Engagement Patterns

Who takes part, and who does not 📊

Not everyone takes part in sport and physical activity at the same rate. **Engagement patterns** are the differences in participation between groups of people. Edexcel asks you to explain these patterns using **five personal factors**: **gender, age, socio-economic group, ethnicity and disability**. The key idea is that these differences come from **barriers** in society - cost, time, provision, representation and access - and that those barriers **can be reduced**.

The five personal factors 🗂️

These are the only five Edexcel names. Each can raise or lower how much a group takes part - always because of barriers and opportunities, never because of anything fixed about the group.

Match each factor to a barrier it can create 🔗

Which factor is this? 🔍

A leisure centre finds that older adults take part far less once a pool closes its quieter daytime sessions, which suited people who are retired. Which personal factor is most in play?

• Age - life stage and suitable provision shape participation
• Socio-economic group - the cost of the pool
• Disability - accessible facilities
• Gender - provision differences between groups

Why cost is such a barrier 💷

The **socio-economic** factor is about **money and time**. Sport can be expensive: club fees, kit, equipment, travel and coaching all add up, and some sports cost far more than others. People on lower incomes, or working long or irregular hours, may simply not be able to afford the cost or find the time - so participation falls. Reducing this barrier means **cheaper or free provision**, local facilities and subsidised schemes, so cost stops being the thing that decides who plays.

Which are Edexcel's personal factors? ✅

Edexcel names exactly five personal factors. Select the TWO options below that ARE on that list.

• Disability
• Ethnicity
• The weather on the day
• A team's recent run of form

Barrier, meet solution 🚧

Every barrier has a matching way to reduce it. The exam rewards you for pairing the two - naming the problem and the fix that opens the activity up.

How a scheme raises participation 🪜

An interactive activity.

What reduces a barrier? 🤝

Select the TWO actions that would genuinely reduce a barrier and raise participation.

• Offer subsidised sessions so cost is no longer a barrier
• Install accessible facilities and adapted equipment
• Raise membership fees to make a club feel more exclusive
• Do no promotion and hope people find the sessions

Why the gap exists 🌟

A group takes part in a sport much less than another group. What is the correct way to explain that pattern in the exam?

• Barriers in society - cost, provision, access or representation - which can be reduced
• The group is simply less able at that sport
• The group is just not interested and never will be
• There is no way to change the pattern

Raise the participation rate 🧭

An interactive activity.

The summary 📝

Edexcel names _____ personal factors that shape engagement patterns: gender, age, _____ group, ethnicity and disability. Differences in participation come from _____ such as cost, access and representation - not from anything fixed about a group. Making facilities _____ and offering _____ sessions are two ways to reduce those barriers.

Your turn ✍️

An interactive activity.

Five, not more 🎯

A quick grade-9 tip that saves marks. Edexcel names **exactly five** personal factors - gender, age, socio-economic group, ethnicity and disability. That is the whole list. Unlike some other boards, Edexcel does **not** add a separate list of "contributing factors". Role models, media coverage and accessibility are not extra factors to name - they are **ways to reduce the barriers** the five factors create. So in the exam, work through the **five**, and use role models and provision as your **solutions**, not as more factors to list.