“So, Ben, are those the significant milestones you’re referring to?” I hear you ask, and of course they’re significant! But there’s still more to do to support people’s mental health through sport, physical activity and movement.
Back in 2017, Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson's Duty of Care report contained clear recommendations including:
- the introduction of the sector-standard mental health training for coaches and physical activity professionals
- the need by national governing bodies (NGBs) to include mental health issues in the content of coaching and other sport-related courses, which filtered down to clubs.
Recently we’ve done just that and CIMSPA’s Coach and Swimming Teacher professional standards now include a section on mental health awareness with knowledge points on:
- mental health definitions
- professional boundaries
- providing support to people with mental health problems
- the importance of self-care.
Plus did you know the sport and physical activity sector now has a dedicated professional standard for working with people with mental health conditions?
This means NGBs and training providers can benchmark qualifications and training when delivering programmes specifically aimed at people with mental health problems.
Championing activity and wellbeing
This is hugely significant because, believe it or not, the sport and physical activity sector is leading the way!
And I'm not being biased as, out the 322 organisations surveyed in CIMSPA’s 2025 Workforce Development Tool, nearly half (48%) identified mental health awareness as a specialised skill they will need in the next 12–24 months.
Oh, and we haven’t stopped there!
We’ve also created licensed mental health content for NGBs and for the Sport England system partners to use in their training and qualifications for free!
Nowadays I’m working with NGBs to embed this content into their coach education pathways, with British Rowing leading the way.
Their head of qualifications and training development, Rachel Hooper, mentioned that our licensed content has been invaluable in ensuring they use modern and credible information to support coaches.
“Completed it, mate?” Well, not quite because there’s still a long way to go to truly embed mental health across sport and physical activity.
Getting in touch
Too many people are battling with their mental health, often in silence, but we know physical activity can be a powerful tool for both preventing and managing mental health problems.
So, this Mental Health Awareness Week I’m inviting you to take action and to be part of the journey, because great mental health care isn’t just clinical; it’s human.
It’s the sports coach who asks, “is everything ok?” when you miss a session or the fitness instructor who checks how they can support you before your first exercise class, but mental wellbeing is also about building a supportive and friendly environment where people can move and thrive.
So if you’re unsure where to start, that's what we’re here for! Let’s talk, let’s start the conversation and let’s fight for mental health for the next 10 years and beyond.
You can reach us by email, online or follow us on LinkedIn. We look forward to hearing from you.
