Sport England is an official community partner of Mental Health Awareness Week 2026 (MHAW).
This year’s theme for the annual campaign, led by the Mental Health Foundation, is Action. While awareness is vital, real change comes when we take action too.
Take ACTION – for yourself, for someone else, for all of us.
Free assets are available here including logos, posters and tip sheets:
During the week, Sport England will be spotlighting various resources and information. Below is our timetable for the week should you want to amplify these messages on the same day.
| Date | Activity | Channel | Supporting resources |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monday 11 May |
Launch animation |
https://youtu.be/QDqirQIfloo | |
| Tuesday 12 May | Place case study | ||
| Wednesday 13 May | Mental Health Foundation MHAW blog | See info below | |
| Thursday 14 May | Buddle Spot Support Signpost | See info below | |
| Friday 15 May | Active Lives data | See info below | |
| Saturday 16 May | Leading the Movement – Leader Wellbeing | ||
| Sunday 17 May | Mind Safe and Effective Practice |
As a community campaign partner, Sport England has developed and collated a number of materials to support the promotion of movement as a form of action to support mental wellbeing, to be shared during MHAW and beyond.
The below materials are available to help partners, clubs and organisations support the campaign.
UNDER EMBARGO until Monday 11 May, 09:00
We have created a short animation in collaboration with the Mental Health Movement Alliance which explains why movement supports our mental health and wellbeing.
The animation explores what happens in our bodies when we move, turning complex neuroscience into a simple, clear explanation that people can understand.
People often hear that physical activity is ‘good for you’ but perhaps don’t understand why. We hope that by helping people to understand what’s happening in their bodies, activity will become more meaningful and will help to inspire and people to move more.
This Mental Health Awareness Week, we are encouraging the nation to take action and move more for our mental health – being active can help to ease stress, lift our mood, improve focus and a chance of better sleep.
Movement is one of many things that can support our mental health – some research suggests that mood boosting chemicals are released in our bodies within just 5-10 minutes of moving.
Movement doesn’t have to be structured, organised sport or activity. Little changes can help you reap the many benefits of moving more. A walk, wiggle or stretch can all help.
Below are some suggested social media posts that you can use during the week to share the animation and key messages. You might also want to consider adding a link to any local activity finders in your area.
Movement helps lift our mood, improve focus and ease stress.
This Mental Health Awareness Week, we are learning more about the benefits of movement on our mental wellbeing with Sport England (tag).
What will you be doing this Mental Health Awareness Week to focus on your mental wellbeing?
A great option is to get moving – just 5-10 minutes of movement per day can help lift our mood, improve focus and ease stress.
A great way to boost your mood, improve focus and ease stress this Mental Health Awareness Week is through movement. Just 5-10 minutes a day is enough. Let’s get moving!
Sport England will be promoting some resources featured in Mind's safe and effective practice guidance and support package to help physical activity and sport provision be safe, inclusive and high quality.
These helpful resources don’t require you to be a mental health expert. They’re focused on small, everyday actions that anyone can do to provide a duty of care to the people around you. Partners are welcome to share and promote these resources during the week.
Spot Support Signpost breaks down how you can support someone who may be struggling with their mental health into three steps:
The self-care library is a free, interactive resource.
It is designed to be a guide of wellbeing, grounding and breathing activities that can be used to support your own mental wellbeing or to provide to others who may be struggling or wanting to explore self-care for themselves.
Self-care libraryCoaches, volunteers and leaders play an important role in supporting young people’s mental health.
Working with young people and the sector, Mind have created a wellbeing activity library. This resource provides you with activities to integrate mental health topics and conversations into physical activity sessions.
Toolkit 4 – Making physical activities inclusive to people experiencing mental health problemsCheck out the safe and effective practice guidance and support package for more information and resources to help improve physical activity and mental health support in sport and physical activity provision.