(Twickenham)
(LD):...According to the Youth Sport
Trust a staggering 42,000 hours of PE have been
lost over the last decade as the curriculum has been more and
more squeezed, with a relentless focus on tests and ensuring
boxes are ticked for Ofsted inspections. Girls in particular have
been impacted. The trust found that by the age of seven, girls
were already a whole year behind on physical literacy—that is the
development of movement and sports skills...
...A number of organisations are doing a sterling job in
supporting the women’s game. Of course, that includes the
Football Association. It runs grassroots initiatives in schools,
such as the Disney-inspired Shooting Stars programme, and in the
community, such as the Squad Girls’ Football programme, which is
designed to keep secondary school-aged girls engaged with
football where PE lessons may fall short. That is supported by
Sport England. The FA’s community-based Weetabix
Wildcats programme for girls is offered through Hampton Rangers
Junior Football Club in my constituency on a Saturday morning. I
was also pleased to support the FA’s #LetGirlsPlay initiative
earlier this year, by going to play football with girls at both
Twickenham School and Trafalgar Junior School in my constituency.
I urge all Members to take up the opportunity next year. It was
great fun—even if people made total fools of themselves, as I am
sure I did—but it was also a real boost to the schools and to the
pupils there...
(Livingston) (SNP):...As
the hon. Member for Bracknell () said, it is crucial that
we talk about inclusion and equality. When we talk about
participation and inclusion for minority groups—particularly
black and minority ethnic groups, who have been historically
excluded and have faced barriers, as Sport
England identified in a 2020 report, and members of the
LGBTQ community and queer women—we have to look at the challenges
they face and ensure that we include everyone. I declare an
interest as a big lesbian and someone who has been kicking a ball
around for as long as I can remember. I see the current debate
around the rights and inclusion of trans women and non-binary
folk as particularly distressing. We must stand firm with them
and their right to be included in all aspects of society,
including sport and, of course, the beautiful game of football...
(Pontypridd) (Lab):...As
we have heard, unequal access to sports in schools is holding us
back. Currently, instead of being taught to play football, girls
are instead taught comparable sports, such as netball or hockey.
According to Sport England, only 63% of all
schools currently offer equal access to girls’ football in PE
lessons. In 2022, that is outdated and outrageous. We call on the
Government to seize the opportunity created by the women’s Euros
and introduce an equal access guarantee into the curriculum to
create equal access to sports for all girls. That would ensure
that girls are given the opportunity to try football at school.
Will the Minister adopt that policy?
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Digital, Culture,
Media and Sport ():...Challenges frankly remain
for women’s and girls’ participation in sport. As we have heard,
Sport England data showed that the pandemic
wiped out all of the gains made in women’s sport participation
over the previous five years, falling back to just below 60% of
women being active. The latest data, published in April this
year, showed that men are still more likely to be active compared
with women. The latest Sport England data for
children and young people from December 2021 is more positive,
showing that physical activity levels are very similar for boys
and girls in education, with 45% of both defined as active.
However, it is clear that more work needs to be done to continue
to break down the barriers that prevent women and girls from
being active, such as a fear of judgment, safety concerns and a
lack of time.
We know that football is a popular choice for women and girls to
get active—indeed, it is the most popular team sport for women
and girls. Programmes such as Game On, Shooting Stars and
Barclays Girls’ Football School Partnerships are engaging more
girls in football at school—for example, more than 3,200 primary
schools participate in the Shooting Stars programme. Initiatives
such as Sport England’s This Girl Can continue
to inspire millions of women to get active, regardless of shape,
size, or ability. That campaign has helped to eliminate fear of
judgment by normalising women taking part in sport and changing
perceptions of what sport is. It also aims to prove that barriers
such as time and money can be overcome...
To read the whole debate, CLICK HERE
