A collection of best practice stories about creating positive experiences of movement for children and young people in England. From the Positive Experiences Collective.
What if children designed the places we live?
Trevor Smith (Sportsmith), Hayley Mills (Bedford Borough Council), and Jamie Stanley (Lands Improvement Holdings) share how listening to young voices is changing the way new communities are planned. From empathy for siblings and parents to the simple wish to feel brave, discover how physical literacy and the right to play can reshape parks, streets, and neighbourhoods for everyone.
15 Oct 2025
Beyond Movement: Shifting Minds, Inspiring Action
Changing the language around movement can change mindsets and whole systems.
Jessica Simons (Greater Manchester Moving) and Sheron Kantor (Bolton Council) share their Beyond Movement project, which reframes early years activity around positive experiences, child voice, and meaningful language. From practitioners helping children regulate emotions through running, to embedding new terms in Greater Manchester policy, this episode shows how changing hearts and minds can ignite long-lasting system change.
15 Oct 2025
Move, Play & Creating Active Schools: Curiosity Over Judgment
Curiosity, not judgment, could be the key to getting every child active for life.
Ian Holmes (education consultant) shares insights from Move, Play & Creating Active Schools, a project uncovering how children really experience physical activity. From rethinking what “counts” as movement to helping teachers build curiosity instead of judgment, this episode explores how listening to pupils can reshape PE, wellbeing, and the culture of school activity.
15 Oct 2025
Let’s PLEY: Building Blocks for an Active Start
Movement isn’t just play—it’s the foundation for health, confidence, and learning.
Olivia White (HENRY), Helen Battelley (author, lecturer & consultant), and Natalie Weir (sport development professional & researcher) share their Let’s PLEY project. Physical Literacy Early Years. They discuss why movement is our first language, how to embed physical literacy alongside nutrition, and the ripple effects reaching families, practitioners, and communities. From playful frameworks to unexpected learning moments, this episode explores giving children the strongest possible active start.
15 Oct 2025
Project Springboard: Positive Starts in Early Years
How do we give every child the best start in life through movement and play?
John Parsons (Real PE), James Mooney (Cabot Learning Federation), and Natalie Weir (University of Derby / IPLA) share insights from Project Springboard, exploring how physical literacy can reduce disadvantage gaps, build teacher confidence, and reimagine PE from the ground up. With tools like the Play Wheel and practical frameworks for schools, this episode dives into small changes that can lead to big results and why positive early experiences matter for lifelong confidence and wellbeing.
15 Oct 2025
The Only Way is Eastwood: Belonging, Movement & Change
What if feeling part of something started with simply being active?
Headteacher Kirsty Beresford (Eastwood Village Primary, Rotherham) shares The Only Way is Eastwood, a project using physical literacy to build belonging, confidence, and wellbeing in one of the UK’s most diverse school communities. From reimagining lunchtime play to connecting families with local opportunities, this episode explores how movement, inclusion, and pupil voice can reshape school culture and lives.
15 Oct 2025
Active Families: Parents as First Teachers
Parents are children’s first teachers. What happens when we help them lead with play?
Becky Gillick (Active Norfolk) and Nikki King (Norfolk County Council) share their Active Families project, designed to make movement part of everyday family life. From parents as role models, to barriers like space, safety, and confidence, this episode explores how families can learn, play, and grow together. With stories of small shifts making big differences—like a mum rediscovering joy in play—it shows how system change can start from the ground up.
15 Oct 2025
Nurturing a Culture of Positive Experiences: Plymouth & Devon’s Journey
What if PE were valued as highly as English or maths?
Rebecca Skinner (Active Devon), Caroline Storer (Plymouth City Council), and Marcus Pritchard (St Luke’s School / TED Wragg Multi-Academy Trust) share how they’re embedding physical literacy across schools and youth work in Plymouth and Devon. From rethinking PE’s purpose to empowering youth workers and inspiring confidence in young people, this episode explores how culture change happens—through shared learning, long-term commitment, and the belief that every child deserves to feel capable, confident, and included.
15 Oct 2025
Together an Active Future: Small Changes, Big Impacts
From classrooms to madrassahs, discovering how movement can power learning. Sumaiyah (Active Madrassah Lead) shares how her team's Patchwork project brought physical literacy to life in schools, madrasas, and communities across Lancashire. From rethinking parental expectations to helping coaches create positive experiences, they show how movement can fuel learning, confidence, and connection. This episode explores how small changes, like a simple playroom or new perspective, can make a big impact for children, families, and educators alike.
15 Oct 2025
Cricket for All: Beyond the Basics of Physical Literacy
What does your best sporting memory feel like and how could coaches create that for every child?
Ian Gregory (Chance to Shine) shares how the Cricket for All project, in partnership with Lord’s Taverners, is reshaping how cricket reaches schools and communities. From challenging assumptions that physical literacy is only about movement skills, to training coaches, embedding broader “think, feel, move, connect” principles, and even using storytelling design tools, this episode explores how sport can unlock joy, belonging, and lifelong confidence.
15 Oct 2025
Move with Youth: Listening, Confidence & Change
Listening to student voices can change how teachers see PE and themselves. Lucy Grey (Active Humber) and Jen Lount (East Yorkshire Place Partner) share Move with Youth, a project co-designed with young people to rebuild confidence, choice, and joy in movement. From a girl finding freedom on the ice rink to teachers rethinking their own relationship with PE, this episode explores how listening to young voices can transform lessons, shape wellbeing, and connect schools with their wider communities.
15 Oct 2025
Junior Adventures: Just Moving
When movement becomes natural, not taught, children rediscover the joy of play.
Haseeb Khan (Junior Adventures Group) shares how a national childcare provider is embedding physical literacy across 200 schools and holiday clubs. Through pilot sites and children’s voices, the team explored how different settings, from affluent areas to refugee communities can create inclusive, joyful experiences of movement. This episode dives into lessons on leadership buy-in, the power of curiosity, and how collaboration across sectors can reshape how we think about play, learning, and belonging.
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