Last month, OFSTED published the ‘Levelling the playing field: the physical education subject report’, outlining the state of PE and physical activity in today’s schools. The results revealed that children in the UK suffer poorer mental and physical health because of their largely sedentary online lifestyles.
Youth Sport Trust, along with other industry-leading organisations and charities, highlighted that only around half of secondary schools were allocating the same 2 hours to all year groups. In fact, only 47% of children were receiving the recommended 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity.
Physical activity remains one of the key factors for improving the mental and physical health of children. Stable levels of activity carrying past childhood and into adulthood is an essential part of creating a healthy active nation. First Step PE programmes are designed to improve the standard of PE in schools, teaching practice and variety for children.
Whilst the charity commended greater access to football for girls and the quality and experience of SEND students in mainstream schools, they made these recommendations:
- Increased variety of sports and physical activity offered to children and young people
- Harnessing the support of children and young people to reimagine the PE programme
- A continued sector-wide approach to raising the profile of physical activity in schools
- Support for schools in designing appropriate PE curriculums and teaching practice
To find out how your school could become a forerunner in physical education, contact the First Step PE team today. Our PE Managers will work with you to create a programme of activities to meet your physical activity and academic goals. We aim to support teacher training and provide you with safe, efficient access to a physically active future.
Talk to us today and take your first step to a better quality of PE.
