This summer’s Open Doors programme reached more children and young people than ever before, ukactive and Nike have reported.
An impact report for the 2022 programme, which provided sport, activity and food to underserved children and young people in Birmingham, Liverpool, London and Manchester, shows that it attracted around 737 participants this year – up from 535 in 2021.
The Open Doors model forms part of ukactive’s Schools-As-Community-Hubs policy, making the case on a local and national level, to unlock school playing fields, halls and courts, which make up 39% of community sport facilities in England but are usually closed or inaccessible during the holidays.
Championed by Nike athlete and Iron Man, John McAvoy, the programme ran in 10 schools over the summer holidays, with overall attendance increasing by around 37% on last year – demonstrating a scalable model with the potential to reach thousands more children and young people nationwide