Herts Primary PE & Sport Conference – January 2015

HASG was invited to participate in this event by the Herts Sports Partnership (Sport Performance & Development Centre, de Havilland Campus, Hatfield AL10 9EU www.sportinherts.org.uk), the following report is from David Royle who attended:

Key Messages from the Conference

• High-quality physical education (PE) and school sport can make a difference to the lives of young people and the development of the whole child; whole-school improvement can be led by PE.
• The £150m p.a. ring-fenced Primary PE and Sport Premium is guaranteed to 2020 (if the present government is re-elected): most money goes on coaches but important not to swap coaches for teachers in terms of generating self-sustaining solutions (especially if funding stops); website statement required on impact and allocation of Premium.
  Governors have a role in monitoring and evaluating effective expenditure.
  Youth Sports Trust has an impact template, a self-review tool and a factsheet on Ofsted-related accountability measures; see below).
  The Association for Physical Education also has advice on the use of the Premium.
• The Youth Sports Trust survey of PE and sport indicated that the average time spent on PE is less than two hours a week;
  there is no DfE minimum (or maximum);
  some EU countries specify 5 hours;
  however quality is most important;
  there is a potential dividend in taking time ‘away’ from other subjects as PE can contribute to whole-school improvement.
• The new National Curriculum for PE is short on detail but the purpose of PE is made clear with key words like
  • ‘high-quality’,
  • ‘inspires all pupils’ (inclusion),
  • ‘competitive’,
  • ‘physically-demanding’,
  • ‘physically confident’,
  • ‘health and fitness’,
  • ‘character’,
  • ‘fairness and respect’.
• The Youth Sport Trust and Association for Physical Education provide a lot of support through membership and also free downloadable resources, for example YST has a Physical Literacy Framework, AfPE has advice on the new National Curriculum including assessment.

References

• Youth Sport Trust
  http://www.youthsporttrust.org/
• Unlocking Potential, a Manifesto for PE and School Sport
  http://www.youthsporttrust.org/media/22091902/yst-manifesto-final-digital-spreads.pdf
• National PE, School Sport and Physical Activity Survey Report January 2015 http://www.youthsporttrust.org/media/22091985/national_pe__school_sport_and_physical_activity_survey_report.pdf
• Association for Physical Education:
  http://www.afpe.org.uk/advice-on-new-national-curriculum;
  http://www.afpe.org.uk/images/stories/PE_assessment_booklet_Nov_2014.pdf;
  http://www.afpe.org.uk/advice-on-new-national-curriculum/advice-on-sport-premium
• Department for Education:
  https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-curriculum-in-england-physical-education-programmes-of-study

DAVID ROYLE 230115