Andy Devaney
Sport England has taken a hard look at how the sector measures quality — and decided the time has come to streamline the whole operation. The organisation is updating its long-running Quest system for 2026, rolling out a refreshed “Quest for Facilities” and a new “Quest Active Wellbeing” model designed to cut the faff, sharpen the focus and keep pace with an industry that’s moving faster than ever.
Quest has been the yardstick for sports and leisure standards for more than two decades. Born to measure how well sites run and how effectively operators serve their communities, it’s evolved under the watch of Right Directions — the sector’s health, safety and quality specialists — since 2010. Even so, recent consultation made it clear: the old two-day assessments were starting to pull staff away from daily service at a time when everyone is stretched.
Caroline Constantine, Managing Director of both Right Directions and Sport England’s Quest, didn’t dance around the issue: “While the existing two-day Quest Plus assessments were thorough, staff told us that increasing day-to-day pressures, combined with preparation for the assessment, could sometimes pull resources away from daily service delivery. Operators asked for a one-day format that still delivers a robust review, with simpler, clearer Mystery Visit questions and greater recognition of community wellbeing outcomes. We listened carefully and have spent the last six months developing an enhanced Quest that is more streamlined, flexible and user-friendly, while maintaining the detail and insight that makes Quest so valuable.”
From January 2026, the result of that work becomes reality. Quest for Facilities will switch to a single, face-to-face assessment day backed up by a mystery visit. Quest Active Wellbeing will step into the space previously occupied by Active Communities, broadening the lens to focus on how whole contracts and community programmes drive local impact.
A System Built on Evidence, Not Guesswork
Quest for Facilities remains the industry’s independent benchmark, built on six core themes:
• Continuous Improvement
• Empowering the Team
• Driving Participation
• Customer Delivery and Insights
• Operational and Environmental Management
• Compliance Declaration
The mystery visit gets a sharper brief too — everything from safety and cleanliness to website clarity, accessibility, programming and inclusion for underrepresented groups will be rated. It’s comprehensive, but no longer cumbersome.
Quest Active Wellbeing takes a more strategic view, giving organisations a structured, evidence-based way to demonstrate accountability, impact and value to their local area.
Sarah Lobo, Head of External Accreditations at Right Directions, summed it up: “Quest Active Wellbeing is ideal for teams in leisure facilities, community development, wellbeing hubs or outreach services. The assessment helps demonstrate the value of your work, identify opportunities for improvement, and showcases your contribution to wider system priorities like health, equity and social impact, strengthening your team’s effectiveness, accountability and ability to attract investment or support.”
The assessment follows Quest’s Plan–Do–Measure–Monitor–Review–Impact framework. Teams present “The Value and Impact of Our Work” before reviewers dig into six areas: Purpose and Strategy; Workforce; Insight and Data; Partnerships; Delivery and Inclusion; and Wellbeing and Sustainability.
A Modern Tool for a Modern Sector
Emma Bernstein, Strategic Projects Lead at Sport England, was clear on why these updates matter: “Quest has always played a vital part in helping to raising standards across the sport and leisure sector, and these updates reflect our commitment to supporting operators in a way that is both impactful and realistic. By streamlining the process and strengthening the focus on community wellbeing, we’re ensuring Quest remains a trusted, modern and meaningful framework that helps facilities and organisations deliver real change for the people they serve.”
From spring 2026, the new Quest Place Score will join the line-up. By combining Quest for Facilities and Quest Active Wellbeing results at a local authority level, operators will finally have a high-level view of local performance trends to guide planning and investment.
Quest continues to sit within Sport England’s Moving Communities programme, launched in 2021 to give decision-makers real-time data on what works and where to put resource. The updated system integrates directly with the 4Global Moving Communities dashboard and RD-Dash, so facilities can compare their performance against national averages and their own estate.
Operators can also bolt on the Tackling Inequalities in Leisure Standard, Exercise Referral Standard and Swim England Learn to Swim Accreditation at reduced cost.
For the latter two, part of the assessment will be completed on the new one-day visit, with the remainder finished online within two weeks.
