“Child-First” Coaches

FCB London are delighted to be announced as part of the agency team for Play Their Way - a new Sport England and National Lottery funded initiative to transform the way children and young people are coached in sport and physical activity.

Play Their Way, which is led by the Children’s Coaching Collaborative – a collective of like-minded organisations who want to create a nation of “child-first” coaches - was launched last week at Peckham BMX Club in South London. The club has coached and supported over 2000 young people since opening in 2003, including Olympic silver medallist Kye Whyte.
The campaign will work with the UK’s 2.6 million coaches to build a grassroots movement aimed at increasing and improving child-first coaching - an evidence-informed approach that is underpinned by the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child: The Right to Play, The Right to Develop and The Right to be Heard.
A ‘child-first’ approach to coaching is about championing every child’s voice, choice and journey in sport and physical activity. The Play Their Way campaign aims to level the playing field by putting children first and helping them enjoy being active in their own way, where great coaching can inspire a child to stay active for life.

Insight gathered as part of project includes extensive Sport England research into youth activity levels and experiences, indicating that a child-first coaching approach is the key to helping young people develop a genuine and lifelong love for being active and staying in sport longer.