The King’s Speech marks the opening of a new Parliament and yesterday saw King Charles introduce the new Labour Government’s plans for the year ahead. In total, 40 bills and draft bills were announced as a programme of legislation that the Government intend to pursue in the forthcoming parliamentary session.

King Charles III told Parliament yesterday that a children’s wellbeing bill will be introduced to raise standards in education and promote children’s wellbeing.

The children’s wellbeing bill will “put children and their wellbeing at the centre of the education and children’s social care systems, and make changes so they are safe, healthy, happy and treated fairly”, a briefing note from Downing Street said.

Responding to yesterday’s speech, Youth Sport Trust CEO Ali Oliver MBE said:

“The introduction of a 'children’s wellbeing bill' is really welcome news to the Youth Sport Trust and many other charities and organisations calling for urgent action to tackle the national crisis in children’s health and happiness. 

Sadly, in the last decade, childhood and youth have all too often been hijacked by things we should protect them from; it is a huge relief to know tackling these is an immediate priority for the new government.

The announcement of this Bill also signals a broader intent to get upstream of some of the issues manifesting themselves in declining physical and mental health in the young.  A toxic cocktail of access to harmful products, digital distraction, sedentary lifestyles, a narrow curriculum and fewer and fewer safe places to roam and play have all taken their toll on young people. If we layer on this what we refer to as ‘long lockdown’ - the enduring impact of disrupted education, social and emotional development – it is no wonder we are seeing consequences such as dysregulation, persistent absence and vulnerability.

The Youth Sport Trust applauds the steps taken by the Government to deliver on its promise to nurture the healthiest and happiest generation of children ever in Britain. We agree with the Government’s assertion all children should have the opportunities they deserve to succeed, and wholeheartedly support the plan to put wellbeing at the centre of the education and children’s social care systems.

We look forward to learning more about the detail of the bill and other manifesto commitments which acknowledge the essential role of movement, play and sport in young people’s wellbeing. These include an expert review of the curriculum review, protected time for physical education, support for vocation and creative subjects to 16 and free breakfast clubs for every primary school. In time we hope these will become active breakfast clubs, further helping pupils to be ready to learn.

Over the last 30 years, we have amassed a tomb of evidence supporting the positive impact of daily physical activity, play and sport, not only on physical and emotional wellbeing, but also on social and cultural capital and importantly on cognitive development, school engagement and classroom performance.  Well and active schools nurture physically literate children, healthy learners and active citizens.

In our manifesto, launched in January, we called on a new Government to ensure every child achieves the Chief Medical Officers recommended 60 minutes a day of moderate to vigorous physical activity for all 5 – 16 year olds.  We outlined the collective priorities of over 100 organisations from across the education, sport, health and youth sectors which included rebuilding the national network driving play and sport in schools, introducing a holistic wellbeing measure for children, reimagining physical education at the heart of the curriculum, introducing play sufficiency and co-curricular sport for every child, and launching a youth sport volunteering award.

We stand ready to work with the new Government on their Missions for Health and Opportunity and help deliver the change required to regift the essentials of childhood."