New research, carried out by YouGov for the Youth Sport
Trust, reveals parents’ appetite for schools to focus on young
people’s physical, mental, social and emotional
wellbeing.
The representative poll of over 2,000 UK adults also found
that the majority of parents with children aged 18 or under see a
strong link between positive wellbeing and schools prioritising
PE, school sport and physical activity.
It comes as the Youth Sport Trust today (Thursday) hosts
its 2020 Annual Conference which is themed ‘Getting to the Heart
of a Well School’. The event will see hundreds of school and
school sport leaders gather at the Ricoh Arena in Coventry to
focus on the importance of human skills and wellbeing in the
digital age, and what it means to be a ‘well
school’.
Today’s research found that among parents with children
aged 18 or under:
-
62% agreed that the
wellbeing of pupils is more important than their academic
attainment.
-
54% agreed that pupils’
wellbeing is likely to be better in schools
which prioritise sport, physical education and physical
activity.
-
79% agreed that cuts to
physical education, sport and break times in schools were
likely to have a negative impact on pupils’ wellbeing.
Statistics from the Government’s annual school workforce
census show that between 2010 and 2017, 51,600 hours of physical
education were lost from timetables in English state-funded
secondary schools. This has coincided with a decline in young
people’s wellbeing, with increasing numbers suffering from mental
health conditions, low life-satisfaction and
loneliness.
The Youth Sport Trust, which works to improve young
people’s wellbeing through physical education, play and sport, is
campaigning to reverse significant cuts to physical education and
for the subject to be at the centre of wellbeing and achievement
in education.
Youth Sport Trust Chief Executive Ali Oliver
said:
“What parents want most of all is for their children to be
happy and healthy. We know academic results are a core
priority for education, but these findings are a powerful
reminder of the value parents today place on wider educational
outcomes such as wellbeing.
“At the Youth Sport Trust we are clear that schools which
foster wellbeing in their culture and climate create the best
environment for learning.
“In recent years schools have faced increasing pressure to
be accountable for exam results, and this has sometimes come at
the expense of nurturing young people to be happy, healthy and
well-equipped to find their place in the world.
“Parents want schools to be prioritising wellbeing and they
see sport and physical education as an important part of that. In
a changing world, PE and sport have a vital role to play in the
education of every young person, developing the human skills that
will help them to thrive.
“This is why we are announcing today the launch of a ‘Well
School’ movement; a school community committed to staff and
student wellbeing, and working together to innovate, share and
develop effective practice. This movement will be characterised
by a commitment to celebrate wider educational outcomes alongside
exam results.”
Find out more about the Youth Sport Trust’s new Well School
movement: https://www.youthsporttrust.org/wellschool
NOTES TO EDITORS
-
Methodology
All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from YouGov Plc.
Total sample size was 2,095 adults. Fieldwork was undertaken
between 13th - 14th February 2020. The survey was carried out
online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of
all UK adults (aged 18+).
