Fishing For Families 2025

Context, Intent and Target Group

Background Information

I've now run Fishing For Families for 2 years in Stafford & Stone and this is an update to the Fishing for Families case study from July 2024.

My son started fishing in 2023 and I was amazed by the positive changes to his mental health from his engagement in fishing and I thought there are a lot of children in Stafford & Stone who could benefit in just the same way as my son.

I approached the Canal & River Trust (CRT) to develop a sustainable project that we could run with schools, which resulted in the first Fishing For Families case study.

In that first year 20% of the participants from the introductory sessions went on to take up fishing regularly. I thought that was good, but there were aspects of the project I thought could be improved and I’m really pleased to say those changes have had a big impact.

The target group of pupils was quite diverse and we left it with the schools to choose who they thought would benefit the most from the project.

However we did recommend pupils such as those with autism, ADHD or who struggled with confidence or who didn’t really engage with school or extra-curricular clubs. We also talked to schools about including children who have challenging relationships with their parents or carers and who would benefit from spending time together.

What was the aim of work?

The project had 3 clear objectives:

1. To encourage more children to take up a regular fishing habit

2. For families to spend more quality time together through fishing 

and as a result of this:

3. To improve children’s mental health.

Which outcome(s) did it focus on?

• 2. To ensure all competition has a clear intent and creates positive experiences based on the motivation, competence and confidence of the young people that need our support the most
• 5. To advocate and engage key stakeholders on the value of School Games to support local provision and improve the experience for young people and their families

Which expectation(s) did it meet?

• Using the development plan to show how community connections will be made for young people to continue their participation.
• Using the events calendar to upload a termly offer of events and activities with a clear intent, updated once each term.
• Using local insight and youth engagement to identify young people and schools that would most benefit from a targeted School Games offer.
• Developing a case study to show where you have made the most impact against local priorities, and through effective storytelling share your learning locally and nationally.
• Developing strategies to improve knowledge and understanding of the School Games for key stakeholders.
• Work with schools to maintain and grow their active engagement in School Games.
• Planning for and increasing delivery of 60 active minutes for every child.
• Provide an offer of professional development and communication for all schools to increase their understanding and increase their provision of 60 active minutes.

Community links

• Community sports clubs
• Leisure providers
• SEND leads / SENCO

Intent

The intent was to engage families in a sustained project that would support them to make real changes and improvements in theirs and their children's lives through fishing. By partnering with the CRT Let's Fish programme I was able to develop a bespoke project that used all the components of Let's Fish to create lasting engagement. 

Target group

• Behavioural Challenges
• Primary Schools
• Targeted Groups of Young People

Aligns to Schools Games Intents of:

• Increase regular participation and motivation
• Engage new/target groups of young people (tackling inequalities)

Implementation

The project was planned carefully to start with schools doing the organising, but then putting the onus onto the families to keep participating with school support in the background. We wanted the families to see it as a 'family' activity, not a 'school' activity as early as possible. 

School Staff CPD Day

Most school staff have never been fishing and don't have any idea of what fishing entails, so the CPD Day is extremely important in enabling them to identify suitable children and families for the project. The day starts with presentations from CRT about the background of Let's Fish and from myself about the details of the project and a case study of how the project can make a difference to an individual child. Then the staff have 1.5 hours individual fishing coaching from a qualified Let's Fish coach. After lunch there is a mini competition, which very quickly gets extremely competitive! 

Introductory Session 1

Teachers then choose their families and we invite children and parents to the Introductory Session 1. Each participant gets 1 hour 1-1 coaching from a qualified angling coach and a 1 hour group workshop covering fish ID, mixing ground bait, finding the depth of water and tying some basic knots.

Introductory Session 2

Families then get the option to sign up to Introductory Session 2 and the rest of the project. On Session 2, CRT provide each participant with a starter fishing set, including a pole, nets and other tackle and teach them how to assemble it. The families then have an hour to fish independently, but with coaches on the bank to support if needed. This was the major improvement since 2024 and key to the families continuing to participate as the adults then felt confident enough to go fishing independently. The fishing kit was then the family’s to keep on the basis that they completed the project.

Regional Celebrations

The next stage was attending a regional celebration - these are local competitions, ideal for beginners with Let’s Fish coaches on the bank to support where needed. CRT run 30+ regional celebrations across the country each year.

The project looked slightly different in different areas to meet local need - for example CRT ran a schools only celebration for the Stoke schools as many of those families struggle to travel outside of the area, whereas Stafford & Stone and South Staffs schools were invited to the public regional celebrations at Barlaston.

Extra opportunities

Families were signposted to the regular Let's Fish programme and to local clubs to continue fishing themselves. Some of the schools entered teams into the Staffs/Shropshire regional celebration league. 

National Celebration of Young People and Fishing

The final stage of the project was to attend the National Celebration of Young People and Fishing, on the Shropshire Union Canal in September. This year over 450 young people took part. It is a brilliant event with individual and team competitions and most importantly the personal challenge of catching a gudgeon and winning a Gudgeon Mug.

Impact

This year we’ve had over 100 children from Stafford & Stone, South Staffs, Stoke-on-Trent, Shrewsbury and Newcastle take part in session 1 and over 60 have gone on to complete the project. It's been great to see many of the children who did FFF in 2024 continue in 2025. 

I've conducted a survey of the families who have completed the project in 2024 or 2025 and the results are beyond what I’d hoped for. I knew from talking to families on the bank that FFF had been hugely beneficial to individuals, but to see the difference it has made across the whole cohort is fantastic.

I had 44 responses from a possible 68 families who had completed the project in 2024, 2025 or both.

80% of participants feel more confident

68% feel more relaxed

52% feel happier

52% have better family relationships

48% feel less stressed

36% feel better able to focus

96% reported at least 1 mental health benefit

88% reported at least 2 benefits

64% reported 3 or more benefits

I also asked them about differences they'd noticed in their child's education

73% feel more confident in school

25% are more motivated for school

20% now find it easier to make friends

9% are more willing to read/write

Feedback from Cicely Haughton School:

"We've participated in this superb fishing event. Two of our children have mesmerised us with the improvement in their behaviour, attitude and focus. This has brought a wellbeing to these children that it's beyond my words to say. The difference in them is quite remarkable. We've got children that couldn't sit still in a classroom for 15 minutes and focus on any single task, sitting for 2 - 2 1/2 hours totally focussed and that has come out in their behaviour in our setting since then."

Feedback from Christ Church Academy:

"What you have done with this project is fantastic. The amount of children from our school that are now fishing is incredible. Children who have not done the project are now fishing and are being taught by some of the children that have attend. It is so good to see!"

Feedback from a parent to their school after the regional celebration in July:

"X 'let his light shine' hugely today at the Regional Celebration of Fishing.  X had an amazing time. Catching 9 fish (netting 8 and 1 decided it wanted to jump out!) and also caught one of the invasive crayfish. He sat and fished independently for 90 minutes and with encouragement (and food!!) did the whole 3 hours!!! Listening and learning from the coaches about all the fish he caught, including why the crayfish are so invasive.

His loot weighed just over 100 grams so out of 45 competitiors he came 37th and went home with a smile having won some goodies and a free membership for the Fenton & District angling club meaning he can now fish on the canal and other pools for free whenever he likes.

From myself and Y, we'd like to thank you for this opportunity. We've had the loveliest of mornings, unwinding and spending quality time together in a lovely shaded spot by the canal, watching X be the most patient, resilient and inspiring little boy we know he can be.

Now to get on the canal to practise for the National Celebration in September!"

Parent feedback on the survey:

"Resilience has grown hugely, especially when challenged with difficult conditions. Ability to focus for longer periods. General positivity increase including self-esteem. Ability to self goal-set when given a challenge."

"My son suffers from adhd and autism and it has really helped with his behaviour and making him sit still for longer than ten minutes."

"It provides great family time. It gives my child something to focus and plan for. He learns to manage his time in order to prepare for matches which is a great life skill. He loves being outdoors and at one with nature."

"The let’s fish coaches are amazing and myself as a father cannot thank all of them enough for the time they put in and the friendliness of all of them. It has brought me and my son closer together."

"The true impact of this life-changing initiative is immeasurable. Giving my child; who has additional needs, opportunities to build his self-confidence, determination and independence. Simply hearing him say "I'm proud of myself!" when he's needed to be resilient in the most challenging of conditions. As a family, we love nothing more than being on the bank - it has bought us so much closer together and given us opportunities to be a 'family team!'."

"It was a great way to get into fishing and it has brought my dad and my daughter closer as he has been more involved because he used to fish many years ago. I’ve never seen her this enthusiastic about doing something and is always asking when we are next going fishing."

Other data from the survey:

47% of participants now fish at least once a fortnight and 84% now fish at least once a month.

87% enjoyed being out in the fresh air

96% enjoyed learning new skills

93% enjoyed spending time together

82% enjoyed taking part in the competitions.

96% are 'very likely' to continue fishing in 2026.

Challenges

For the SGO and the school staff - the logistics are the main challenge and keeping track and chasing up of families throughout the project can be time consuming.

Recruiting schools was really hard to start with because not many people understood ‘why fishing?’ But that’s why the CPD Days have been so important to educate the staff.

Sustainability

Fishing For Families is continuing to grow, with more and more schools in Staffordshire wanting to take part and SGOs in Cheshire and Shropshire getting involved for 2026.

Going forward I will be running some evening classes to support families - how to tie their own rigs and hook lengths and broaden their knowledge of fishing theory.

We will also be launching a Fishing For Families Facebook group to help build a supportive community around these families.

I know there are several families in the very early stages of launching their own fishing club and I am sure that Canal and River Trust and myself will support them on that journey too.

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