We strongly believe that babies and young children should get an active start in life.

Babies and young children were born to move, they love being active and we should encourage them to move around freely as often as possible!

Physical activity is essential during the early years of a child’s life as it helps not only with their physical development but also helps them to develop their social and emotional skills. 80% of brain development also takes place by the age of 3 which is fully supported by Physical Activity.

Children who learn to be active when they are younger are more likely to continue taking part in sport and physical activity when they are an adult. 

Why Move?

• Young children with greater levels of activity between the ages of 3-5 years tend to maintain this into Primary School entry
• Children learn more physical skills in their first five years than at any other time in their lives
• Young children who play or are more physically active at this age are more likely to achieve higher academic success
• Excessive sedentary behaviour during this time is associated with poor cognitive development as well as physiological problems

What is Active Start?

Active Start is a programme created to inspire and increase activity levels in the early years through activity and active play. It helps children to be healthy, to learn and be active for life. It does this by supporting practitioners, teachers and families to be active together more often, strengthening physical literacy and the readiness to learn. 

Active Start Annual Report 2021-2022 (pdf, 8339KB)

Active Start Annual Report 2020-2021 (pdf, 16840KB)

Active Start for Parents & Carers

ACTIVE START for practitioners

Did you know?

• Nationally only 9% of boys and 10% of girls aged between 2 - 4 years achieve the recommended physical activity guidelines for children aged Under 5.
• It is further outlined that 85% of boys and 83% of girls are classified as having low activity levels i.e. less than 60 minutes per day

Find out more:

Early Years Physical Activity Guidelines

Early Years Physical Literacy Framework