Complementing Government data such as ‘Active People' and the ‘PESSCL school sport surveys', the KKP Strata Survey is one of the most comprehensive datasets in the UK. Since 2002, KKP has delivered participation surveys for over 100 clients. In addition to the proven value of the data itself, it has the added benefit of enabling clients to compare their results with the responses of 200,000 young people across the UK.

KKP's Market Research team has recently completed the 3rd incarnation of the highly regarded KKP Participation Strata Survey on behalf of the two County Sports Partnerships (CSPs) in Greater Manchester (GreaterSport) and Lancashire (Lancashire Sport), securing data on the behaviour and views of 30,000 young people.

Participation surveys are typically conducted to learn more about the characteristics of existing participants and also, by default, of those not taking part in sport and the arts. They gather a wide range of data on participation in and attitudes towards sport and the arts.

What does the survey ask?

The surveys include the activities which young people take part in, whether they do these at an after school club (extracurricular) or at a club that is independent of their school. They also ask young people about what prevents them from taking part in such activities. This is achieved through the analysis of a wide range of survey data, for example:

• Levels of participation, how they vary by personal characteristics such as age, gender, ethnic group and disability.
• Extracurricular participation at school and participation at clubs away from school.
• Frequency and duration of participation (how often and how long).
• Awareness and usage of existing sport and arts facilities.
• Swimming ability.
• Specialist coaching and training received to improve performance.
• Attitudes towards sport and the arts.
• The impact of parental participation, car ownership etc.
• Volunteer activity.
• Healthy lifestyle information, including smoking, alcohol and dietary behaviours.

What do the results tell us?

KKP's analysis of the data provides a wealth of information on the views and behaviours of young people. Wherever possible, data is presented through the use of graphs, maps and as rank ordered tables in order to maximise its accessibility. This enhances its potential use to support decisions on issues such as the funding of facilities, marketing campaigns and the targeting of resources, for different groups and areas.

All schools and sporting agencies collectively face the target to, by 2012, give all children access to five hours of physical recreation a week, made up of two hours of physical education within the curriculum and three hours offered on school sites or in the community.

Map to depict location of non-swimmers, swimming pools and local schools in Bolton (click on the image for a larger view of the map)

Survey data can also be mapped in relation to factors such as the location of existing facilities and indicators of deprivation; this offers a very practical route to appropriate intervention ‘on the ground'.

The 2007 Strata Survey in Greater Manchester and Lancashire

Year 9 has been identified as a key age group, as it represents the end of Key Stage 3 and the forthcoming commencement of GCSE studies. It is also recognised as a key point for changes in participation in sport and the arts; often typified by a reduction. It is generally held that if young people are not involved in activities by Year 9, it tends to become yet more difficult to attract and/or retain them thereafter.

Key findings

• Three quarters of young people take part in extracurricular sporting activities.
• Boys are more likely than girls to participate in sporting activities; whilst girls are more likely than boys to participate in art and creative activities.
• The greatest determinant as to whether or not a young person takes part in sport or the arts is often whether or not another family member takes part in sport or the arts.
• The main barriers that young people say prevent them from taking part in activities are ‘having no one to go with' and ‘not having enough time'.
• Awareness of local sports and arts facilities is almost invariably significantly higher than the rates for actual attendance at the same facilities.
• Only a small proportion of young people are currently involved in volunteering to support sport or the arts. However, a much higher proportion of young people are interested in getting involved in voluntary work.

Changes over time

GreaterSport and Lancashire Sport recognise the value of such regular reviews of impacts and that the greatest benefit comes from looking at change over time. Having commission surveys in 2001, 2004 and 2007 thus allows them to review changes in behaviour, success of policy actions, the need to redirect resources etc. For example the data shows that: 

• There has been an increase in participation in extracurricular and club environments.
• Conversely, in many local authorities there has been an increase in the proportion of young people who say that they would feel out of place in a sport or leisure centre or in an art gallery or theatre.

How is the information used?

The resultant information is used in a wide range of circumstances and environments, for example:

• Meeting information requirements and providing comparative data on participation in accordance with measures prescribed by DCMS, DfES, ACE and other such agencies.
• Improving lifestyle and health data for PCT related issues on smoking, alcohol and diet.
• Supporting resource bids for additional funding through the diversionary and developmental benefits that sport and the arts can provide to tackle issues of social exclusion, deprivation, crime/disturbance data etc.

In addition to its general use to track changes and help direct sports development at a local level the research has, for example, been used by Bury's Primary Care Trust while Bolton Council's Sport, Regeneration and Social Inclusion Manager (Sarah Poole Sutherland) has subsequently appointed KKP to combine the information on participation with school, club and facility location data to examine the geographic aspects of the combined data in much greater detail. In Sarah's opinion:

"The combination of data in a user friendly series of maps and linked data has led to a better understanding of the local dynamics of extracurricular participation, club membership and volunteer activity and is helping us to identify areas of greatest need and review our resource allocation and service planning."

For an independent view on this case study, please contact Richard Saunders, Chief Executive at GreaterSport (richard@greatersport.co.uk ) or Adrian Leather, Chief Executive at Lancashire Sport (aleather@myerscough.ac.uk )