Primary schools across Lincoln are currently receiving a fresh £279,635 funding boost to transform Physical Education (PE) lessons for tens of thousands of pupils.
Headmasters and headmistresses have already used the PE and Sports Premium - a fund worth more than £150million a year to spend on school sports provision - to recruit hundreds of extra specialist PE teachers, buy new equipment and offer a wider selection of sports and free after school clubs. Research has shown that nine out of 10 schools have already improved the quality of their PE lessons as a result of the funding – and more than 90 per cent reported improvements in children’s health, behaviour and lifestyle.
As a result, figures show that on average primary schools pupils are spending more time in PE lessons. Last year pupils spent an average of 122 minutes every week doing PE – up 13 minutes on the previous year. A typical primary school with 250 pupils will receive £9,000 following this announcement – which is equivalent to the cost of employing a specialist sports coach for two days each week.
The latest PE and Sports premium allocation is the second of three annual payments worth a total of over £450million which this Government is committed to giving to schools.
Announcing the latest allocations, the Minister for Children and Families, Edward Timpson MP, said: “As part of our plan for education, we want all children to get into the habit of playing and enjoying sport in primary school as it can help instil confidence, discipline and determination. Thanks to our PE and Sports Premium, primary schools are offering more and better quality sport programmes – and this funding boost will help headteachers go further. Whether a child is a potential future Olympic champion or a keen amateur like me – I want them all to be given the chance to fulfil their sporting potential.”
Lincoln’s Member of Parliament, Karl McCartney MP, said: “Under Labour, there were thousands of schools in our Country where no pupils at all took part in competitive sport. In 2010 there were 1,280 secondary schools where no pupils took part in intra-school sport competition – nearly one in three secondary schools in England. That is why I am support the Government in keeping the £150 million a year Primary School PE and Sports Premium – funding that will go directly to primary school headmasters and headmistresses so that they can decide how best to use it to provide PE and sporting activities for pupils. As a result of the extra £279,635 that primary schools in Lincoln will receive, we will be able to deliver better quality lessons as well as devote more time to Physical Education.”
Sue Wilkinson, from the Association for PE, said: “We are extremely pleased that headteachers are using their funding to increase the amount of time spent on curriculum physical education, and improving learning opportunities for teachers so they can deliver the very best quality lessons. Since the initial investment, evidence demonstrates a transformational shift with physical education and sport driving whole school improvement and making a significant contribution to young peoples’ health and well-being. We hope that with the continued investment schools will continue to create a sustainable legacy for PE and sport.”
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For further information, please contact Karl McCartney MP at [email protected] / 020 7219 7221, or the Department for Education press office on 020 7783 8300.