afPE Responds to Recent Government Figures on the Decrease in Hours of PE Taught

Recent government figures show the number of hours taught for all years in state funded secondary schools for PE have decreased by over 4000 hours in the last year.

Eileen Marchant MBE, former afPE Chair, said:

As the Subject Association for PE, we are extremely disturbed by the reduction in PE time for students in secondary school. There is extensive research which provides evidence that active lifestyles play a very crucial role in emotional well-being. Healthy active young people develop self esteem and confidence which impact right across their lives. Schools that place transformative PE at the heart of their curriculum can demonstrate the far reaching impact it has. In fact the difference that it makes on the lives of young people is quite remarkable.

 

It is therefore troubling to hear that time allocated to PE in secondary schools has diminished so alarmingly in the last decade; it is important to remember that PE is the foundation stone for all sport. It is a statutory foundation subject and should be allocated curriculum time across all four key stages; earlier this year it was recommended that all schools should have an aspiration to provide 2 hours of PE in curriculum time. It should also be noted that the curriculum is the only area where ALL young people are included.

 

The curriculum should be broad, balanced and appropriate and should not be dominated by games activities as there are many children and young people who enjoy other activities such as dance, outdoor and adventurous activities and athletics. It is important that activities are not based around gender. For example, in conversation with a former colleague, he said all he was offered at school was football when what he really wanted to do was dance!

 

Although we are all very concerned by these figures, it is important to remember there are significant numbers of schools that place PE at the centre, not only of their curriculum, but also of their schools. Perhaps we should provide these schools with a platform from which they can be advocates for its importance and the impact it has right across their schools, both in terms of emotional well-being but also on the academic achievement of their pupils/students. Transformative PE develops the whole child.

Vanessa King, afPE’s Assistant Deputy CEO, said:

High quality physical education is essential for children of all ages in order to ensure children’s optimal health and wellbeing, to expose them to a broad range of physical activities and sports that will encourage them to develop lifelong enjoyment of being active, and to reap the wide ranging social, emotional, cognitive and physical benefits that high quality physical education brings.

It is concerning that not only in secondary schools, as highlighted in the data released by the government, but across all ages, there are vast numbers of children who are currently not meeting Chief Medical Officer recommendations for physical activity. Data shows this disproportionately affects children in deprived areas. It is crucial therefore that emphasis be put upon ensuring children have access to high quality physical education in schools, as this is the only place where we can guarantee all children will be reap the benefits of instilling a love of being physically active. The physical education curriculum must ensure a broad balance and include a wide repertoire of activities, not just an emphasis on traditional sports in order to expose them to physical activities that they enjoy, and therefore to have a transformative impact upon all children.

This requires ensuring the workforce are well supported and resourced in order to be the aspiring role models and champions that will make a difference to the next generation. afPE will continue to support the workforce to ensure they have access to high quality CPD to ensure they are fully prepared. We will soon be releasing details of new qualifications to support the sector imminently.

Eileen Marchant MBE also featured on BBC Radio discussing these recent findings.

The afPE Taskforce has also previously called to government to put physical education at the heart of school life – view the full report HERE.