Street Sport in Hastings: Building Confidence, Community and Opportunity

The Active Hastings Street Sport programme is a youth-focused, community-led initiative delivering free, accessible multi-sport sessions directly within neighbourhoods across Hastings and St Leonards on Sea. Funded by Hastings Borough Council, Safer Hastings Partnership, East Sussex County Council Public Health, Hastings and St Leonards Primary Care Network, and Balfour Beatty, the programme brings sport and positive engagement directly to young people on their doorstep.

Sessions are currently delivered on the Broomgrove estate, Farley Bank, Downs Farm, and Hollington, providing consistent, visible, and trusted youth provision in areas where opportunities can often be limited.

Understanding the Local Context

The neighbourhoods where Street Sport operates are among the most deprived in the borough, and rank among some of the most deprived nationally.

Young people growing up in these areas often face a range of overlapping challenges, including:

• Limited access to affordable activities and safe recreational spaces
• Higher levels of anti-social behaviour and community safety concerns
• Financial pressures within households
• Barriers to transport and wider opportunities
• Lower engagement with traditional education or structured provision.

These factors can significantly impact physical activity levels, confidence, wellbeing, and future opportunities. In this context, consistent, free, and local provision is not just beneficial, it is essential.

Programme Overview

At its core, Street Sport is about removing barriers and putting young people first. Using a multi-sport, youth-led approach grounded in the ‘Play Their Way’ ethos, sessions are shaped by the interests, needs, and voices of the young people who attend.

Rather than expecting children to travel, pay, or conform to structured club environments, the programme meets them where they are both physically and socially.

The Power of Consistency

A defining strength of the programme is its long-term, consistent presence in the community.

• Sessions run weekly, in the same locations
• Delivered by familiar, consistent staff teams
• Established over many years of continuous delivery.

This reliability is crucial. For many young people, Street Sport is not a short-term project or time-limited intervention, it is something they can depend on.

The consistent staffing allows strong, meaningful relationships to develop. Coaches become trusted adults, not just session leaders. Over time, this trust creates an environment where young people feel safe, understood, and valued.

This continuity also benefits parents and carers, who grow confident in the programme and the people delivering it. The result is a deeply embedded, community-trusted provision that young people know will still be there next week and the week after that.

Reach and Engagement (2025/26)

During 2025/26, the programme has demonstrated significant reach and sustained engagement, with 189 individual young people taking part and 1093 total attendances across sessions. 51% of the attendees live within neighbourhoods that fall within the 1% most deprived nationally.

Beyond weekly delivery, young people are actively supported to access wider opportunities. Young people are supported to attend additional activities, with practical help such as taxi provision enabling them to access sessions like the Urban Football project. Many also go on to attend Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) sessions with the team. This joined-up approach ensures participation in Street Sport becomes a gateway to broader experiences, rather than a standalone intervention.

 

Why Young People Attend

While enjoyment is central, the reasons young people attend are often more complex. Some are experiencing challenges in school, including suspensions or disengagement. Others face barriers such as cost, transport, or low confidence that prevent them from accessing traditional sports clubs. Street Sport removes these obstacles. It offers a space where participation is informal, expectations are flexible, and everyone is welcome particularly those who might otherwise be excluded.

 

A Doorstep, Child-Led Approach

The doorstep delivery model has proven particularly effective, especially for:

• Children with Special Educational Needs (SEN)
• Home-educated young people
• Those who may feel anxious in structured environments.
   

Sessions are informal, inclusive, and adaptable. Young people influence activities, request games, and shape the atmosphere. This sense of ownership fosters deeper engagement and sustained attendance.

 

Building Confidence and Aspirations

One of the most significant outcomes of the programme is the growth in confidence among participants. Many young people who initially arrive hesitant or disengaged begin to take part more actively, try new sports, and build friendships. Exposure to a variety of activities helps broaden their horizons. Some go on to join sports clubs or take part more confidently in school activities, often returning to sessions and taking pride in sharing their achievements with coaches. These small but meaningful steps often mark a shift toward more positive self-identity and aspiration.

 

Youth Leadership and Volunteering

A standout feature of the programme is the involvement of young volunteers. Older participants are encouraged to take on volunteer roles, giving them opportunities to develop leadership and communication skills, and create a sense of responsibility and purpose.

These young leaders naturally evolve into role models and mentors, strengthening relationships across age groups and creating a supportive, peer-led environment.

Importantly, the programme demonstrates a clear pathway for progression. One former participant progressed into a volunteer role and has since become a member of staff, highlighting the long-term impact of sustained engagement and the opportunities created through the programme.

 

Creating Safe, Trusted Spaces

Street Sport sessions provide a safe and welcoming environment where young people can be themselves without judgement, try new activities without fear of failure and open up and build trusting relationships with coaches.

Parents and carers increasingly trust the sessions, knowing their children are supervised in a positive setting. For some families, this is the only context in which children are allowed to access local outdoor spaces.

 

Strengthening Communities

The programme has a visible impact beyond individual participants. Friendships form across schools and neighbourhoods, strengthening community cohesion; young people who might otherwise be ‘hanging around’ are engaged in structured, positive activity; and a regular presence helps improve and maintain local environments. Through strong partnerships with local services, the also programme contributes to addressing issues such as litter, graffiti, and overgrowth, as well as advocating for safer, better-maintained community spaces (lighting, surfaces, facilities).

 

Reducing Risky Behaviours

By providing consistent, engaging alternatives, Street Sport plays a key role in reducing anti-social behaviour; diverting young people from potentially harmful activities; and encouraging respect, for peers, coaches, and the community. Participants learn social skills organically through play: teamwork, communication, and mutual respect.

 

Positive Engagement with Services

The programme acts as a bridge between young people and local services. Through trusted relationships with coaches and consistent presence in communities, barriers to engagement are lowered. Young people who may otherwise be disengaged become more open to support services, health and wellbeing conversations, and wider opportunities within the community.

 

A Chance to Be Children

At its simplest, and perhaps most powerful, the programme gives young people something many lack: the freedom to just be children.

From structured sports to spontaneous playground games (often by popular demand), sessions are filled with energy, laughter, and creativity.

 

Stakeholder Perspective

John Whittington, Community Safety Manager at Hastings Borough Council, said:

“The Active Hastings Street Sport programme is making a real difference in some of our most challenged communities. By providing consistent, free and accessible activities right on young people’s doorsteps, it is helping to build confidence, reduce anti-social behaviour and create stronger, safer neighbourhoods.

“What is particularly impressive is the long-term commitment of the team and the trust they have built with young people and families over many years. This is exactly the kind of partnership working that delivers meaningful, lasting impact.”

 

Grace Cudmore, Active Hastings Community Worker, added:

“What makes Street Sport special is the relationships we build week in, week out. The young people know us, trust us, and feel comfortable being themselves.

“We see huge changes in confidence over time, young people who might not engage anywhere else start to take part, make friends, and try new things. For many, it’s more than just a session, it’s something they rely on and look forward to every week.”

 

Conclusion

The Active Hastings Street Sport programme demonstrates how accessible, youth-led provision in areas of deprivation can create meaningful, lasting impact.

Its consistency, long-term commitment, and trusted relationships set it apart, transforming it from a simple activity programme into a reliable part of young people’s lives.

By meeting young people where they are, particularly in communities facing significant challenges, valuing their voices, and showing up week after week, the programme:

• Builds confidence and resilience
• Strengthens communities
• Reduces risk and promotes positive choices
• Creates pathways into leadership and employment
• Connects young people to wider opportunities
• Encourages lifelong engagement with physical activity.
   

It is not just about sport - it is about connection, opportunity, trust, and belonging.

 

Visit our website listing page, for details on all our Street Sport sessions.