Schools cut PE time – despite rising obesity
SCHOOLS are cutting the amount of time they dedicate to PE despite warnings of a growing youth obesity crisis.
An analysis shows that the number of hours spent on sports lessons has fallen by 21 per cent on average for GCSE pupils in the last six years.
For pupils aged 11 to 14, hours have been cut by 5 per cent. The findings come after a recent study from King’s College London found that 25 per cent of girls and 24 per cent of boys between 11 and 15 are obese.
Critics said yesterday that government pressure to concentrate on academic subjects has led to some schools squeezing out sports.
The figures come from an analysis of teachers’ working patterns between 2011 and 2017 by the Times Educational Supplement.
Alison Oliver, chief executive of the Youth Sport Trust, said the reduction in PE hours was ‘very worrying’ because of its implications for ‘physical, social and emotional health’. She added: ‘Young people have probably never needed PE more.’
Children’s commissioner Anne Longfield added: ‘It is disappointing to see many schools are spending less time on PE when we know that our children are the least active generation ever and that just one in four boys and one in five girls in England do the recommended 60 minutes of activity each day.
‘Schools have a really important role to play, alongside parents, in making sure children are physically active and not spending all their time glued to screens.’
The data showed that time has been cut from personal, social, health and economic education, with teaching hours devoted to the subject down by 33 per cent for 11 to 14-year- olds, and 47 per cent for GCSE pupils. In addition, there has been a drop in the amount of time spent on the arts, while the amount of time spent teaching maths, English and science has increased. PE is com- pulsory up to 16 years, but schools are responsible for deciding how many hours to spend on each subject.
The Government is encouraging schools to get children to do the English Baccalaureate at GCSE – which consists of core subjects including English, maths, science and history.
Sue Wilkinson, chief executive of the Association for Physical Education and vice- chairman of the Council for Subject Associations, blamed the fall in PE lessons on a drive to get more pupils to take the ‘EBacc’. She said: ‘Pressures of exams, pressures of the EBacc and intervention strategies are taking kids out of PE lessons.’
A Department for Education spokesman said it had made clear the importance ensuring children grow up into healthy adults.
Just 55.6 per cent of pupils aged five to ten took part in sport competitions at school last year.
The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport survey revealed a 6.8 percentage point drop from 2016, when 62.4 per cent took part, suggesting sports days are falling out of fashion.
‘Least active generation ever’
AS children prepare to return to class, new figures reveal the disturbing scale of the school places crisis.
Children who live a one-minute walk away rejected… Up to 14 children fighting for one place… Half of senior schools now oversubscribed…
What’s more, the problem is only going to get worse, as councils warn some 134,000 pupils could be without a secondary school place in five years’ time.
This is a slow motion train wreck, and ministers must take urgent action to avoid inflicting unbearable anguish on children refused a place at their local school.
But it is not just the Department for Education that needs to act. As the Mail has long argued, mass migration is largely to blame for pressure on public services. Unless ministers redouble their efforts to reduce net migration, things are only going to get worse.