Warning as PE ‘Squeezed Out’ for Exam Students

Curriculum and accountability pressures in schools have resulted in a 20% fall in allocated PE lessons for GCSE students, research suggests.

Subject leads in schools surveyed as part of the research blamed competing pressures on schools such as Covid recovery and accountability measures like Progress 8.

Between 2011 and 2021, timetabled PE lessons allocated to GCSE students fell by 19.6 per cent, from 134,418 per year to 108,044 (19.6 per cent), an analysis of Department for Education data by charitable organisation Youth Sport Trust shows.

Sixth-formers, meanwhile, saw a 24 per cent decline, from 36,539 in 2011 to 27,756 in 2021.

Sue Wilkinson, chief executive officer of the Association for Physical Education, said that at least two hours of PE – or at least three sessions – was “ideal to ensure that all children and young people can achieve the minimal national curriculum for PE outcomes”.

“The contribution to children and young people’s’ physical, emotional, social and cognitive development is key, particularly in the current circumstances,” she added.

However, the quality of provision was “most important”, she said.

Click HERE to read more, courtesy of TES.