 million in innovative sporting schemes up and down the country. It is part of our £300 million investment to support every council across England and Wales in catching and preventing youth offending earlier than ever, making our streets safer.”

Charities and organisations wanting to deliver the sports programmes will be able to bid for the money – with hundreds of organisations expected to benefit from the funding.

StreetGames will work with the Ministry of Justice, along with consortium partners the Alliance of Sport in Criminal Justice and the Sport for Development Coalition, to oversee the application process and delivery of the funding.

Stuart Felce, StreetGames Director of Sport and Community Safety, said:

“We’re really excited to be partnering with the Sport for Development Coalition and the Alliance of Sport in Criminal Justice to deliver this ambitious new programme from the Ministry of Justice.

“These funds are a vote of confidence in the power of sport to provide young people with a positive pathway and to help prevent them from falling into the criminal justice system.”