At the launch of the Physical Education Declaration in
Westminster last night, experts from CCPR_, the national
umbrella organisation for the National Governing Bodies of Sport
and Recreation, the Physical Education Professional Bodies,
politicians of all parties and celebrities from the world of sport
were all in agreement that physical education should be a core
subject in the school curriculum and is vital for children to learn
the skills, understanding and confidence that enable them to
lead active, enjoyable and healthy lifestyles.
The Physical Education Declaration_, issued by the National
Physical Education Summit on 24 January, calls on the
Government and key delivery agencies to invest more time for
initial teacher training and professional development, and to
review the nature of training to meet 21st Century needs.
The ability of schools to offer high quality physical education
depends on the enthusiasm, skills and training of their teachers.
These views were endorsed by Roger Utley, former England
Rugby Player and British Lion, and Sir Trevor Brooking, who
attended the launch.
Andy Reed MP and Paul Truswell MP, political champions for the
CCPR Challenge_, welcomed the Government commitment that
all children would receive at least two hours’ high quality
physical education and sport within curriculum time by 2010;
but expressed concern that many children in the meantime
would not benefit from this.
Speaking at the launch, Professor Margaret Talbot, Chief
Executive of CCPR commented: “The UK currently has the first
generation of children whose life expectancies are shorter than
their parents’ and 16% of 6-15 years olds are obese. School is
the ONLY opportunity to ensure that all children benefit from
quality programmes which contribute to their physical
development and health, encourage them to participate in
physical activity within healthy lifestyles.
But physical education is also the only subject to provide
physical competence, which is a means of enhancing self
esteem, empowerment and social inclusion. Physical literacy is
as important to a child’s education and development as
numeracy and literacy. “This is a challenging task for teachers,
and they need more than just a few hours in their initial training
to ensure that they are adequately prepared to teach this
important subject.”
