Labour's Shadow Education Secretary, Bridget Phillipson, has
written to the Education Secretary demanding an ‘Equal Access
Guarantee’ for school sport to help cement the legacy of the
Lionesses’ stunning victory in the European
Championships, following reports in
the i newspaper that the Government is
refusing to guarantee football access for girls.
Phillipson has condemned as “outdated” the Department for
Education’s guidance on school sport which says schools must
provide ‘comparable sporting activities’ for children. She is
urging to guarantee that girls and
boys will have equal access to sports delivered at school, with
updated guidance and best practice support for schools.
Labour is also calling on the Government to build on the work of
the FA Girls Football School Partnerships and adopt the goal of
delivering equal access to football at school by 2024.
, Labour’s Shadow
Education Secretary, said:
“The country has come together to celebrate the Lionesses’
stunning victory, now we need to come together to secure that
legacy and deliver equal access to sport for women and girls.
“The Conservatives have consistently failed to build on our
sporting successes and must not continue to hide behind outdated
guidance which is limiting girls’ access to sport at school.
“Labour is calling on the Government to seize this moment and
deliver an Equal Access Guarantee so every child gets to
experience all sports on offer at school.”
Ends
Notes to editors
Dear James,
Re: protecting the legacy of the Lionesses’ historic win with
equal access to sport in school
I am writing off the back of the Lionesses’ brilliant and
inspirational win in the UEFA Women’s Euro tournament on Sunday.
As many have said, this fantastic achievement cannot be the
finale – it must be the key to unlock a future in which women and
girls’ sport is supported to thrive.
With that mission in mind, I am seriously concerned that under
your leadership, the Department for Education is refusing to
support equal access to sport in schools. As Secretary of State
will you seize on this historic moment and to set out an ‘Equal
Access Guarantee’, so girls and boys have equal opportunity to
play and enjoy different sports in school?
This must start with replacing the Department’s outdated
commitment that pupils will have access to a ‘comparable sporting
activity’. This limits the options of boys and girls and does
nothing to break down traditional access barriers. The Government
should be playing an active role in building a world where no
child is excluded from a sport their schoolmates are
playing. Will you set out new guidance and best practice
examples to support schools to implement an Equal Access
Guarantee?
Next, there are already some brilliant programmes in schools that
are expanding access to sports, one of which is the FA Girls’
Football School Partnerships. Will the Department commit to build
on programmes such as this, as a way to join-up a national
mission and ensure equal access? The FA Girls’ Football School
Partnerships has a vision to ensure girls have equal access to
football in school by 2024. In order to mark the historic
achievement of the Lionesses’ and strengthen the momentum behind
this vision, the Government should adopt and champion the FA’s
target.
More widely, I am concerned that children’s sports are being
neglected, with 36,000 fewer hours of PE being taught in schools
compared to 2011. Children’s activity levels still haven’t
recovered since the pandemic, with over half of children not
meeting the recommended 60 minutes a day of sport. More than a
third don’t do even half an hour a day. What steps is the
government taking to boost school sport and will you finally back
the commitment of Labour’s Children’s Recovery Programme to
deliver an expanded range of afterschool clubs and activities to
help expand access to sport?
Finally, I want to echo the calls of my colleague , Shadow Secretary of State for
Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, who has rightly been
challenging the Government to urgently bring forward the promised
review of women’s football, with school and grassroots football,
proper support for a talent pathways, and respect for the game
across the leagues front and centre.
It is past time for the Government to fully back sport for women
and girls, so I urge you to mark this extraordinary moment with
ambitious steps to open up school sports for all children,
helping create the Lionesses of the future.
Given the high level of public interest in this matter, I will be
releasing a copy of this letter to the press.
Yours sincerely,
Bridget Phillipson
Shadow Education Secretary
MP for Houghton and Sunderland South
