News
School Sport Left Behind In Race to Teach New Curriculum A
Barnsley-based fitness champion says PE lessons – and pupils’ health – could be severely compromised as schools come under pressure to focus more on academic subjects.
Darren Padgett, founder of Team Activ, an award-winning sporting organisation that works with Yorkshire schools, says schools are already struggling to fit sport into the school day because of new changes to the curriculum which emphasise maths and literacy.
Sports-sector leader Darren fears PE will be squeezed even further after a new report warned over 3,000 primary schools could fall below the government’s tough new minimum standards in reading, writing and maths in 2016.
The think tank Policy Exchange has warned that a national curriculum and assessment system is putting more pressure on teachers. And in turn, Darren is already seeing schools cut back on the amount of time pupils can be active. Team Activ works with schools across the region, including every secondary school in Barnsley and more than half of all primary schools in the borough, to deliver extra-curricular sporting activities.
Darren said: “Everyone acknowledges that maths and literacy are extremely important but sport is often viewed as a subject which can be side-lined. “We are facing a growing obesity problem with children yet seem to be hampering every chance they have to exercise. I know of schools which have cordoned off playgrounds for quiet time, instead of letting children run around and burn off energy. I’ve also heard of schools cutting down on playtime so pupils can spend more time on lessons.
“Instead of drumming maths and literacy into pupils, while insisting they sit still and quiet, we should engage them in an active environment. “For three years Team Activ has been working with schools to promote PE and sport to engage children in fun and challenging activities that have a great effect on achievement, behaviour and character.
“We need a strategy to demonstrate that physical activity is something we need to learn to keep us fit for life. We need to help children develop good habits so they enjoy physical activity, appreciate its benefits and carry on with it into adult life.”
Earlier this year a national report highlighted the subject as being vital in tackling childhood obesity. The National Obesity Forum report State Of The Nations Waistline claimed “teachers often spending too much time talking and not enough time getting children moving”.
Team Activ delivers a whole range of projects including organising sport competitions, helping deliver effective sports in schools, improving sport planning strategy, running after-school clubs, training sport leaders, improving teaching standards.
Schools working alongside Barnsley sporting organisation Team Activ have been commended by Ofsted inspectors for providing excellent PE lessons.
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