More schools, more festivals, more children playing hockey: Year one of the National Hockey Fund

More schools, more festivals, more children playing hockey: Year one of the National Hockey Fund for State Schools 

When we researched our new membership model with the hockey community, we asked them what they wanted it to focus on and deliver for them and the game. Getting state school children into hockey came out on top, so we developed the National Hockey Fund for State Schools. Here is what year one has meant for children, teachers and clubs, and where the fund goes next. 

Why we started 

We set out to make hockey open to every child, whatever their background, by building a bridge between state schools and local clubs. This is why we set up the National Hockey Fund for State Schools to achieve this aim. 

We said we would start with a pilot, in partnership with the Youth Sport Trust, to show how hockey provision in schools could grow. Year one was that pilot. We worked with 28 School Games Organisers (SGOs), local people who know their schools well, to bring hockey systematically back into the School Games. Teachers were trained, Young Leaders stepped up, and 35 clubs supported the activity and then began welcoming children from their local schools. 

Visibility on its own does not grow the game. We also need more people who have had the chance to try hockey, and for many children, it is school that provides that chance. 

What happened 

Where we invested, far more children picked up a stick. Festivals, where several schools come together for a day of hockey, usually a mix of skill stations or small-sided games grew by 119% and participation by 115%. 105 festivals were delivered to 6,841 pupils, and 168 schools joined a festival for the first time, an 86% increase on the year before. 

Outside those areas, we made our refreshed School Games offer available to every SGO, and after several years of falling participation, we have stopped the decline. Nationally, hockey festivals grew by 4% and participation by 2% compared to the year before. So whilst there is still a lot more work to do to roll out the investment across other areas of the country, the signs are promising. Especially bearing in mind that other sports saw an average fall of 7% in festivals and 6% in participation over the course of the 25-26 school year. 

Stories from across the SGO areas 

Here are a few of the stories from the 28 areas. The feedback from School Games Organisers and clubs has been positive across the board, and these give a feel for it. 

In Stourport, more than 270 pupils received specialist coaching across 94 sessions, during curriculum time, so every child could join in. For some it was their first time playing hockey. In Barnsley, one school took 50 pupils to a festival, and one of them told us it was the best day they'd had all year. 

In Enfield, a teacher told us the children had loved hockey in PE, and that the videos and resource cards from the teacher training had helped staff feel more confident. The school borrowed our equipment and now plans to buy its own. In Herne Bay, 14 pupils with Special Educational Needs or Disabilities (SEND) from four schools had a first, positive experience of hockey in a community club setting, at a festival with a really positive atmosphere. 

The people who made it happen 

174 teachers came to our face-to-face workshops. All of them said they felt more confident to deliver sessions, and 98% said they will use the Junior Hockey Framework resources. The training scored 84 on Net Promoter Score, a measure of how likely people are to recommend it. 84 is a high score by industry benchmarks. 

We also trained 833 Young Leaders to help run festivals, and they are now part of the wider School Games offer. 

From the school hall to the club 

A good experience of hockey at school is just the start, we want to then make sure interest in the sport is maintained and opportunities to continue to play are accessible. Examples of this are starting to come to life, and Sheffield shows how the pieces can fit together. 13 schools took part and every school sent at least one member of staff to teacher training. One teacher told us it was immediately usable, and that less active pupils stayed engaged because the games felt achievable. Alongside that, Sheffield University Bankers Hockey Club coached 718 pupils across 11 schools for at least six weeks each, then invited them to a club day and free summer camps. 43 of those children have now joined the club. The club describes its approach in five words: discover, try, enjoy, return, belong. 

In Rotherham, 59 new junior members joined Rotherham Hockey Club for the 2025/26 season. In Bognor Regis, Chichester Hockey Club turned up at events week after week, and that familiarity and trust made the step into a club feel much smaller. 

What we are still learning 

We want to be honest about where there is more to do. Some projects have found their feet faster than others, and the SGO relationship has been a big part of that. Where we have seen challenges, we are working closely with the Youth Sport Trust to understand them and find solutions, because we know the fund only works if local partners feel it is working for them too. 

Participation from pupils from low-income communities grew by 8% in the investment areas (2% nationally), and pupils with SEND by 4% (1% nationally). Participation from pupils from ethnically diverse communities grew by 2%, against 3% nationally. That is a gap we want to close, and it shaped where we chose our year two areas. At our festivals, 29% of children were from ethnically diverse communities, 23% from low-income households and 14% had SEND. 

We also did not reach as many teachers as we hoped. But the teachers who came were clear about the value, so for year two we are going to where teachers already gather, at pre-organised events, so more of them can benefit. 

Year two: what happens next 

The pilot set out to show that hockey in state schools can grow. In the areas we invested in, it did, and year two builds on that. 

For 2026/27, the fund grows from 28 to 60 SGO areas, so the Junior Hockey Framework and our secondary pathways can reach more young people. Clubs are part of that growth: 38 more clubs join the 35 that built school links in year one. 

 
The clubs involved 

If your club is on this list, thank you. If you are new this year, welcome. 

If you are a club looking to strengthen your school links, or a teacher who wants to use the new resources, the Junior Hockey Framework is the place to start. To keep up with the project as it grows, follow the National Hockey Fund for State Schools page, where we will share updates.