ABSTRACT
Over the last 30 years there has been an increased interest and focus on sports development across the UK, with responsibility for policy delivery devolved to the four home countries who, through Sport England, sportscotland, the Sports Council for Wales and Sport Northern Ireland fulfil separate roles within their individual nations. Since devolution it has become more difficult to refer to a ‘UK-wide’ sports policy because, whilst there are still major commonalities in policy in the four countries, since devolution these differences have increased, to the extent that each country needs to be considered as a separate policy domain. The reader should not therefore assume that the features identified in the case of England would be reflective of youth sport policy in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Mapping the territory of youth sport development in England is extremely difficult as its delivery
involves a disparate range of agencies and a plethora of sports initiatives that have become increasingly interconnected with policy areas such as health and education. Since the mid 1990s, sport’s political salience in England has increased incrementally, and UK government investment has led to an abundance of sports opportunities for young people. The publication of the sports policy document Sport: Raising the Game (DNH 1995) was a watershed for youth sport in the UK and signalled a significant shift in sports development practice from mass participation, to a more targeted approach that prioritised sporting excellence and youth sport (Green 2006; Houlihan 2000; Kay 2000; Kirk 2005). From the mid 1990s onwards, there was unprecedented growth in government investment in sports initiatives that focused upon young people. A renewed political enthusiasm for sport in general and its potential to contribute to elite sport outcomes and broader social welfare agendas, led to a sustained period of government support for youth sport in England. In seeking to outline sports development policy and practice in England, it is important to
acknowledge the complex interface between overlapping policy areas such as education, health, coaching, community welfare, economic development and youth work (Kirk 1992; Lentell 1993; MacDonald 1995; Pickup 1996). The chapter begins with a brief account of the values and principles that have underpinned and shaped youth sports policy and practice in England and in particular, the role of schools, sports clubs and local government sports development teams. The intention is to provide the reader with an account of youth sports development that highlights the ‘discursive storylines’ that have punctuated policy and practice in England (Bergsgard et al 2007; Green and Houlihan 2004; Houlihan 2005).
