Teacher training in primary-level physical education is “woefully inadequate”, the chief executive of the Youth Sport Trust has warned a committee of MPs.
Giving evidence to the Commons Culture, Media and Sport Committee today, Ali Oliver called for PE to become a core curriculum subject so that it commanded a “higher status”, which would “bring with it a level of accountability which would drive up standards and commitment”.
She told the MPs that core status “would undoubtedly have a huge impact on teacher training, which is a problem at the moment, particularly in primary, where our primary classroom teachers who deliver PE today predominantly have, on average, four to six hours of training in PE, which is woefully inadequate”.
And she told the committee that training problems were exacerbating a situation where there were 41,000 fewer hours taught in PE in 2023-24 compared with 2011-12. Less than half of children are getting what the chief medical officer recommends as the minimum amount of activity a day, Ms Oliver added.
‘Restoring the status’ of PE
“More worryingly, we know that 30 per cent of children get less than 30 active minutes a day. I think there are real concerns of those children who are largely inactive, and the consequences for their health and wellbeing, for their engagement and learning. Of course, for their overall happiness and long-term health.”
The Youth Sport Trust said that becoming a core subject would “restore the value and status” of PE so that it sits among other subjects in a broad and balanced curriculum
Ms Oliver added: “Core status would bring lots of benefits, but we would like a core status because PE genuinely is an access subject that should be part of the foundation of every child’s learning.
“And today, because they are not getting [physical activity] out of school, they’re not climbing trees, they don’t roam in their community, they aren’t playing out as much as they did, we have to create that opportunity in school so that they are then healthy, successful learners.”
Ms Oliver said the Youth Sport Trust also wants to see changes to bring clarity to what the GCSE PE syllabus entails.
At present, she said, the GCSE is a GCSE in sports science. “It is not a GCSE in being physically educated or having got to a certain level of physical education. If we are going to have a GCSE PE, let’s change that syllabus, or let’s be really clear this is a GCSE in sports studies or sports science.”
Ms Oliver called for some form of qualification that demonstrates a student’s physical capabilities.
“You can study, or have experienced physical education every year of your primary and secondary education and leave with nothing on paper,” she said.
“Yes, there is a GCSE in PE. Yes, there are Btec qualifications, but for many children and young people who don’t opt for that subject, there’s nothing to show at the end of it.
“It’s really important that children experience some sort of benchmarking, or there’s some sort of passport at the end of school education - a summary of what I can do, what I’ve learned, where I’m going to continue to be active next.”
And she added that the YST and the Association for Physical Education believe that many young people lost out on physical and societal development skills because their early years involved Covid lockdown.
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