(Chatham and Aylesford)
(Con):... The challenge is, how does sport fit into the school
day, and how is it funded? I hope the Minister can deal with the
latter point today and pledge to confirm the funding for school
sport for the next academic year at the earliest opportunity. If
we want decent provision, it is essential that it is planned well
in advance. Our children need activities that give them a thirst
for movement. They want and need variety that is not always about
competition. Planned expenditure is vital for this and, in turn,
will enable school day planning. I share the Youth Sport
Trust’s view that PE should be a core subject, but also
that wraparound care could be more active. We often cite the
difference between state and private provision. Facilities is
obviously a point of difference, but so is the type of
after-school offering. This has to be funded, so let us fund it.
It is not misspent public money, for it will save the taxpayer in
the long run by mitigating the poor physical and mental health
that costs the NHS so much...
The Minister of State, Department for Education ():...The DFE school workforce
census data for the 2021-22 academic year indicates that PE and
sport account for around 8% of all teaching hours in secondary
state-funded schools. A rather old 2015 Youth
Sport Trust survey found that the average number of
minutes of PE per week in state secondary schools was just under
two hours, at 118 minutes for key stage 3 and 114 minutes for key
stage 4...
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