On this page you'll find answers to the most frequently asked questions (FAQs) about Leading the Movement. Our ‘About us’ page also has lots more information about the programme and how leaders can benefit from it. 

We’ll continue to build on these FAQs as the programme evolves. If your question isn’t answered below, please email us at leadingthemovement@sportengland.org and we’ll get back to you.

What's Leading the Movement?

Leading the Movement is a national programme to support sector leaders at all levels to confidently and successfully drive the change needed to tackle inequalities in sport and physical activity and achieve the ambitions of Sport England’s Uniting the Movement strategy.

Who’s Leading the Movement for and who’s involved in shaping it?

Leading the Movement supports leaders who are committed to helping tackle the deep-rooted inequalities that exist within sport and physical activity.

Being a leader isn’t determined by job titles or seniority, it’s about wanting to make a difference, creating change and opening up opportunities for more people to live active lives. If you work to tackle these inequalities, or support the people that do, you’re part of Leading the Movement.

We’ve engaged experts and leaders to help us shape the programme. We’ll continue to do this by:

  • Receiving support from our Co-Design Group, who help shape the programme and check and challenge our approach.  
  • Showcasing the stories of sector leaders and teams working to tackle inequalities.
  • Co-designing new content and guidance with the support of our networks, sector leaders and wider partners.
  • Regularly seeking feedback and input from the leaders who engage in the programme and those who don’t.

What guidance and support is available?

There are several different aspects to our offer, some are for everyone and others are deliberately targeted at leaders and board members working within specific organisations and partnerships. You can download a summary from our homepage or read on for more information.

 Our universally accessible offer includes:

  • Free information, guidance, articles, stories, case studies, toolkits and other resources focusing on tackling inequalities, leadership fundamentals, leading change, systems change and systems leadership, place-based working, innovation and digital, networks and partnership working, wellbeing, professional development and much more. These are available on our website and will be added to throughout the programme.
  • Free access to thematic, monthly inclusion learning webinars. Find out about the next one, and wider partner events, on the events listing page.
  • Newsletters providing regular updates from the programme and sharing news from across the sector.
  • Connecting leaders to existing networks to ensure every leader can find peer-support.

 Our targeted offer includes:

  • A leadership community providing access to online events, discussions, networking opportunities and a Microsoft Teams channel. This offer's framed around topical issues and the challenges and opportunities faced by leaders who are working to tackling inequalities. See our self-nomination form for more information. 
  • Individual coaching providing a safe and confidential space to explore specific challenges and opportunities faced by leaders who are working to tackle inequalities. We carefully match leaders to expert coaches who’ll offer support to help them to reach their goals and act as a trusted guide on their leadership journey. Find out more on our individual coaching page. Our coaching offer is available to leaders and board members of Sport England system partner organisations.
  • Team coaching helping teams of between 7-12 people to develop their purpose, practice and presence. Our experienced coaches help teams come together to increase their effectiveness, connectedness, impact and ability to tackle inequalities. This is available to leaders and board members of Sport England system partner organisations. 
  • Individual mentoring, supporting the growth and development of both the mentor and mentee. Our mentoring offer is for board members and leaders of Sport England’s system partner organisations. It provides support, cross-cultural awareness and the exchange and exploration of challenges and ideas linked to tackling inequalities. See our mentoring page for find out more.
  • Group mentoring, for board members and leaders of Sport England’s system partner organisations, to work through common challenges or themes. Supported by experienced facilitators, group mentoring benefits those who prefer learning in group settings.
  • CEO to CEO mentoring provides CEOs from Sport England’s system partner organisations the opportunity to be a mentor and a mentee. Two CEOs will be matched against specific criteria to enable a rich exchange of experience, knowledge and skills and, as a starting point, identify a selection of potential topics of interest to explore together.
  • Place-based leadership courses are primarily aimed at leaders working in areas included in Sport England’s Place Expansion Partnership programme. They bring together the partners and communities in a place to learn more about systems leadership and co-designing new approaches to tackling local inequalities. These courses are by invite only. More information can be found on our place-based leadership pages.
  • National leadership courses are designed to support and build confidence among leaders working in councils, Active Partnerships, national governing bodies, charities, trusts and voluntary and community sector organisations who lead on strategic physical activity in their area or organisation. Courses focus on developing systems leadership skills and approaches and helping attendees to interact better with service areas beyond sport and physical activity. See our 'National leadership course' page to find out more.

What commitment is required to participate and is there a cost involved?

Leading the Movement is a Sport England programme. All aspects of the programme are fully funded by the National Lottery and therefore available to participants without charge. 

Some aspects of our offer are self-service and can be accessed whenever works for you. Others require you to make a commitment to attend virtual or face-to-face sessions. All participants are asked to commit to the time and work required to be successful and to take part fully in the evaluation of the programme. The time commitments include:

  • Individual coaching - This involves a 25-minute welcome and matching session, up to five x 60-minute coaching sessions over a four-to-six-month period and a 30-minute check-in session three months after your coaching has finished. All sessions are delivered virtually every three-to-four weeks.
  • Team coaching - This involves a two-hour kick off session, three x three-hour team coaching sessions, a two-hour reflection session and individual coaching and progress check-ins for the team leader. It takes place over a four-to-six-month period. Sessions are delivered through a blend of virtual and face-to-face delivery. 
  • Individual mentoring - This involves a 25-minute welcome and matching session, between three-five mentoring sessions of up to 60 minutes per session over a three-month period and a 90-minute reflection session at the end of your mentoring. All sessions will be delivered virtually every three to four weeks.
  • Group mentoring - This involves a 25-minute welcome and matching session, three x two-hour sessions with your mentor and fellow mentees.
  • CEO to CEO mentoring - This involves a 20-minute welcome and matching session, a key skills video and five mentoring sessions up to 60-minutes over a three-month period. During the mentoring there will also be a check in session with the team.
  • Place-based leadership courses - A two-day programme delivered face-to-face at a local venue in each Place Expansion Partnership area. Prior to each programme, planning time is allocated between the local place co-ordination team and the facilitators.
  • National leadership courses - A two-and-a-half-day residential programme delivered face-to-face at venues across the country.

How do I know which aspects of the programme myself, or my organisation, is eligible for?

Our offer, and each corresponding website page, clarifies who’s eligible for each aspect of the programme. If you’re still unsure, please contact us at leadingthemovement@sportengland.org. 

Can I take part in coaching or mentoring if I’m not a system partner?

Unfortunately not. We understand it might be disappointing to not have access to all elements of the programme. As we evolve, we’ll notify you of any unique opportunities for non-system partner involvement. In the meantime, we encourage you to access our ‘open to all’ offer and consider joining the leadership community for more bespoke guidance, networking and learning opportunities.

Can I participate in multiple parts of the programme?

Yes, if you’re eligible, you can participate in multiple parts of the programme at the same time. For example, you can participate in the leadership community, coaching offer and national leadership programme. However, you can only participate in one of the coaching or mentoring offers every 12 months. If we’re oversubscribed, priority will be given to those who haven't received support from the programme previously. Please consider which part of the programme would best fit your needs.

What happens if there isn’t any space for me on one of the targeted offers?

In cases where the offer is oversubscribed, we have an active waiting list to ensure as many people can take up the offers as possible. A member of the Leading the Movement team will be in contact with you to ensure you’re aware of any changes and the future opportunities that might be available to you.

What if I don’t (yet) consider myself to be a leader, what support is available to me?

Our universally accessible offer is for everyone.

We see a leader as someone working to make a difference, create change and open up opportunities for more people to live active lives. It isn’t centred on job titles or seniority. If you’re eligible, you can access our targeted offers at any point of your leadership journey. You can also get inspiration from our ‘your stories’ section, where we share the advice, challenges and moments of genius from leaders working to tackle inequalities and connect with like-minded people through our Leadership Community.

I’m not sure what some of the terminology on the website means, is a glossary of terms available?

We try to ensure all the content on our website is written in a way that’s easy for everyone to understand. However, we’ve developed a handy Glossary of terms  just in case you need clarity on any of the key terms.

How long will Leading the Movement run for?

Leading the Movement is a Sport England programme funded by The National Lottery. Funding for the programme has been secured until 31st March 2029. The impact and future of the programme will be reviewed regularly throughout this period.   

How does Leading the Movement support diverse leaders?

Leading the Movement is committed to supporting and celebrating the achievements of a diverse range of leaders at all stages of their leadership journey.

We welcome engagement from leaders with lived experience including those from groups and communities that are traditionally under-represented in leadership and board roles in our sector including; disabled people and those with a long-term health condition, women, non-binary people, people from culturally, ethnically and religiously diverse backgrounds, people under the age of 45, people with a state school education, people who haven’t been to university, people from a lower socio-economic background and members of the LGBTQ+ community.

Can I apply to be mentor, facilitator, or co-facilitator?

Please see our mentoring page for more information on the requirements and commitments of becoming a mentor. 

We already have a group of facilitators and co-facilitators to support our place-based leadership and national leadership courses. We may periodically look to recruit more. If you have experience of working in places to create change through systems leadership and applying place-based principles, please regularly check our 'place-based support page' where we’ll post any upcoming opportunities.

How does Leading the Movement ensure its offer is accessible?

We work hard to ensure our offer is fully accessible. Our website content is designed to be easy to read, easy to use and aims to meet recognised accessibility guidelines (WCAG 2.2 AA). Our stakeholder events, coaching, mentoring and leadership training offers can be tailored to meet the needs of all participants to ensure everyone can access them.

You can view our accessibility statement here. If you’ve got any concerns or would like to discuss your needs with us, please email us leadingthemovement@sportengland.org.

Can I share events, resources and recommend guidance, or put forward case studies? 

Resources and events - If you know of any trusted resources, guidance or free events that would help other leaders that are working to tackle inequalities in sport and physical activity, please get in touch and tell us about them. We may be able to signpost people to them on our website, through our newsletters, or share them with our leadership community. 

Case studies - We’re always looking to find out more about how sector leaders, their teams and organisations are working to tackle inequalities. If you have a story or case study you’d like to share with us, please see our 'Your stories’ page for more information.

Who do I contact for technical support with this website?

If you encounter any issues with our website, please email us at leadingthemovement@sportengland.org.

How do I keep track of the self-nomination or evaluation forms I’ve completed?

There’s a number of different forms associated with accessing our offer, you may come across some similar questions as you work through them for each aspect of the programme that you access. We encourage you to keep a log of the forms you’ve completed or email us if you’re unsure leadingthemovement@sportengland.org.

Is there an evaluation of Leading the Movement?

Independent evaluators, CFE Research, are undertaking an evaluation of Leading the Movement. The evaluation will explore what is and isn’t working well about the programme, in addition to the programme’s impacts. All programme participants will be invited to complete a survey shortly after joining the programme and at various points throughout their involvement to measure change. They may also be invited to take part in an interview or case study to share their feedback in more detail. This valued insight will help us to improve the programme moving forward.

What happens to my data?

Sport England respects your privacy and are committed to protecting your personal data. Our Privacy statement explains how we’ll do this. 

How do I comment, give feedback or send a compliment?

If you’d like to comment on any of our resources or send us a compliment about your experience with Leading the Movement, please email us at leadingthemovement@sportengland.org. You can also tag Sport England into any LinkedIn or social posts and use #LeadingtheMovement.

We’re actively seeking feedback and with our Co-Design Group are committed to reviewing our offer to ensure we are best supporting leaders to tackle inequalities. Please contact us on leadingthemovement@sportengland.org if you’d like to discuss this further. Sharing your views through the evaluation surveys is also a great way to ensure that you help to shape the programme.

How do I make a complaint?

You can ask us to consider a complaint if you feel:

  • We've provided poor customer service or treated you unfairly.
  • We've failed to follow one of our procedures or policies.
  • We've not reached a decision properly.
  • We haven't handled a request for information in accordance with the terms of the Freedom of Information Act 2000. 

Sport England’s complaints procedure provides more details.

Download here

We may not always be able to investigate the details of your complaint if:

  • You want to make it anonymously.
  • You wish to disagree with our published criteria or policies.
  • It’s about an organisation that’s not Sport England or a supplier of the Leading the Movement programme. 

To make a complaint, please email us at leadingthemovement@sportengland.org. 

Didn’t find an answer to your question? Please email us with any further queries.

Stay up-to-date

You can find out exactly how we'll look after your personal data, but rest assured we’ll only use it to make sure you receive our newsletter, to understand how you interact with our newsletter, and to provide administrative information about our newsletter.