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About us
Who we are and what we do
We're an arms-length body of government responsible for growing and developing grassroots sport and getting more people active across England.
We started out as The Sports Council, an independent body under the Department of National Heritage, that was established by Royal Charter in 1972.
In 1996 an amended Royal Charter established The English Sports Council, which came into being on 1 January 1997 as The Sports Council was reorganised into UK Sport and the home nations sports councils – we were then rebranded as Sport England in 1999.
We’re working to keep movement, sport and physical activity central to the lives of everyone through a combination of National Lottery funding and grant-in-aid from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, which classifies us as a non-departmental government body.
Around two-thirds of our funding comes from National Lottery players.
We’re here to invest in sport and physical activity to make it a normal part of life for everyone in England, regardless of who you are.
Because it’s not always a level playing field. Right now, the opportunities to get involved in sport and activity – and reap the rewards of being active – depend too much on your background, your gender, your bank balance and your postcode.
We’re determined to tackle this and unlock the advantages of sport and physical activity for everyone.
This isn’t just about our long-standing purpose of helping more people to enjoy playing sport and being physically active. We believe that by removing existing barriers to sport and activity, we can be part of a bigger picture of work that helps to address many of society’s biggest challenges.
Uniting the Movement is our 10-year strategy for 2021-31 aiming to do just that.
Together, we can change lives for the better in every home, and in every community, right across the country.
Organisation values and behaviours
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Ambitious – Determined in pursuit of our goals, prioritising work and partnerships that will most advance our mission, help us succeed and make a positive impact on our nation.
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Innovative – Curious, optimistic and relentless, we question established ways of working and learn from each other and from our experiences.
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Inclusive – Harnessing our collective strength and respecting differences to create the conditions for everyone to engage and to excel.
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Collaborative – One team, committed to delivering together and working with others to make a difference to people’s lives.
