Inspecting primary school PE and school sport: new funding

Background

1.    In April 2013, the Government announced new funding of £150 million for physical education (PE) and sport. This funding should be used to improve the quality and breadth of PE and sport provision.

2.    Funding will be allocated to all maintained and state-funded schools with primary phase pupils, including: primary, middle, special and non-maintained special schools, academies and pupil referral units from 1 September 2013. A typical primary school will receive about £9,250 annually in the academic years 2013/14 and 2014/15.

3.    Schools are free to determine how best to use this funding to improve the quality and breadth of PE and sport provision, including increasing participation in PE and sport so that all pupils develop healthy lifestyles and reach the performance levels they are capable of. Examples of how this funding might be spent are set out in annex A.

Section 5 inspections of maintained schools and academies with primary-aged pupils

4.    From 1 September 2013, inspectors will assess and report on how effectively this new funding is being used to improve PE and sport provision when making the judgement on the quality of the school’s leadership and management.

5.    Inspectors will use evidence gained from meetings with school leaders, including governors to assess the impact of additional funding on improving the quality and breadth of PE and sport provision. Inspectors may also use evidence from observations of lessons and/or extra-curricular sports clubs, and discussions with pupils. Inspectors may also review the details of a school’s PE and sport provision on their school website prior to an inspection.  

Examples of effective use of PE and sport finding

It is up to schools to determine how best to use this additional funding. Some examples of how schools are intending to use this funding include:

§  paying the most effective teachers an enhanced allowance to lead improvements in PE and school sport and provide staff training on how to teach PE well

§  employing specialist PE teachers or qualified coaches to work alongside teachers in lessons to increase their subject knowledge and confidence in PE

§  employing a specialist teacher or providing professional development for staff to lead after-school sports clubs for disabled pupils and those with special educational needs

§  providing cover staff to release teachers for professional development in PE and sport

§  procuring quality-assured professional training for staff to raise their confidence and competence in teaching PE and sport

§  paying staff or external sports coaches to run competitions, or to increase pupils’ participation in national school games competitions

§  quality assuring the work of sports coaches and instructors employed to coach in PE lessons and after-school sports clubs

§  buying into existing local sports networks such as school sport partnerships or community sports coaching initiatives

§  pooling funding with other local schools to employ a specialist teacher to train existing teachers and teach PE across a cluster of schools

§  pooling funding to employ qualified teaching assistants to provide regular sports tournaments, festivals and competitions for pupils of all ages

§  employing expert advice to evaluate the school’s current strengths and weaknesses in PE and sport, and implement plans for improvement

§  providing places for pupils in after-school sport clubs and holiday courses

§  engaging the least active pupils in after school activities, for example ‘Change4Life’ after school clubs

§  providing high-quality training for volunteers, parents and carers, governors and adults other than teachers to run sports teams, after school clubs and assist in organising large school sports events

§  providing training and payment for midday supervisors to introduce playground games at breaks and lunchtimes

§  employing a local coach to provide weekly after-school sport on the school site and at the local club in the evenings, weekends and school holidays

§  forging links with PE teachers in local secondary schools to help primary staff improve their PE and sports provision

§  establishing strong, sustainable partnerships with local community sports clubs where no links have been made in the past 

§  establishing a house system to enable regular, inter-house sports competitions for pupils of all ages

§  paying for transport, pool hire and instruction to provide additional swimming lessons for those pupils unable to swim by the end of Year 6  

§  in small, rural or city schools with limited indoor space for PE, paying for transport and access to indoor leisure facilities for weekly PE lessons

§  providing extra, additional activities such as outdoor and adventurous activities

§  introducing new initiatives such as basic movement skills in the Early Years Foundation Stage, or developing young sports leaders in Key Stage 2

§  purchasing specialist equipment and teaching resources to develop a non-traditional activity such as rhythmic gymnastics or a new sport such as competitive cycling

§  providing pupils who are gifted and talented in sport with expert, intensive coaching and support.

 

Primary School Sport Premium Funding

The Government is providing funding of £150 million per annum for academic years 2013/14 and 2014/15 to provide new, substantial primary school sport funding’. This funding is being jointly provided by the Departments for Education, Health and Culture, Media and Sport, and will see money going directly to primary school headteachers to spend on improving the quality of sport and PE for all their children.

The sport funding can only be spent on sport and PE provision in schools.

Eligible schools

Funding for schools will be calculated by the number of primary-aged pupils (between the ages of 5 and 11) as at the annual schools census in January 2013.

All schools with 17 or more primary-aged pupils will receive a lump sum of £8000 plus a premium of £5 per pupil. Smaller schools will receive £500 per pupil.

Purpose of funding

Schools will have to spend the sport funding on improving their provision of PE and sport, but they will have the freedom to choose they do this.

Possible uses for the funding include:

• hiring specialist PE teachers or qualified sports coaches to work alongside primary teachers when teaching PE
• new or additional Change4Life sport clubs
• paying for professional development opportunities in PE/sport
• providing cover to release primary teachers for professional development in PE/sport
• running sport competitions, or increasing participation in the school games
• buying quality assured professional development modules or materials for PE/sport
• providing places for pupils on after school sport clubs and holiday clubs.

Accountability

Schools will be held to account for how they spend the sport funding.  Ofsted will strengthen its coverage of sport and PE within the Inspectors’ Handbook and supporting guidance, so that schools and inspectors know how sport and PE will be assessed in future as part of the school’s overall provision offered.

Schools will be required to include details about their sporting provision on their school website, alongside their curriculum details, so parents can compare sports provision between schools, both within and beyond the school day.

Best practice

Schools will be able to draw on information on effective practice taken from case studies provided by the very best schools. One year on, Ofsted will carry out a survey reporting on the first year’s expenditure and its impact.

Funding period

The sport premium will be paid for the two academic years 2013/14 and 2014/15.

All state-maintained secondary schools, academies, middle schools, special schools (including non-maintained special schools) and pupil referral units which have primary aged pupils (as reported in the 2013 school census) will receive funding.

Amount of funding per school - a breakdown

• All schools with 17 or more primary-aged pupils will receive a lump sum of £8000 plus a premium of £5 per pupil.
• Smaller schools will receive £500 per pupil. 

For example, a school with 16 eligible pupils would receive £8000. One with 12 would receive £6000 and one with five eligible pupils – the smallest that we know of – would receive £2500.

How the funding will be paid

For 2013/14 and 2014/15 the sport funding will be included in the additional grant for schools (AGS) 2013-14 and 2014-15. AGS is distributed to local authorities in late September or early October each year.

The payments will cover the total funding for the academic years 1 September 2013 to 31 August 2014 and 1 September 2014 to 31 August 2015.  The allocations for each eligible school in the authority will be set out in a spreadsheet that will accompany the note on the conditions of grant for the initiatives being supported by the AGS.

Academies will receive their AGS directly from the Education Funding Agency (EFA).

Eligible special schools will receive their funding directly from the Department’s special education needs and disability division.

Accounting for the spending

Schools will be held to account for how they spend the sport funding. Ofsted will strengthen its coverage of sport and PE within the inspection handbook and supporting guidance, so that schools and inspectors know how sport and PE will be assessed in future as part of the overall provision offered by the school.

Primary School Sport Funding

Exclusive: Campbell hopeful of primary school sport investment ahead of Government announcement

Youth Sport Trust (YST) chair Baroness Sue Campbell claimed she is hopeful that there will be a big investment in primary school sport with Education Secretary Michael Gove set to make a major announcement on the issue later this month.
Gove's Department for Education (DfE), who assume responsibility for school sport in the UK, have often come under criticism from the physical education sector, particularly in their first Comprehensive Spending Review in October 2010 when they announced the entire £162 million funding for the School Sports Partnerships would be axed.

The move was met by such a fierce wave of protests from teachers, pupils and Olympic athletes that the Government had to partially backtrack on the decision and reinstall some of the funding for a period.

Following the success of London 2012, there have been renewed calls for more investment in school sport to help continue the legacy drive of the Games and with Gove's school sport announcement scheduled for next week, Campbell said she wants to see a boost for primary schools.

"Listening to the headteachers and school sport leaders here, there is a real recognition that we need to do something around primary school physical education," Campbell told insidethegames at the Youth Sport Trust 2013 Conference here.

"That doesn't mean to say that there isn't still work to be done in secondary schools because there is.

"But at secondary school level, there are some existing structures in place and tools such as the School Games which they can use.

"But in primary schools, everybody acknowledges that if we don't get it right, then we are not laying the foundations for health and we are not laying the foundations for sport for young children.

"So we would hope that the announcement will represent some significant investment in primary physical education."

Campbell, who is also UK Sport chair, admitted it would have been better to see the announcement come straight after London 2012 to help build on the momentum of the successful Olympics and Paralympics.

Education Secretary Michael Gove will make an announcement on school sport this month, although he has been widely criticised with a lack of commitment on the issue

"But in the end, if it is the right announcement, a good announcement and it offers the right kind of investment, then I think we can get on with it," she said.

"I think any impatience from schools over the announcement is them wanting to know that at the Government level, school sport does matter and that it hasn't been forgotten.

"It is just a desire to push on.

"So that it is the right announcement for school sport is far more important than the timing."

The YST chair also looked to play down any rift with Gove, who has come constant under attack at the conference in Telford for his lack of commitment to school sport.

"I think we do have to get away from personalising this too much and focusing on a particular individual," she said.

"This is a Government responsibility and that means the Department of Education, the Department of Health and the Department of Culture, Media and Sport.

It is not just the responsibility of one person and one Department; it is a responsibility of everyone in Government from the Prime Minister down.

"I think it is dangerous if it gets too personalised against an individual and that certainly isn't helpful for anyone.

"This issue is much too important than that.

"This can't be me against an individual or an individual against me because that is nonsense.

"We want the Government to work coherently with us for the good of young people in schools."

This article was taken from Inside the games and written by Tom Deggun, contact him at tom.degun@insidethegames.biz