PE as a subject needs a shake-up, says report

Physical education in schools needs to be valued in the same way as core academics subjects, a report from the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on a Fit and Healthy Childhood says.

The APPG report says PE is key to developing a life-long passion for physical activity and to reducing levels of obesity.

It recommends a personalised PE programme for each individual child and that children should be given more ways to explore what sort of physical activity might suit them, using the natural and outside world as well as sports-specific environments.

The study says girls in particular can be put off by a focus on competitive sports and “this could be addressed by ensuring that PE lessons offer a wider type of physical activity, to cater for different tastes and abilities.”

"These might include general physical activity such as running and climbing, non-competitive activities such as yoga and dance and individual sports such as swimming."

The APPG report makes a wide range of recommendations, including: increasing the number of specialist PE teachers in primary schools; having a designated physical activity co-ordinator in every early years setting; creating teams in every school dedicated to promoting all types of physical activity; all schools examining how they can improve the PE experience for disabled children; embedding PE into all teacher training programmes

It says: "If PE is regarded as providing solutions for a variety of objectives (eg increasing academic attainment, improving behaviour), it should be valued as such.

"It should have the same status, credibility and funding as the core academic subjects."