Farah leads call to keep schoolchildren active
hgovernment urged to guarantee financial support h£320 million package cut may ‘damage children’s health’
Four-time Olympic champion Mo Farah and more than 100 leading British athletes have signed an open letter to the Government urging it to guarantee £320million funding for primary schools. They warn that an inactivity crisis among the nation’s young has worsened during the coronavirus lockdown.
More than 100 of the nation’s sports stars, including Mo Farah, Hannah Cockroft and numerous other Olympic, Paralympic, World, European and Commonwealth champions, today urge the Government to immediately guarantee its primary school sport funding.
In an open letter seen by The
Daily Telegraph, they outline the potentially “catastrophic” consequences if a £320million package is cut just as an inactivity crisis among young people has worsened dramatically during the coronavirus pandemic.
The PE and Sport Premium has been largely funded by the sugar tax on soft drinks and provides ring-fenced funding of £16,000 for each primary school to invest in sport and activity during children’s critical formative years.
But, with just weeks until the end of this academic year, there has been no confirmation of its future status and the uncertainty has put key jobs at risk and raised fears over the potentially “disastrous” consequences for the physical and mental health of children.
The letter to Government, which was written yesterday and was gathering vast support, says that the country must do everything “to help young people reconnect and recover from the damage done to their wellbeing in recent months”.
It outlines how the PE Premium has changed numerous lives, but says the current uncertainty has meant schools are “being severely compromised in their ability to plan support for young people’s physical and mental health”.
The letter ends with a warning: “We fear any withdrawal of support for physical education and school sport at this time could be catastrophic for a generation of young people. We urge government to signal its commitment to young people’s wellbeing by confirming this essential funding without further delay.”
Signatories span every facet of elite and grass-roots sport, from current England rugby and hockey internationals such as Manu Tuilagi and Maddie Hinch, to past icons Steve Cram and Martin Offiah, and BBC presenter Clare Balding.
Farah, the four-time Olympic and six-time world champion, stressed that the early years of “childhood is what shapes you” and that being active from a young age was the foundation for his love of sport.
Cockroft, a five-time Paralympic champion and 11-time world champion, said she would “hate to see any young person miss out on school sport” and that “there shouldn’t even be a question over this funding”.
Lawrence Dallaglio, the former England captain and rugby World Cup winner, said the Government should “look to double” the premium as a commitment to future generations. “Now, more than ever, PE and school sport is vital for the health and wellbeing of our young people,” he said.
The letter, which coincides with the Youth Sport’s Trust first-ever virtual schools sports week, follows alarming new research which shows how children’s activity levels have dropped during lockdown.
Chief medical officer Chris Whitty recommends children complete an average of at least 60 minutes of activity daily but between 14 and 22 per cent have been achieving that. Around one in 10 children reported doing no daily activity.
Former Conservative ministers Baroness Nicky Morgan and Tracey Crouch have both tabled parliamentary questions to seek urgent clarity. The Department for Education said the Government “wants to ensure all children are getting an active start in life”, but said “the position of the PE and Sport Premium in the 2020/21 academic year will be confirmed in due course”.
‘School sport is vital for the health and wellbeing of young people’