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How it all started
A spark fired back in 2023 when Sport England co-developed and launched the Physical Literacy Consensus Statement with 60 academics and stakeholders. Advocates for positive movement experiences saw it as a chance for alignment in England and a means for real, systemic change. The Consensus Statement gives us a shared set of language, but we all knew it had to be backed up with action – at scale. This programme seeks to accelerate that change in a nine-month, creative learning and development programme for twelve interdisciplinary teams. The twelve teams will be supported to put physical literacy philosophies into practice for the children and young people (CYP) who need them most.
Twelve teams. Nine months. Real life change.
Grounded in the reality of an applicant’s idea, audience, project, initiative, or place, teams will be guided through a structured learning and development programme over a nine-month period. We're realistic about the time it takes to change systems and shift culture; the intention of this programme is to therefore sow the seeds for real life, long-term, transformational change. With this in mind, teams will be supported to use an agile co-design approach, discovering the needs, motivations and behaviours of under-active and under-represented CYP. We'll weave together highly engaging gatherings, a structured programme of peer support and actionable content that can be accessed on-demand – all in support of applying learning to the team’s idea, project, initiative or place.
A patchwork of experiences.
This programme is part accelerator, part leadership programme. We call it the Patchwork Programme because we know that it’s the combination of people, communities, circumstances, places and spaces that create our lifelong relationship with movement and physical activity. People have asked “what’s the one thing we could do to embed physical literacy in our work?” The truth is, there’s no silver bullet. We need to weave together a whole range of practices to build positive experiences. That’s why we call it the patchwork – a programme to support the weaving together of solutions small and large that support physical literacy. The programme is funded by The National Lottery and Sport England and delivered by the social innovation team at thinkpublic.
Shifting culture towards positive experiences.
We know that positive experiences of movement and activity at an early age are essential to creating a lifelong, positive relationship. We need to work across the boundaries of traditional sport, health, community, and public-sector settings to change the way CYP experience movement and physical activity. We need to build, test, and share best practices on how a physical literacy-informed approach can inspire change across the whole system. Our strong belief is that diverse, cross-sector, interdisciplinary teams are the way to make this change real. Have a look at the conditions for success to learn more.
THE PATCHWORK PROGRAMME
Building a future where all children and young people have a positive, meaningful, and lifelong relationship with movement and physical activity.
Apply to be part of the first cohort
Connecting and creating outside the boundaries of an organisation or sector can be transformative. The Patchwork Programme is a nine-month creative accelerator programme for teams to translate physical literacy philosophies into practice, create positive experiences and build a positive, meaningful, and lifelong relationship with movement for CYP.
We're looking for 12 teams, each made up of three individuals within one organisation or ideally, a combination of three individuals from different organisations and/or sectors with a shared mission of supporting CYP to build a positive, meaningful, and lifelong relationship with movement and physical activity.
Develop skills
Build your skills in agile and inclusive co-design methods to develop solutions connected to people's lived experiences.
Lead and advocate for system change
Being part of the first cohort is a chance to shape the future of the positive experiences agenda and advocate at scale.
Leadership
Systems change requires leadership. This programme will support you wherever you are on your leadership journey.
Time & space
Find yourself saying, “I just need some time to think?” Embedded in Patchwork is the space to think, learn, experiment and grow.
Interdisciplinary network
The opportunity to work with colleagues from a range of sectors and disciplines.
Create impact
Develop best-in-class examples of positive experience philosophies for CYP and share these on a national stage.
The impact we're aiming for
Participants on the Patchwork Programme will collaborate on a real life project over the course of nine months. The change and impact we hope to create from these projects could sit across the following thematic areas: active environments, community sport, education, workforce development, youth voice, communications, and mental health and inclusion. The possibilities are endless so we will be guided by you, as applicants.
To help bring to life the art of the possible, here are some examples that you could build on to kick start your thinking. It is essential that the project you apply with is ultimately focused on creating a positive, meaningful, and lifelong relationship with movement and physical activity for under-active, under-represented and/or minority groups of CYP.
Your team could be working on something else that you feel could benefit from being part of the Patchwork programme. Please contact us below if you would like to check if it’s appropriate to apply.
Bring partners together to co-design a place-based approach for CYP that embeds the principles of physical literacy.
Co-design and test communication tools that help partners adopt and embed physical literacy strategies and language locally.
Apply the principles of physical literacy to the design of spaces and places, to create a strong connection to CYP’s local environment.
Embed the principles of physical literacy into a new organisational strategy, initiative or programme. This could help to shift culture and practices towards more person-centred, holistic and needs-led positive movement experiences, for every CYP.
Co-design a specific user experience with CYP (e.g. a sports club, P.E. lesson, service, or something else), focusing on removing barriers to engagement and embedding a love of movement.
Project examples applicants could bring to Patchwork
Conditions for success
Belief and passion for embedding physical literacy in practice
The launch of the Physical Literacy Consensus Statement for England in 2023 was a big moment for the sector. We need to back up that energy from the launch with decisive action for all CYP, particularly for those who are under-active and/or are typically under-represented. You should join this programme if you believe in the philosophy of physical literacy and will advocate for cultural change in the sector in even the most challenging of circumstances.
A clear and upfront aspiration for change
The cornerstone of the programme is to bring a real-life project, strategy, service or initiative you are working on. We know that ‘doing’ physical literacy is far beyond one or two discrete projects – it’s the DNA of how we work. But we also know that if we don’t make things tangible, we’ll lose the momentum. We’re looking for interdisciplinary teams, which could be from one organisation or a combination of partners, to apply with a clearly defined problem/need and an idea for how you might embed physical literacy philosophies. We strongly encourage place-based ideas. Your idea might change as you go, but we’d like to hear your perspective from where you stand today. It can be either local or national, but it must focus on addressing inequalities among under-active and/or under-represented CYP. It would be a good idea to apply with a project, initiative or place already in motion that could benefit from the support we’re offering. Using existing momentum, relationships, and existing funding will only help. For the avoidance of doubt, we’re not offering any funding as part of this programme.
A committed, interdisciplinary team
Physical literacy doesn’t sit in a sport sector silo. We welcome teams made up of people from a range of backgrounds, sectors and disciplines. You might be a team with a well-established cadence of work together. Or you might be a team that has always talked about working together “one day.” This is the chance to bring an exceptional and diverse set of skills and perspectives together.
Access to under-active and/or under-represented CYP
The programme will support teams through a co-design process to help understand and improve the lived experience of CYP. This involves meaningful engagement of CYP, families, support networks, and other relevant stakeholders. You must already have direct access or access via locally trusted organisations to the under-active or under-represented CYP groups you’re intending to develop solutions for. If you don’t have existing relationships, you must be willing to invest significant time to build these relationships throughout the programme.
Executive sponsorship from your organisation(s)
You will have senior executive sponsorship from your organisation to take part. This should include an agreement to invest your time into the programme and the associated follow-on actions. This is a big effort and we know that having support from your leadership will not only help you make the time and space available, it’ll also lead to a more successful outcome. Remember that through your participation in the programme, you will undoubtedly be feeding progress and learning back into your organisation at a strategic level.
This is not a formulaic continued professional development course. It’s a space to sharpen your skills whilst working collaboratively in a real-life context. Below is a list of the formal gatherings for the programme, but above all else, you need to have dedicated time – both individually and as an interdisciplinary team – to progress your idea over the course of nine months.
Time commitment
Attend two in-person, one-day workshops in London and three virtual workshops over nine months (November 2024 - July 2025). Exact dates will be communicated to successful applicants. Travel expenses will need to be covered by your organisation.
Attend workshops
Share your learning and progress during our sector-wide one-day virtual conference in June 2025.
Share learning
Have dedicated time and resources to progress your idea over the nine months, working with partners to co-design and engage with CYP.
Dedicate time to a project
Take part in four virtual, two-hour action learning sets with peers.
Join action learning
Stay up to date
Application process
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Applications should be submitted by teams made up of a maximum of three individuals.
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Applications must not exceed three A4 pages.
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No supplementary information, documents or links will be reviewed.
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Unfortunately, for this first cohort, we cannot accept applications from individuals looking to join a team.
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thinkpublic and Sport England will collectively review applications for the Patchwork Programme and identify shortlisted applications for an online scoping meeting.
Timeline
15 August – Invitation shared
4 September 14.00 BST – Virtual Q&A – Sign up to join
17 September – Application deadline 18.00 BST
w/c 7 October – Short-listed applicants invited to an online scoping meeting
w/c 14 October – Final twelve teams announced
Criteria and scoring
The application criteria and scoring system can be found here.
