Last month, Ofsted released their subject report, examining how PE is being taught in schools. Both Youth Sport Trust and the Association for PE (afPE) have confirmed their support for the recommendations. The report, “Levelling the Playing Field: Physical Education”, identifies strengths and areas for development, building on the subject report from the year before.
The report drew evidence from 25 secondary schools and 25 primary schools visited between November 2022 and June 2023. It highlights PE as an area where most pupils will gain their ‘first and only place’ for ‘safe, efficient and intelligent movement’.
In accordance with research on the timetabling of PE in schools, the report shows that around half of schools aren’t timetabling two hours of PE. In many cases, those hours are reduced for the sake of other academic subjects.
The issue of swimming and water safety in primary schools echoes the evidence of Swim England’s Value of Swimming report. Owing to the recommendations made in the report, AfPE is offering its support to help schools meet issues of design and training to improve practice where it is required.
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