Including children in sports through school–club collaboration
Including children in sports through school–club collaboration
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In Norway, all children have a right to participate in sports – regardless of their family’s income, background, or level of engagement.
Idrettshoder (literally Sports Minds) works to ensure this right. Idrettshoder has developed and tested a collaborative model for how primary schools and their local sports clubs can partner to give every child access to free, high-quality physical activity during after-school hours. The aim is to guide children into organised sports.
Sports are a vital part of childhood. Sports promote confidence, social connection, and lifelong health. Yet, too many children are left out due to economic or structural barriers.
A systems change initiative
Idrettshoder is a systems change initiative. Idrettshoder develops practical and scalable solutions to recruit and include more children in organised sports. The key to our approach is a close partnership between schools and their local sports club. .
By Norwegian law, every primary school offers an after-school program (SFO/AKS) to all pupils from year 1 to 4 (ages 6-10). SFO/AKS provides supervision, care, and a variety of play, culture and leisure activities before and after teaching hours.
Integrating free sports activities into the school day removes barriers such as cost, equipment requirements , and need for parental involvement. These are often exclusionary factors for children from low-income families.
At the same time, Idrettshoder works to tackle the barriers - financial, organisational and systemic - that can cause exclusion from sports.
At the same time, Idrettshoder works to tackle the barriers - financial, organisational and systemic - that can cause exclusion from sports.
How our model works
How our model works
In Idrettshoder schools and sports clubs forge close partnerships to offer free, high-quality physical activity for all pupils grades 1 to 4 (6-10 years) during school hours. Qualified personnel are in charge of the activities, which are play-based and promote physical literacy.
All participating sports clubs pledge to ensure that children who wish to join organised training/teams, can easily do so - regardless of economic background. Activites are free of charge, and all necessary equipment can be borrowed.
Results
Results
For the 2025/2026 school-year, Idrettshoder consists of ten primary schools and seven sports clubs in Oslo and Tønsberg, Norway.
More than 1200 children participate in free sports activities every week. 50 percent of them are girls.
Participating sports clubs experience increased recruitment. For example, in 2021, Grüner Ishockey had 70 participants in their elementary hockey school. Four years later the number was 370.
Step-by-step guide
Step-by-step guide
Over the past five years, we have gathered insights and practical experience into the Idrettshoder Handbook, a a practical guide for schools and sports clubs on how to collaborate to include more children in organised sports.
The handbook gives a step-by-step guide to how to establish and develop Idrettshoder.
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