New collaboration with the Sweaty Betty Foundation to get girls active 

The Sweaty Betty Foundation – a charity aiming to empower girls to get active and stay active for life – launched the Change Starts in the Changing Room campaign in 2025 after finding 1 in 3 girls had missed a PE lesson due to the changing room experience*. 

Following a successful one-year pilot in London, we’re now committing £89,000 scale up the campaign in London, the South East and West Midlands.

Volunteer It Yourself (VIY) will act as the campaign's delivery partner, supporting schools through workshops, bringing in trade partners including Dulux, and delivering the changing-room transformations. Their involvement also creates meaningful opportunities for young people who are Not in Education, Employment or Training (NEET), or at risk of becoming NEET, to gain hands-on work experience and a City & Guilds qualification through the process.

Sport England’s Active Lives Children and Young People Survey (2025) found boys are still more likely to be active than girls. Change Starts in the Changing Room addresses this by breaking down a common barrier that prevents girls from participating in PE lessons – inadequate changing facilities. 

Listening to girls is at the heart of this campaign, which invites them to redesign their changing rooms into spaces where they feel confident, comfortable and encouraged to move more. Harris Academy Bermondsey were the winners of the campaign’s pilot year, receiving £10,000 to bring their ideas to life. 

Donna Donnelly, Head of PE at Harris Academy Bermondsey said:

“Being part of Change Starts in the Changing Room has been so powerful because it’s girls themselves driving the change; they know better than anyone what makes them feel comfortable and confident. But this isn't just about a changing room, it's about showing our girls that their voice matters.”

Using the charities’ networks, schools in London, the South East and West Midlands will be invited to put together a team of girls to redesign their changing rooms. The designs will be presented at a panel event later this year, where 10 schools will receive funding to make their reimagined spaces a reality. 

Helen Killingley, Head of Funding at the London Marathon Foundation, said:

“Our vision is to inspire activity for those who face the greatest barriers to being active, and Change Starts in the Changing Room does exactly that.

“We’re excited to work with the Sweaty Betty Foundation over the coming year to empower girls to shape the spaces they use – unlocking their confidence, their voice and their access to the physical, emotional and social benefits that come from being active.” 

Sarah Drake-Pullin, Fundraising Manager at the Sweaty Betty Foundation, said:

“Change doesn’t stop with the changing room. Girls' voices are at the heart of this work, helping us identify and break down the barriers that stop girls getting active. Our recommendations from the pilot year, cited in the Department for Culture, Media and Sport's Game On report, are now shaping what changing facilities look like for girls across the country.

“Now, in collaboration with the London Marathon Foundation, we can take that same model to more schools and ensure more girls have the tools, confidence and platform to influence the decisions that affect them.”

Hannah Denny, Communications & Partnerships Director at VIY, said:

“Since 2011, we’ve engaged young people in hands-on vocational projects, transforming schools, grassroots sports clubs and community spaces to make them more inclusive for underrepresented groups. We’re incredibly excited to be continuing and growing this work with the Sweaty Betty Foundation and London Marathon Foundation, helping empower girls to design and deliver the changes they want to make in their world – whilst gaining vital hands-on skills, experience and qualifications into the world of construction that could well influence their future career."

*Survey of 1,000 secondary school girls aged 10 to 15 years old conducted by 3Gem on behalf of The Sweaty Betty Foundation between 21 -26 February 2025 published in Change Starts in the Changing Room whitepaper.