'Lasting change happens when communities are trusted to lead' - new scheme launched to make Preston Move
A new city-wide partnership has launched in Preston hoping to promote active living, remove barriers and inspire residents to move more.
Preston is launching its first community-led movement to support people to be more active, creating conversations and co-creating opportunities to embed movement into everyday life with the people who know their communities best.
The initiative will prioritise the communities of Deepdale, Fishwick & Frenchwood, St Matthews, and Ribbleton where health inequalities are the greatest.
Organisers say it’s not about sport: it’s about everyday movement and it’s about working with communities to encourage those who do nothing, to do something; and those who do a little, to do a little bit more.
Partners include Preston City Council, Active Lancashire, GLL, Lancashire NHS ICB, Preston North End Community and Education Trust, and These Four Words, with the team collaborating with Preston’s voluntary and community sector leaders.
This initiative is supported by Sport England, with Preston being one of its Place Partnerships.
That approach is already taking root – as one Deepdale school is showing.
How has one Preston school already benefited from the initiative?
Preston Moves shares the story of a Preston headteacher who was running a successful supplementary school with a strong focus on faith-based educational excellence but felt that something was missing.
In 2020, the COVID-19 lockdown prompted Principal Khalid Ibrahim of Deepdale’s Quwwat-Ul-Islam Education Centre to reflect on how he and his school could contribute to building a healthier community.
The pandemic highlighted the strong link between physical activity and overall health, and he recognised that many adults in the community were inactive.
Khalid saw an opportunity to instil positive habits in young people that could improve their long-term wellbeing.
In response, the charity recruited a sports and fitness coordinator and introduced structured activity programmes, giving children both the time and space to be physically active.
By working with a range of external providers, the academy secured sports equipment and reconfigured its facilities to support activities such as table tennis, jujitsu, and free play. The charity has even expanded its offer to include boxing classes for parents.
Today, hundreds of children participate in physical activities each week while continuing to engage fully in their studies.
This initiative has led to a significant shift in mindset across the charity and the wider community. It has inspired community fundraising efforts towards a dedicated health and fitness hub. Khalid believes these changes are helping to develop children into more well-rounded individuals.
“It’s a change of mindset,” he says, “the focus is on ensuring children and young people are happy, active, and able to achieve their full potential”.
So what has been said about the launch of Preston Moves?
Councillor Zafar Coupland, Cabinet Member for Health and Wellbeing, and Preston Moves steering committee member, said: “We welcome Sport England’s support through its Place Partnership programme, which will help us address the challenges and barriers that prevent many people in Preston from being active.
“Through Preston Moves, we will continue working with Sport England and local partners to create more opportunities for children and young people, champion the importance of physical activity and wellbeing, and support our communities to become healthier and more active in ways that work for them.”
Adrian Leather, CEO of Active Lancashire, and Non-Executive Director of Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, added: “Preston Moves understands something that too many health initiatives miss - you cannot parachute activity into a community and expect it to stick. Lasting change happens when communities are trusted to lead; when people like Principal Khalid Ibrahim are given the resources and the room to act on what they already know.
“Preston Moves is part of a much larger shift we need to see away from top-down programmes and towards communities that are genuinely empowered to shape their own futures.”
Tina Pilkington, Place Relationship Manager at Sport England, said: “As one of our new Place Partners, we’ve seen first-hand the strong foundations that have been built over the past 12 months in Preston. With political, partner and community leadership support, we’ve seen a real shift in local collaboration, connectivity vision, setting a clear and shared vision for Preston Moves.
“We are therefore really excited to support and work alongside Preston colleagues over the next few years to witness positive impact in tackling the inequalities faced by Preston’s communities and residents by ensuring movement, sport and physical activity become a part of everyday life.”
How is the scheme tailored to Preston?
Civic and community leaders have set the direction for Preston Moves, asking it to focus on how Preston is supporting children and young people; whether the city’s community spaces make it easy for people to be active; how activity supports community health and care, and how the partnership can communicate about movement in a way that encourages, rather than alienates, people.
There’s work to be done - Sport England's Active Lives data shows 40% of Year 6 children in Preston are living with obesity, which means communities need to support parents and schools to ingrain good habits.
23% of adults in Preston are also classed as inactive.
The wards prioritised by the team are some of the most deprived areas in the UK but also the areas where Preston Moves believes the greatest change is possible.
How can I get involved?
If you're a community group, faith organisation or voluntary sector leader in Deepdale, Fishwick & Frenchwood, St Matthews, or Ribbleton, Preston Moves wants to hear from you.
Contact Programme Manager Amy Thompson-Spears at [email protected] to start the conversation.