The vision is for everyone. From people who don’t see themselves as sporty to people who win medals. This section explores participation and frequency of participation by geography and demographics, examining similarities or differences across these groups to ensure the benefits of sport reach all young people across Wales.
4.1 Gender
Historically, there has been a gap in sports participation across Wales, with girls consistently reporting less participation in sport than their male counterparts. Pupils identifying through ‘other’ typically report even less frequent participation in sport.
In the 2021/2022 academic year, 43% of boys took part in organised sport outside of the curriculum three or more times a week, compared to 36% of girls and 28% of pupils who identified through ‘other’. A similar pattern was observed in 2018 when 50% of boys, 46% of girls, and 39% of those identifying through ‘other’ took part in organised sport outside of the curriculum three or more times a week.
Meanwhile, those who identified through ‘other’ were more likely to report no frequent activity (participating less than once a week) compared to boys and girls. Girls were also more likely to report no frequent activity compared to boys.
Graph 4: Frequency of participation in organised sport outside of the curriculum, by gender
4.2 Disability, impairment, and learning difficulties
40% (114,000) of pupils without a disability or impairment participated in organised sport outside of the curriculum three or more times a week in the last academic year. By comparison, participation three or more times a week among pupils who reported a disability or impairment was 35% (6,000).
7,000 pupils with a disability or impairment also reported doing no frequent activity (less than once a week) during the last academic year.
Graph 5a: Frequency of participation in organised sport outside of the curriculum, by disability or impairment.
A similar pattern was observed when comparing pupils with a learning difficulty to those without. Pupils with a learning difficulty were more likely to report no frequent activity (42%), than those without a learning difficulty (34%).
Graph 5b: Frequency of participation in organised sport outside of the curriculum, by learning difficulty.
The 2022 School Sport Survey also asked a series of questions to teachers concerning their provision of PE and / or sport to those with a disability, impairment or learning difficulty.
Table 3: Provision of sport for pupils with a disability, impairment, or learning difficulty
Yes
Do you have accessible space in school to deliver all activities inclusively for disabled pupils / pupils with an impairment or Additional Learning Need (ALN)?
87%
Are you confident in modifying planned tasks and activities to meaningfully include disabled pupils / pupils with an impairment or Additional Learning Need (ALN)?
83%
Do you have the equipment in school which enables inclusion of disabled pupils / pupils with an impairment or Additional Learning Need (ALN)?
60%
Do you use additional people to support inclusion of disabled pupils / pupils with an impairment or Additional Learning Need (ALN) within PE session?
75%
Over three quarters of teachers reported that they have accessible space, are confident in modifying planned tasks and activities, and use additional people to support for the inclusion of disabled pupils / pupils with an impairment or Additional Learning Need (ALN).
However, less than two thirds of teachers report having the equipment necessary to enable the inclusion of disabled pupils / pupils with an impairment or Additional Learning Need (ALN).
Teachers were also asked whether there is an opportunity for disabled pupils / pupils with an impairment or Additional Learning Need (ALN) to participate in PE lessons. 92% of teachers responded ‘Yes, all the time’, while a further 6% responded ‘Yes, some of the time’.
4.3 Ethnicity and Welsh Language
Table 4: Participation in organised sport outside of the curriculum three or more times a week, by ethnicity and Welsh language
%
No. of pupils
Ethnicity
White
41%
106,000
Mixed or Multiple ethnic group
43%
5,000
Asian, Asian Welsh or Asian British
30%
4,000
Black, Black Welsh, Black British, Caribbean, or African
38%
2,000
Other ethnic group
33%
1,000
Welsh Language
Welsh speaker
46%
60,000
Non-Welsh speaker
35%
63,000
Pupils who identified as white and pupils who identified as being part of a mixed or multiple ethnic group were more likely to participate in organised sport outside of the curriculum three or more times a week than their peers who identified as Asian or from another ethnic group.
Conversely, pupils who identified as Asian were more likely to report no frequent activity (less than once a week) than their peers who identified as White, Black, or from mixed or multiple ethnic groups.
Welsh speakers were more likely to report participation in organised sport outside of the curriculum three or more times a week. 46% of Welsh speakers reported participation in organised sport outside of the curriculum three or more times a week, compared to 35% of non-Welsh speakers.
Footnote: Welsh speakers include those who are ‘fluent in Welsh’, ‘can chat confidently in Welsh’, or ‘can chat simply in Welsh’
4.4 Geography
Table 5: Participation in organised sport outside of the curriculum three or more times a week, by regional sport partnership
%
No. of pupils
Regional Sport Partnership
Central South
40%
39,000
Gwent
38%
22,000
Mid Wales
40%
7,000
North Wales
39%
26,000
West Wales
42%
28,000
A lower proportion of pupils in Gwent took part in organised sport outside of the curriculum three or more times a week compared with West Wales.
West Wales had the highest proportion of pupils participating in sport outside of the curriculum three or more times a week compared to all other regional sport partnerships.
The number of pupils taking part in organised sport outside of the curriculum was highest in Central South (39,000) and lowest in Mid Wales (7,000).
Table 6: Participation in community club sport at least once a week, by regional sport partnership
%
No. of pupils
Regional Sport Partnership
Central South
56%
54,000
Gwent
54%
32,000
Mid Wales
59%
11,000
North Wales
56%
37,000
West Wales
58%
39,000
Meanwhile, Mid Wales had the highest proportion of pupils taking part in community club sport at least once a week (59%), while the number of pupils taking part was highest in Central South (54,000).
Footnote: Please refer to appendix A for local authority groupings by regional sport partnerships
4.5 Socioeconomic deprivation
Within the School Sport Survey, Free School Meal (FSM) is used as a measure of socioeconomic deprivation, with FSM1 being the least and FSM4 accounting for the most deprived.
A 15-percentage point difference exists between the least deprived (FSM1) and most deprived (FSM4) when considering participation in organised sport outside of the curriculum three or more times a week. This disparity has increased since 2018 where a 13-percentage-point difference was observed between the least and most deprived.
Graph 6: Participation in organised sport outside the curriculum three or more times a week, by Free School Meal quartiles.
The disparity between the least and most deprived is even more stark when considering community club participation at least once a week, with a 20-percentage-point difference observed between the least and most deprived.
Graph 7: Participation in a community club setting at least once a week, by Free School Meal quartiles.
