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Performing a School PE, Sport and Physical Activity Review

Advice for schools on how best to invest their primary school sport funding

Schools will need to spend their Primary PE and Sport Premium on improving their provision of physical education and sport, but they will have the freedom to choose how they do this.

Schools are urged to consider the following things:

1. The impact that a high quality physical education and school sport experience can make on young people’s physical, social and cognitive development, their well-being and their level of achievement.

2. The different experiences and provision which make up sport in their school:

  • the engagement of ALL pupils in regular physical activity – kick-starting healthy active lifestyles
  • the profile of PE and sport being raised across the school as a tool for whole school improvement
  • increased confidence, knowledge and skills of all staff in teaching PE and sport
  • broader experience of a range of sports and activities offered to all pupils
  • increased participation in competitive sport

High quality physical education and school sport contributes to a range of outcomes for young people. Not only does it equip young people with physical literacy while supporting their physical development, movement skills and body confidence, but it also contributes to their physical, mental and emotional health and well-being.

Schools are encouraged to offer a programme which includes high quality physical education as part of the curriculum; enough competitive school sport opportunities for those young people who want to take part as well as activities designed to meet the needs of your least-active young people.

To support schools in making decisions on how to utilise their funding, Sport England, the Youth Sport Trust and the association for Physical Education (afPE) have encouraged schools to consider the following four steps and how to improve provision in curriculum physical education, school sport and health-focused physical activity:
 

Step 1:

Audit, through a self-review, your existing provision in all three of these areas and their impact on all young people’s attainment in your school. UK Coaching (formerly Sports Coach UK) have, in association with afPE, the YST and national partners, developed a Self-review tool to help with the process. afPE and the YST have also produced a Quality Mark:

•    Self-review tool

•    afPE Quality Mark

•    YST Quality Mark

Step 2:

Prioritise the areas to develop and action.

Step 3:

Identify good or outstanding provision to ensure sustainability in these areas. Your local Active Partnership will be able to provide you with information on what coaching support and schemes are available locally or from partner organisations. E.g. National Governing Bodies of Sport. Please see the Active Partnerships section for more information.

Step 4:

Ensure you are able to evidence the impact of the strategies and be accountable for the spend, including publishing how the Premium funding has been spent on the school’s website.

One of the areas identified as a potentially effective use of the funding in primary schools is using appropriately qualified and skilled coaches to support teachers in curriculum-time delivery, and increase the provision and quality of after-school sport.

UK Coaching, afPE and the YST are all clear in their belief that coaches should not displace teachers from curriculum time delivery.

afPE and the YST have provided the following example scenarios where schools could use their premium if there was an identified need in this area.

  • A primary school utilises the funding to expand its after-school sport provision. It looked closely at what the curriculum is providing for pupils and, as part of its school sport offer, hires qualified coaches who enable, enrich or enhance the experience of the sports offered for young people who are interested or talented in these sports.
  • A school uses governing body of sport qualified coaches to enhance teachers’ technical knowledge in a particular activity or develop pupils’ fundamental movement skills.

Can I use this ring-fenced money to pay coaches to deliver PE?

UK Coaching, Sport England, the YST and afPE do not advocate coaches leading delivery of National Curriculum Physical Education. The teacher’s role is to educate the whole child and ensure they make significant progress and achievement in all areas of school curriculum. It is therefore vital that teachers are up-skilled and supported and not replaced by coaches.

Can I use this ring-fenced money to pay a coach to cover PPA time?

Is this sustainable? Are you up-skilling teachers? Are you already using coaches in PPA time? If so, this would be double funding.

Can I use coaches to support teachers in the curriculum?

Appropriately qualified coaches can help to up-skill teachers’ technical knowledge but as above, should not replace teachers.

Can I use coaches to lead school sport?

Yes. Coaches can play a significant role in leading school sport, helping to encourage young people to participate as part of a healthy and active lifestyle as well as providing more opportunities for young people to participate in both competitive and club sport. Coaches can also help to develop pathways from school into satellite and local community clubs.

Coaching in Primary Schools Toolkit

This resource is part of a series aimed at primary schools in the UK developed by a range of National organisations.

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UK Coaching and Schools Toolkit Partners

About the Author: Through our commitment to people, passion and progress, UK Coaching is taking the lead in coaching excellence. We have collaborated with our national partners – Sport England, the association for Physical Education (afPE), Youth Sport Trust (YST), CSP Network and ukactive Kids – to develop the set of resources that make up the Coaching in Primary Schools Toolkit.