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There are two separate surveys under the Active Lives programme;

1. The Active Lives Adult Survey

This survey measures how people aged 16 and over take part in sport and physical activity. The survey builds on the earlier Active People Survey to provide a more detailed picture of adult activity across England.

2. The Active Lives Children and Young People Survey

This survey focuses on children and young people aged 5 to 16 and is carried out through participating schools. It captures how young people engage with physical activity, both in and out of school.

Although the questions in each survey differ and are tailored to be age appropriate, both the Adult and Children and Young People surveys collect detailed information by demographic group, geographic area, and type of activity. The surveys also ask about wellbeing, personal development. community engagement, volunteering, inclusivity and attitudes towards sport and physical activity.

The Active Live Surveys help track Key Performance Indicators (KPI) identified by government as part of the national strategy ‘Get Active’, helping build a clearer picture of behaviours across different groups.

Visit the Sport England website for more information about the surveys.

Sample size: The sample consists of approximately 175,000 people each year.

Local authority coverage: A minimum annual sample size of 400 per English local authority (excluding the City of London and Isles of Scilly). Local authorities with larger populations or higher levels of need receive a boosted sample. Local areas may also pay for an additional sample, which can increase numbers above 400.

Fieldwork: Conducted continuously over 12 months, starting each November.

Publication: Results are published annually in April.

Weighting: Data is weighted to reflect ONS population estimates by geography and key demographics.

Pupils in selected schools complete the survey online, either at school or at home.

Sample size: With the exception of the pandemic years, when it fell to around 87,000, the sample has ranged between 105,000 and 125,000 pupils.

Local authority coverage: The sample is designed to include up to 10 primary schools and ten secondary schools in each local authority and around 370 independent schools across the country. However, the actual numbers will vary each year.

Fieldwork: Conducted from September to July in three phases, aligning with the Autumn, Spring, and Summer school terms.

Publication: Results are published annually in December.

Weighting: Data is weighted to reflect the national population of children in the relevant age groups. School level weighting is also applied to account for potential socio-demographic differences between the responding sample and the full sample frame.

Visit the Sport England website for more information about the survey methodologies.

Sport England subscribes to the UK Code of Practice for Official Statistics. The Code of Practice sets out common standards that should be followed by all UK organisations that produce official statistics.

Active People Survey data - which was collected from 2005 to 2016 - is available via the Active People Interactive tool.

It is helpful to consider the number of respondents when exploring trends, as this can provide context for interpreting the scale of change. Generally, the smaller the number of respondents, the larger the difference required to indicate a meaningful change.

The tool does not display whether differences between years are statistically significant. To explore the significance of headline changes, please refer to the published data tables.