PULSE
The REAL Legacy of the
2012 Olympics by Sharon Denney
It is a question I have been asked countless times since that memorable summer three years ago; ‘Do you really think there is a legacy from 2012?’
The answer is an unequivocal ‘YES!’. The legacy of the 2012 Olympics is the opportunity for primary schools to effect a complete paradigm shift in the teaching of Physical Education. Whether we are up to the challenge is yet to be seen, but there is no doubting that there has never been a better opportunity.
The government have been absolutely clear; the PE Funding pouring into primary schools is a direct result of the success of the Olympic Games and, at a time when schools face year on year budget cuts, it is ringfenced. Most significantly of all, the funding is going direct to the schools.
In previous models, money has been handed to School Sport Partnerships who have worked tirelessly to support primary schools; driving the subject, advising them, providing them with resources, organising them and, in some cases (when the will really wasn’t there), doing it for them. It was great – while it lasted. But once the money was gone, so was the expertise, the resources, the specialist advice and the structure.
This time, we have the chance to do it differently. Primary schools are being offered the best chance they will ever get to reclaim PE as their own; to take ownership of the subject , make their own decisions and nurture their own experts. Only then will we have true sustainability and a model that will survive; funding or no funding. Don’t get me wrong. I am not anti the new partnerships that exist across the county for schools to buy into. Many of these are a great resource and offer some excellent services to support schools in developing their PE. But schools should think carefully about what they want to achieve in the long term. There is no doubt that the funding will end eventually and schools need to prepare for that day.
10 The Kent & Medway School Sports Magazine
Every school needs a leader of PE who is their own specialist, who can guide the development of the subject for the school and make strategic decisions about what external support is needed and where it should come from, securing best value for the school. And don’t forget that schools are accountable for those decisions. Ofsted’s eye is increasingly turning to PE ( I have an image of the eye of Saruman in Lord of the Rings!). Ultimately, PE Leaders will need to demonstrate that their funding has been used to address the specific needs of their school, based on a clear, evidence- based understanding of what those needs are. They will also need to be able to demonstrate the impact that the spending has had. Unless we are driving change from within, how can we do this effectively? Which brings us, somewhat reluctantly, to the fly in the ointment.
Last week, a colleague and I delivered a day of training on teaching PE to a group of School Direct trainees for
a national teacher training provider. Eighteen of their cohort of more than sixty had signed up to attend. Of those eighteen, only five had had the opportunity to observe or support the teaching of PE in their schools. These teachers will be teaching in schools as NQTs from September.
The fact is that, for years, the teaching profession has neglected to properly prepare teachers for their role as deliverers of Physical Education in primary schools. Some are fortunate to have brought pre-existing knowledge and skills to the role, others have worked hard at building
their understanding of the subject. But there
are many more, both newly qualified and experienced, who continue to feel ill-prepared for teaching their children PE, through no fault of their own. Then there is the matter of subject leadership. The leadership of English and Maths is generally given to experienced teachers, often with the relevant subject specialism. PE, however, has always tended to fall either to someone in the school who has a particular interest or, if no-one was keen, to the last person through the door – generally the teacher coming out of NQT status. But leadership of PE now carries significant
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