Education CommitteeWritten evidence submitted by Local Government Association

Introduction

The Local Government Association (LGA) is the national voice of local government. We work with councils to support, promote and improve local government.

We are a politically-led, cross party organisation which works on behalf of councils to ensure local government has a strong, credible voice with national government. We aim to influence and set the political agenda on the issues that matter to councils so they are able to deliver local solutions to national problems.

The LGA covers every part of England and Wales, supporting local government as the most efficient and accountable part of the public sector.

1. Summary

1.1 Councils invest £1 billion every year in community sport and they are seizing the opportunity to use the inspiration and focus of hosting the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games to encourage people of all ages to get more active. Councils’ new responsibility for public health represents a unique opportunity for a more joined-up approach to getting young people more active in community and school settings to tackle obesity—one of the most serious and expensive public health challenges we face.

1.2 Despite councils best efforts, Olympic and Paralympic legacy must be seen in the context of significant cuts of 33% of funding to councils over the Spending Review period. Councils will work with schools to maximise the impact of the recently announced £150 million school sport fund but their stretched non-schools education budgets have suffered a 32% cut and this means there is little room for manoeuvre at a local level on issues like school sport.

1.3 As we redesign an affordable local public sector through whole-place budgeting across the country, it is crucial for a sustainable approach to school sport that schools feel able to engage in a whole-place approach to public health investment, led by Health and Wellbeing boards.

1.4 We also encourage schools to work in close partnership with councils. Although an increasing number of schools are becoming academies, councils still have a central role to play in education with a focus on the statutory roles in school place planning, school improvement and supporting vulnerable children. Councils can also bring together partners, including County Sports Partnerships, schools—including academies—Health and Wellbeing boards, National Governing Bodies (NGBs) and the voluntary sector, in a joined-up approach to sport and legacy.

1.1 We also need to continue to develop strong local political leadership and support teachers to ensure school sport and legacy are embedded strategically in public health priorities and good practice shared, building on the excellent take-up of the School Games and Get Set.

2. The impact and effectiveness of current government policy and expenditure on increasing sports in schools

2.1 The vast majority of national investment in sport (including £128 million in the School Games, Sport England’s £1 billion legacy strategy and £150 million for school sport) is activated locally by partnerships of councils, schools, County Sports Partnerships, National Governing Bodies, health organisations, sports clubs, the private sector and the voluntary sector. Councils are ideally placed to lead a joined-up and locally tailored approach to increasing young people’s participation in sport through their leadership of education, community sport, and public health. Some examples of this are given at Annex A.

2.2 There is much good work happening (for example, over 14,000 schools are involved with the School Games and over 70 county festivals of sport have taken place across the country providing over 60,000 young people with a competitive experience) but the sustainability of this is a major challenge in the context of significant cuts of 33% of funding to councils over the Spending Review period. Councils’ stretched non-schools education budgets having already suffered a 32% cut and this means there is little room for manoeuvre at a local level on issues like school sport.

2.3 Given the funding outlook for the whole of the public sector it is vital that schools work in partnership with councils to maximise the local impact of national investment in school sport. Councils still have a central role to play in education with a focus on the statutory roles in school place planning, school improvement and supporting vulnerable children. With councils’ role in education changing, it is vital that all partners work together if these initiatives are to succeed. At a time when an increasing number of schools are becoming academies and there is an increasingly fragmented system as a result, we need to ensure councils retain a role in education in order to ensure the best outcomes for their areas. We consider this more in section 3.

2.4 Getting young people more active is likely to stay high on national and local government’s agendas because it is the best way to tackle the rise in child obesity, one of the biggest and most expensive public health issues we face.

2.5 Child obesity puts children at greater risk of developing cancer, type 2 diabetes and heart disease in later life. Despite significant effort over recent years, prevalence rates remain stubbornly high (among the highest in Europe), with prevalence doubling in almost all local authorities between the first and the last years of primary school, with about one in five children in reception (aged four—five years) overweight or obese, rising to one in three in year six (10–11 year olds). Treating the effects of obesity is estimated to cost the NHS £5 billion a year and £20 billion to the wider economy once factors such as lots productivity and sick days are taken into account, so there is a strong case for early intervention to save money across the public sector and in the economy as a whole.

2.6 Further key issues are the drop-off in participation rates once young people reach aged 16; the lower participation rates amongst disabled young people and the lower than expected life outcomes for looked after children.

3. The scope, appropriateness and likelihood of success of the government’s plans for a school sports legacy from London 2012

3.1 Councils are looking forward to working with schools to maximise the impact of the £150 million school sport funding recently announced by government. Although the funding goes direct to primary schools, we encourage schools, including academies, to work in partnership with councils as they are ideally placed to bring together partners in a joined-up approach to sport and legacy.

3.2 Councils are already playing a key leadership role in sport legacy and encouraging local organisations to work together effectively. Councils are the biggest public spenders on community sport, spending £925 million per year (excluding capital spend) on the leisure centres, swimming pools and open spaces where the majority of this country’s nine million grass roots enthusiasts play sport. This infrastructure is also essential for the thousands of sports clubs, supported by NGBs, where more formal participation takes place, and connecting-up school sport to the wider sport offer. Councils are supporting primary schools to drive-up the quality of their sports teaching and with the County Sports Partnership can offer practical advice to all schools on issues ranging from working with NGBs to coaching, volunteering, facilities and talent pathways for young people.

3.3 Councils’ new responsibility for public health represents a unique opportunity to focus on addressing the causes of ill health and actively promoting health to help people to live healthier lives. Getting young people more active in schools and community settings is crucial if we are going to tackle the rise in childhood obesity and nearly every council service can play a role, from education, to leisure, housing, social care and transport. There is a wealth of evidence showing that tackling and preventing obesity is most effective when we target interventions as early as possible. We agree with Professor Sir Michael Marmot’s analysis that the crucial determinants of health are: “… the circumstances in which people are born, grow up, live, work and age, and the systems put in place to deal with illness. These circumstances are in turn shaped by a wider set of forces: economics, social policies, and politics.”1 Tackling childhood obesity is a top priority in Joint Strategic Needs assessments across the country. We need to encourage schools to engage with the new Health and Wellbeing boards so that the role of school sport is properly integrated into local plans.

3.4 From April 2013 councils will also be responsible for delivering the National Child Measurement Programme. Councillors and partners can help children and parents who are concerned about their results, whether the child is obese or underweight, by being aware of the leisure and weight management initiatives that are available locally, and signposting to and encouraging participation in those activities, which is why sustainable funding for school sport is so important.

3.5 Councils’ role in education is changing and focusing on their statutory roles in school place planning, school improvement and supporting vulnerable pupils. This strategic role means that the council is well-placed to support schools on potential to work with other organisations and to align with the council’s wider leisure offer. Also of particular relevance are councils’ statutory duties to ensure that .all young people aged 13–19 (and those aged 20–24 with learning difficulties) have access to sufficient leisure-time activities, including physical training, and this means that, so far as is reasonably practicable, they should have opportunities to take part in a wide range of sports. Councils fulfil these roles in close partnership with schools and also through youth services.

4. The impact so far of London 2012 on the take-up of competitive sports in schools

4.1 Councils want to support young people to have a range of high-quality opportunities to participate in sport. It is up to schools to decide what kind of sporting opportunities they choose to offer pupils, but we need to recognise that not all young people will want to engage in competitive sport in the formal school environment. Councils can help to provide opportunities for these young people to get active through their alternative provision and wider community sport offer.

5. What further measures should be taken to ensure a sustainable and effective legacy in school sports following the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games

5.1 The current government funding for school sport is for two years and funding for the School Games ends in 2015. Finding a sustainable solution to school sport is crucial if we are going to achieve a lasting and effective legacy. In the context of on-going budget pressures we suggest this means focussing on three things: supporting schools to engage in the new health landscape and whole-place budgeting; continuing to support high-quality primary school sport teacher training and continuous professional development; and sharing good practice on sport through school to school improvement (building on the School Games and Get Set).

5.2 As we redesign an affordable local public sector through whole-place budgeting across the country, it is crucial that schools feel able to engage in a whole-place approach to public health investment, led by Health and Wellbeing boards. Health and wellbeing boards will be the local leaders of the new health system. They will drive a new system-wide approach to health improvement based on a shared understanding of health and wellbeing needs, developed through the joint strategic needs assessments.

5.3 Strong political leadership is also vital because it is councillors who will ensure that school sport and legacy continues to be given a high priority locally. They can secure the commitment of partners and help to lever in additional funding by showing how investment in sport can help to create healthier communities and reduce public expenditure. They also lead the transformation of sport services so that they are provided as efficiently as possible, including the community use of school facilities.

5.4 We encourage the different parts of national government with an interest in school sport and legacy, the Cabinet Office, DCMS, Education Department and Sport England, to avoid fragmentation and work with councils and schools in a coordinated way that enhances existing local activity and recognises the fact that the majority of legacy will be activated locally.

5.5 Finally, we are looking forward to the UK hosting a decade of major sporting events, including the 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games and the 2015 Rugby World cup, as well as the road to Rio, and these events will provide the hooks around which we can keep the legacy relevant for young people for many years to come.

Annex A

CASE STUDIES THAT ILLUSTRATE COUNCILS’ LEADERSHIP ROLE OF SCHOOL SPORT AND LEGACY

Essex County Council

Active Essex has just completed its transformation to its present being. It now sits in the unique position of being a County Sports Partnership hosted by a County Council and receiving part funding from that County Council. An element of this funding is linked to an oversight of Physical Education and School Sport across the county. As a result it is very well placed to react to initiatives aimed at health, education and competitive sporting opportunities. Utilising partnerships and resources to maximise impact and ensure local solutions. During 2011–12, 4,400 youngsters took part in the Essex Sainsbury’s School Games. In the same period 34,000 young people were engaged in sporting, educational and cultural activity through the Essex Carrying the Flame initiative. The schools workforce was also supported with training provided to 469 teachers. By virtue of sitting at the centre of a range of partnerships Active Essex has been able to add value to a range of initiatives by linking them together. Embedding structures inside and outside of schools to support and enhance the workforce and the delivery.

Swale Borough Council’s Legacy for Disabled Women and Girls

Working in partnership with Sheppey United FC, Swale Borough Council’s sports development team has developed a women and girls football training session for anyone over the age of 12 who has a disability or condition that affects their everyday life. Fully-trained coaches will work with the team of young girls and women to develop or improve their football skills. The trainee footballers will work towards developing a team which will be entered into the South London Special League and go on to play against similar teams across the southeast. The Kent Football Association is supporting the initiative and has provided advice, guidance and some funding to support the development of the newly-formed girls disability team.

Bradford Council

Ran dance, gym and sports camps over the 2012 summer holidays. They were fully booked, attended by 60 children a day, and many more on the waiting list. It’s “Playing for Gold” Olympic sports programme has delivered 75 summer play schemes, all fully booked out. The outdoor adventure summer courses were nearly full to the maximum of 12 children per course per week and all swimming and diving summer courses were full, with interest in the diving having increased.

Suffolk: Most Active County

Building Suffolk as the Most Active County (MAC) is the council’s 2012 legacy programme for sport, physical activity and health. The MAC is a strategic partnership framework developed to maximise the contribution of sport and physical activity to improving health and wellbeing and reducing health inequalities. It has two core elements. Firstly, building on the inspiration and the momentum of the 2012 Games, the MAC will embed a long-term campaign to promote healthy active lifestyles, shift sedentary or inactive behaviours and address any barriers to participating in physical activity, particularly through the influence of the built and natural environment and socio-economic issues. Secondly, the MAC provides a framework for partners to work together, designing, promoting and commissioning sport, recreational and physical activity opportunities for Suffolk. The Most Active County provides the connectivity, interface and advice around physical activity and sport between local authorities and strategic partners—including schools, and Suffolk’s Health and Wellbeing Board and commissioning groups.

April 2013