Education CommitteeWritten evidence submitted by ukactive

Introduction

ukactive welcomes the opportunity to respond to the Education Committee’s inquiry into school sports following London 2012. ukactive is the not-for-profit body which provides services and facilitates partnerships for a range of organisations, all of which support the vision of more people, more active, more often to improve the health of the nation.

ukactive’s membership, which stands at over 3,000 members, includes school sport providers, operators of fitness facilities of all sizes, as well as local authority leisure centres, leisure trusts, outdoor fitness providers, trainers, sports providers, education and training providers, lifestyle companies, equipment suppliers and charities. ukactive members include school sport providers such as Fit For Sport and Premier Sport that deliver physical activity before, during and after school including curriculum physical educations . ukactive supports organisations that develop, manage and deliver specialised school physical activity and sport in schools. This includes exercise professionals and specialists.

The evidence base underpinning the importance of children’s physical activity from a health perspective and social perspective is vast and should be the cornerstone for any government response. Physical activity and movement enhances health, fitness, helps growth and development both physically and socially.

However, children are increasingly inactive and that number actually inflates as a child goes through primary school. The sedentary based activities which are alternatives to being physically active are particularly detrimental to the health of children and impacts greatly on their likelihood of staying physically active through their formative years and beyond into adulthood.

Obesity in children is a major risk factor for a number of diseases (eg diabetes, hypertension, elevated blood cholesterol) and similarly to the levels of physical activity, childhood obesity tends to lead to adult obesity. Adults who were obese as children have increased morbidity and mortality irrespective of adult weight. Furthermore, overweight adolescents may suffer long-term social and economic discrimination

Besides reducing the risks associated with childhood obesity, physical activity is important for other reasons. Regular physical activity helps children build and maintain healthy bones, muscles, and joints; builds lean muscle and reduce fat; prevents or delays the development of high blood pressure; reduces feelings of depression and anxiety; and may, through its effect on mental health, increase capacity for learning.

ukactive supports any government response which places emphasis on increasing levels of physical activity in our schools and recognises that the issue should be viewed through the lens of the wider beneficial effects of getting more children, more active, more often.

The impact and effectiveness of current Government policy and expenditure on increasing sports in schools

ukactive welcomes the government’s announcement of a new school sports policy brokered by Lord Coe and the prime minister as announced on the 16th March 2013.

In the aftermath of the Olympic Games, the government has been strongly committed to establishing a lasting economic, sporting and cultural legacy. The announcement of this £150 million Olympic legacy boost for primary school sport follows this logic of developing a long term sporting culture in England. The purpose of the funding is to improve the quality of provision in every state primary school in England in order to improve coaching for the youngest pupils and give them a strong first experience of physical education.

Ukactive welcomes the fact that the commitment to invest and the development of the policy has come through an agreement between the Department of Education, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and the Department of Health. It is important to view this issue as more than simply a sporting issue as it has substantial impacts on educational attainment, short and long term health as well as social developments. This is a cross-departmental issue which needs the buy in from across government with support from number 10 and it is encouraging to see the different department working together on this issue.

Responding on behalf of ukactive, David Stalker, CEO, commented:

“We welcome any new policy which helps to tackle the worrying levels of childhood inactivity and are particularly supportive of the need for an increased focus on basic physical literacy, which views sport in its widest sense. I agree wholeheartedly with Seb Coe’s previous comments on this matter that the debate between competitive and non-competitive sport is a “red herring”; it is crucial that any policy incorporates a consideration of the health benefits of physical activity and supports children of all levels of sporting ability to access a type of activity that they will enjoy and engage with.

Recognising that there are lots of activities outside the traditional spectrum of competitive sports, we hope that schools will be open to wider partnerships with activity providers, including those in ukactive’s membership, who are ready to help deliver on these objectives. With a third of young people leaving primary school overweight or obese, the range of activities available to them needs to be as broad as possible.

I am very encouraged by reports that this money is to be ring-fenced for the delivery of sport and physical activity and not absorbed by other priorities which may arise. Alongside this I hope that for the longer-term success of such a scheme, a consistent measurement tool for levels of activity and sport in schools be implemented and embraced by the government and OFSTED, and that this is used to help target socially deprived areas and to incentivise improvements in participation, particularly amongst those who are currently inactive.

These announcements are a positive step in the right direction, and we hope to see the cross-party support they need to be sustainable long-term”

What are the scope, appropriateness and likelihood of success of the Government’s plans for a school sports legacy from London 2012?

ukactive welcomes the belief that a step change in school sport participation can only be achieved through ring fencing the investment which is going to school sport and therefore welcomes the scope and appropriateness of the government’s response.

In particular ukactive welcomes:

The lump sum being invested in each school, with a per-pupil top-up. It is also encouraging that groups of schools will also be free to “pool” their Sports Premium funding to ensure the greatest possible impact. Allowing as much flexibility in delivery will allow the best possible opportunities for children to receive the right sort of physical education.

A greater role for Britain’s best sporting and voluntary organisations, including National Governing Bodies who will increase the specialist coaching and skills development on offer for primary schools

Tougher assessment of sport provision via Ofsted to ensure the funding is bringing the maximum benefit for all pupils, with schools held to account for how they spend the money. It is important that schools are held into account for their delivery of physical education and sport as they are across the board. In particular it is encouraging that schools will be required to publish details of their sporting provision on their websites and that one year on from this announcement, Ofsted will carry out a survey reporting on the impact of the new funding and holding schools to account on how they have spent their Sport Premium money

Sport England investing £1.5 million a year of lottery funding through the County Sport partnerships to help Primary Schools link up with local sports coaches, clubs and sports governing bodies

April 2013