CCPR commends today’s announcement by the Government that
every pupil will be offered at least four hours of physical
education and school sport each week, of which two hours will
be within the school curriculum, and the pledge of 500 million
to deliver improved standards and increase the number of
school sports partnerships.
The CCPR, the umbrella organisation for the National Governing
Bodies of Sport and Recreation, has campaigned for a minimum
of two hours physical education to be the right of every school
child and believes that the Government has made a valuable step
towards allowing every pupil his or her “entitlement” of physical
education.
Margaret Talbot, Chief Executive of CCPR: “The specific
commitment of providing two hours within the school
curriculum and the provision of extra resources to deliver it, will
enable every child to enjoy the benefits that physical education
bring. However, we must ensure that this investment is
sustained and that the extra funding is used to increase the
number of specialist physical education teachers and to provide
at least 30 hours training for primary school teachers. Highly
trained and professional staff will be vital for delivering a wider
variety of activities and providing the ‘quality’ experience that
will encourage lifelong participation in sport and recreation.”
Similar to the Conservative party announcement made last week,
the Government also intends to provide extra curricular sport
and recreational activities via links with local clubs and societies.
The CCPR believes that this use of voluntary sector sport clubs,
including the 130,000 in the CCPR membership, will further
enable young people to enjoy quality sport and recreational
opportunities and will provide them with a channel into
community sport.
CCPR Chair, Howard Wells, said: “The current system feels as if
the bridge between school and community has had foundations
only on one side – and these proposals now seem at last to be
addressing the voluntary clubs in the community. This will allow
clubs to provide services for millions more young people, and
have real resources to support them. It will also help make the
millions of volunteers who give up so much time and effort for
sport and recreation in this country feel that their selfless work
is truly appreciated.”
The CCPR Challenge, launched in November, calls on the next
government to double the exchequer funding for sport and
recreation.
