CIMSPA CEO, Tara Dillon, reflects on the recent CIMSPA Conference
It’s been a month since I stood on stage at the CIMSPA Conference, looking out at a room full of people who make up the beating heart of our sector. Practitioners, employers, educators, leaders – the fantastic people who keep our communities moving, literally and figuratively.
The theme was Connecting the Dots, and it wasn’t just another strapline, it was a call to action. A moment for all of us to step back and say: we’re not waiting for permission anymore. We’re ready to lead.
A month later, that message still rings in my ears.
We’ve weathered some storms in recent years. The pandemic, the pressures on services, the cost-of-living crisis. Every challenge has tested us. But when I think back to that room, what struck me most wasn’t the scale of the problems, but the resilience of the people in it.
You’re still here. Still showing up. Still finding ways to help people live healthier, happier lives. That takes grit, creativity and heart, all things that the workforce of this sector has in abundance.
Facing reality and seeing the opportunity
At the same time as celebrating all that is great about our sector, what we highlighted at the conference was the need to be honest about the picture we’re working in.
Right now, the UK has record levels of economic inactivity. More than 9 million people are out of work, almost a third of those due to ill-health. These are people who could be contributing to our economy, to their communities, and to their own wellbeing.
Our NHS and social care system is under enormous strain. Every year, over £10 billion is spent on diabetes care, and another £5 billion on musculoskeletal conditions and numerous other conditions where physical activity can play a huge role in prevention and management.
We’re also seeing worrying signs when it comes to community cohesion, with communities becoming more polarised, divisions deepening, and inclusivity slipping further away.
Let’s stop on one number that should give us all cause to pause. More than 948,000 young people are not in employment, education or training. Think about that. That’s not just a statistic. It’s almost a million young lives at risk of being left behind, their entire lives impacted, their families lives impacted. Forever.
To give you a sense of scale, that’s more than the population of Liverpool, more than the combined populations of Bristol and Sheffield, and then full Wembley Stadiums.
That’s the scale of the challenge, and unless we act, it’s a challenge that will cost this country, socially, economically, in wellbeing and in human potential, for decades to come. Prevention of economic inactivity and ill-health, and greater inclusion are not nice to haves, they are urgent national priorities.
But let’s be more positive because we know that one of the few things that can still bring people together in this country is sport and activity. Whether it’s the Lionesses inspiring girls to play football, or a local walking group giving people a reason to get out of bed and connect, physical activity has a unique power.
It’s more than movement. It’s confidence. It’s opportunity. It’s belonging.
Our sector does so much more than open doors to gyms, community halls, sports clubs and leisure centres. We open doors to health, skills, employment, and to community life itself.
That’s something to be very proud of and why I wanted the conference to shine a light on real stories. It’s easy to talk in policy terms, but it’s people who make this sector what it is.
We heard from Sport for Confidence, using movement to help people living with long-term conditions. From 4Dlife, supporting those with Parkinson’s to keep moving. From Wellness Warriors, transforming lives in addiction recovery. And from Leicester City in the Community Active Women and Active Girls, who are breaking down barriers and building futures in communities that too often feel overlooked.
We also heard about the early impact of the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) Sport and Physical Activity Employability Academy including stories like Emma’s from Scotland, who juggled unemployment, childcare and training, to complete the Employability Academy and be offered a role by an employer – and who said at the end of it: “Yous have literally changed my life for the better.”
Each story was a reminder that the work of our sector is not theoretical, it’s human and it’s making a difference.
What the conference proved in abundance is that we don’t need more theories or endless pilots, we need to scale what already works, whether that’s improving health outcomes, bringing communities together or getting people back to learning and work.
It’s also important to remember that not every professional in our sector needs, or even wants, to be connected to health agendas. Working with people who are already active, who want to push their performance, or simply enjoy moving, that’s just as important. We mustn’t give that work any less value, but we do need to talk about it differently.
Speaking the language of impact
If there’s one theme that’s stuck with me since the conference, it’s the need to tell our story better.
Sometimes, we fall into the trap of thinking we have to solve every problem. We can’t, but what we can do is contribute in ways that no other sector can. Before we can convince others of our value, we need to be clear about who we are ourselves. Too often, our sector has suffered from an identity crisis, pulled in too many directions, trying to be everything to everyone. The conference was a call to stop the confusion and start speaking with one voice.
The challenge is we’re not always speaking the right language. We talk about activity minutes, about sessions delivered, about participation. Policymakers and funders want to hear about reduced absence, improved productivity, stronger communities, and lower long-term costs.
Will Watt’s State of Life session helped us all think about how we tell our story in a way that will resonates with decision-makers.
Having said that, if we wait for the NHS to come to us, we’ll be waiting a long time. They’re on a hamster wheel of urgent pressures. So we need to take solutions to them, show how we can reduce patient demand, improve recovery rate, reduce their own workforce absence rates, how we can support their own workforce.
Beyond policy paralysis
So what about government?
As I said at conference, if I asked those who attended for the one policy they’d like to see introduced immediately to transform our sector, I’d get hundreds of different answers.
We need to be realistic because it’s unlikely that government will single us out as the answer to the nation’s challenges. We can’t expect a blank cheque or unlimited support. There’s goodwill, but the full picture and potential of our sector isn’t always being clearly connected to the impact it can have across the economy.
Look at the promises around construction. Billions in planned investment without the workforce to deliver it. An ageing workforce, plus 7.7 million days lost through sickness absence in 2024. A sector that literally doesn’t have the people to do the work.
If only there were another sector, dedicated to building an active, healthy workforce?
That’s us, and it’s the message we need to keep making. Before you can demand delivery from sectors like construction, logistics or social care, you need to ensure the foundations are in place and the sport and physical activity sector is that foundation.
Policymakers, funders and commissions need to hear about the things they’re accountable for like productivity, attendance, wellbeing, reduced demand on services, and stronger communities. The conference showed us how we can evidence all of that.
That’s how we start to shift perceptions, not by waiting for ‘permission’, but by showing our value clearly and confidently.
Credibility that counts
That confidence starts with professional recognition, and if we want to be seen as foundational, we have to be foundational. We have to be recognised and respected in the same way teachers, nurses or social workers are.
You asked for it. You said give us a way for commissioners and the public to recognise our professionalism. That’s why CIMSPA has introduced professional status.
It’s more than a badge or a title. It’s a way of saying, I’m part of a skilled, credible, trusted profession.
If you’re a practitioner, use it with pride. Make it visible, on your website, on your social channels, wherever people find you.
If you’re an employer, build it into your recruitment and your culture, and hire for professional status, not just qualifications.
If you’re an educator, make it part of your offer to show learners that what they gain with you connects to a professional identity and a career path.
If you’re commissioning services, use professional status as your assurance of quality and impact.
This is how we build credibility. This is how we grow respect in health, education, local government and devolved administrations, and beyond.
Looking ahead
A month on, I’ve been thinking a lot about what happens next.
The truth is, we don’t need to wait for government, or for the NHS, or for anyone else to tell us our work matters. It already does.
We just need to connect the dots between health and employment, between education and wellbeing, between the incredible work happening locally and the systems that still don’t see it.
Every one of us has a part to play in that, and my call to you is simple:
- Champion professionalism.
- Show your impact.
- Build partnerships that last.
- And keep sharing your story, because it’s through your work that communities grow stronger.
Our workforce is the thread that runs through the nation’s health, economy and wellbeing.
The future we all want to see is one where physical activity isn’t an afterthought, but a national priority. Where we don’t have to fight to prove our worth, because our impact speaks for itself.
And the best part? We already have everything we need to make that happen.
We just need to keep connecting the dots.