Primary school children in England will benefit from higher quality PE lessons and better sport opportunities, the Education Secretary has announced today.
Backed by a £320 million investment, the PE and Sport Premium will encourage children to play more sport, increase their social skills, and improve their physical activity after lockdown. Schools will also be able to improve the quality of their teaching and make longer-term, sustainable changes to their lessons.
The funding, for the next academic year, can be used by schools alongside any money leftover from the PE and Sport Premium grant this year or last. These underspends can be used by schools until 31 July 2022, and will help them to prioritise physical activities, sport and physical education with mental health and wellbeing support, or education catch up and tutoring.
The funding builds on the ambitious School Sport and Activity Action Plan, which will be updated later this year.
The Government is working closely with the sector to improve children and young people’s physical activity, including through investment; building on core content for physical activity in the health and relationships school curriculum; and working across the sector to produce targeted videos, guidance and support to continue to prioritise PE, sport and physical activity.
The news has been welcomed by North Swindon MP Justin Tomlinson, who has worked to highlight how children benefit from being active, as well as encouraging more opportunities for young people to take part in sport and exercise.
As part of this work Justin organises an annual Summer Activities Fair, which invites local clubs and groups to showcase what they have to offer families over the summer holidays.
