Last week, Chance to Shine had the honour of appearing before the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee to discuss how initiatives can encourage sporting participation from under-represented groups.
Chance to Shine works in 1 in 4 primary schools in England and Wales each year, leaving us well placed to speak on the transformative power of high-quality sports provision in schools, and the challenges the sector faces in growing opportunities for all young people.
We used the evidence session to support calls to make PE a core subject in every school, with a mandatory minimum of two hours per child per week. But this is about more than just curriculum change: we must build a culture of movement and instill a deep-rooted love of physical activity from an early age. We want to build the foundations for a healthier generation – mentally, socially and physically.
This is something we witness every day in our programmes. During a recent visit to The Mill Academy in Barnsley, which has fully embraced Chance to Shine, we saw firsthand the impact of our work. Pupils who once lacked confidence in sport were now playing cricket during their lunch break, eagerly asking teachers for a bat and ball. “Playing cricket has taught me to believe in myself,” one child proudly declared.
Our evidence also emphasised that partnerships are key. For Chance to Shine, the long-term support of our key funding partners the England and Wales Cricket Board and Sport England has meant that we have been able to reach 7.3 million children since 2005, with evidence-backed, high-impact programmes. Our success is their success. We also spoke to the committee about the challenges of changing funding priorities, particularly for revenue-based programmes where having visibility of sustainable long-term funding is a fundamental key to success.
The session gave us a vital platform to highlight the importance of the Future of Cricket Fund, announced in April 2024, which included £10 million ringfenced for Chance to Shine. Currently on hold, this support would allow us to expand our programmes to 4,000 more state schools by 2028, specifically those where pupils face socio-economic disadvantages.
With two domestic World Cups on the horizon, this is a once-in-a-generation opportunity for government to invest in the grassroots game. The Future of Cricket Fund would enable 860,000 more young people to pick up a bat and ball – meaning they wouldn’t just have the excitement of a global tournament on their doorstep, but the chance to play the game for themselves, and to be an active part of our community.
“Now is the time to invest,” said Chance to Shine Chief Executive Kate Stephens. “This is about creating a moment of change where young people get not only the opportunity to go and play cricket in a facility near their house, but the opportunity to then play and experience it in their school. It is a whole, connected experience that means that cricket will be something that they have experienced and feel part of.”
We are pleased that the Committee will be writing to the Department of Culture, Media and Sport about the Future of Cricket Fund. It couldn’t be more timely, and we hope the Government uses this moment to give state school children in under-served communities the chance to play, learn and develop through cricket. Together, we can help them take formative steps in achieving their potential.
Thank you to Jon Cockcroft from Bowls England and Jordan Letts from the Northampton Saints Foundation for their excellent contributions on the day. A collective voice is essential when it comes to driving real change, and it’s a pleasure to stand alongside such like-minded organisations.
You can watch the committee in full here. You can read the evidence submitted to the enquiry by Chance to Shine here.
