Skip to main content

Potential challenges to sports in primary education


The 2017 England Health Survey showed that ‘30% of children aged 2 to 15 in England were overweight or obese, including 17% who were obese.’ (Health Survey England, 2017) To me, these figures seem absurd. Children who should be out and active are being classed as obese. Everyone but most importantly children, should be spending ‘at least 30 minutes, 5 times a week being moderately active.’ (Allender. S et al, 2006)

So, these figures had me thinking, why are children so inactive?

When looking into potential challenges for sports participation in primary school children, a few stood out to be main factors. I’ve broken these down into four different categories: funding, time, facilities and interest.

Funding
Funding is one of the biggest contenders when it comes to why children don’t participate in sport.  Budget cuts are on the rise meaning that funding is being strained and stretched to cover costs of the more academic subjects, leaving the creative subjects strapped for cash. Without funding teachers are left to double up with subjects they do not specifically specialise in and schools are left unable to provide good quality equipment, leaving children with talents that aren’t ‘classroom friendly’ unnurtured.

When it comes to sports funding, the government give a premium each academic year. This premium comes with no instructions on what to spend it on, only suggestions but must be spent on PE and sport. The premium funding is based on the number of pupils in years 1 to 6. ‘Schools with 16 or fewer eligible pupils receive £1000 per pupil.’ Schools with ’17 or more eligible pupils receive £16,000, and an additional payment of £10 per pupil. (GOV UK, 2019) However, schools must meet the conditions set by the government in order to receive the premium funding.

Facilities
Funding and facilities go hand in hand. Equipment and facilities cost money and without adequate funding you wouldn’t be able to have good quality resources for your school. A school in Wednesbury, West Midlands has been criticised after introducing a ‘no pay no play’ scheme. After budget cuts, parents were asked to make small donations to the school to fund new sports equipment. However, those who did not donates children were not allowed to use the new equipment. (Smith, 2018) This strain on funding, resulting in lack of equipment and resources is putting a poverty divide in schools. This divide could lead to bullying and isolation creating more barriers to participation.

Time
Schools often rely on the help of parents to run sport sessions and after school activities. Parents or guardians, as well as children, are often asked to participate and become sports leaders. These leaders are expected to run after school clubs and help out during sports days and competitions etc. A lot of people are leading hectic lives with busy schedules resulting in less time to spend helping out in schools. These hectic lifestyles led by adults may be hindering a child’s ability to participate. Less staffing and supervision will result in sessions not running or not running as effectively as possible. Vision for sports 2018 survey found that ‘32% of males and 40% of females’ would participate in sports if they had more time. (Vision for Sports, 2018)

Interest
When trying to nit pick the reasons as to why some children don’t want to participate in sports, sometimes there just isn’t an answer. Not every child will show an interest in sports and enjoy them the way the others do. Self confidence may play a part in this, ‘31% of males and 48% of females’ stated that they would participate in sports if their friends went with them. Other reasons given for not participating in sports were that they would if there were more sports available that suited them, 34% of males and 35% of females said this. (Vision for Sports, 2018)

Why is sport important?
PE and sport is a very important part of the curriculum. Exercise does wonders for your well-being.
It is known that exercising reduces good endorphins helping to relieve stress and relax you. However, there are many other positive benefits that are not so well known.

Exercise increases cognitive function in the brain. According to Harvard Medical School, ‘exercise helps reduce insulin resistance, reduce inflammation and stimulates growth factors’. This combination results in a reduction of plasma noradrenaline. Plasma noradrenaline is a vasoconstrictor, it reduces blood flow to the brain. (Godman, 2014) The reduction of this means more blood flow to the brain, promoting good cognitive function. Studies done by Maynard Et al in 1987 showed that the same reasoning applied to children gaining better grades in schools. (Department of Sport and Recreation, 2018) Not only does exercise have excellent effects on the brain, it helps to improve mental health and well-being.

Tomson et al (2003) carried out a study on young children and the risk of depression. In over 400 boys, it was found that those aged between 8 and 12 years old who did not play sport were more at risk of depressive symptoms than those who did. These results were 2.4 times higher. However, it was seen that there was no association for physical activity and depression in girls of the same age group.

There are many studies about the link between mental health and exercise with lots of research and evidence to back up the claims. Other psychological benefits in young people include ‘improving their control over symptoms of anxiety and depression, and can assist in the social development of young people.’ (World Health Organisation, 2019)


References
Department for Education (2013) ‘Evidence on physical education and sport in schools’ (online) Available at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/226505/Evidence_on_physical_education_and_sport_in_schools.pdf Accessed on: 14/03/2019
Department of Sport and Recreation (2018) ‘Benefits of sport and recreation’ (online) Available at: http://www.dsr.wa.gov.au/support-and-advice/research-and-policies/policies/benefits-of-sport-and-recreation Accessed on: 14/03/2019
Figure 1 http://www.leoisaac.com/funding/top119.htm
Figure 2 https://www.st-augustines.lancs.sch.uk/pe-and-sports-premium/
Godman. H (2014) ‘Regular exercise changes the brain to improve memory, thinking skills’ (online) Available at: https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/regular-exercise-changes-brain-improve-memory-thinking-skills-201404097110 Accessed on: 14/03/2019
GOV UK (2019) ‘PE and sport premium for primary schools’ (online) Available at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/pe-and-sport-premium-for-primary-schools Accessed on: 14/03/2019
Smith. L (2018) ‘School scheme ‘’bans children from sports equipment if their parents haven’t paid towards it’’’ (online) Available at: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/school-children-pay-extra-sports-equipment-no-pay-no-play-parents-rich-poor-divide-wednesbury-oak-a8151841.html Accessed on 14/03/2019
Tomson, L.M.; Pangrazi, R.P.; Friedman, G. and Hutchison, N. (2003) Childhood depressive symptoms, physical activity and health related fitness. Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 25, 419-439.
Vision for sports (2018) ‘Children and young people’s participation in sports in Wales’ (online) Available at: https://visionforsport.wales/downloads/children-and-young-peoples-participation-in-sport.pdf Accessed on: 14/03/2019
World Health Organisation (2019) ‘Physical activity and young people’ (online) Available at: https://www.who.int/dietphysicalactivity/factsheet_young_people/en/ Accessed on: 14/03/2019
Youth Sport Trust (2019) ‘About the premium’ (online) Available at: https://www.youthsporttrust.org/about-premium Accessed on: 14/03/2019

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Pedagogical Principles and the Curriculum

‘’The curriculum is continuously subject to pressures to change’’ and rightly so. The world we live in is constantly changing and what each individual needs from the curriculum is changing with it. ‘’Each child and young person in Wales should be able to benefit from the curriculum.’’ (Donaldson. G, 2015) How is the curriculum design decided? There are many influences upon the curriculum, by different types of people. The schools and those working within them will have a say. Investors, stakeholders and the government will also have a strong influence and or say in what happens. When it comes to deciding the principles for the curriculum there are certain things you need to consider. Authenticity is one of them. Here in Wales we have some great culture and values that need to be considered when creating a curriculum. Once decided upon these need to be ‘aligned with an agreed set of stated purpose.’ Another thing that needs to be considered is how well researched the pract...
Post a Comment
Read more

Sustainability in Primary Education

As our current relationship with mother nature deteriorates, it is important now more than ever to ensure children are aware globally, not just locally aware of what is happening in the world and the impact the have on it. Schooling is one of the best ways to ensure children are engaging with environmental issues and learning about sustainability. ‘Issues such as economic migration, climate change and usage of digital technology have meant that what happens elsewhere in the world can have a direct impact on children’s lives in the UK and vice versa.’ (Bourn. Et al, 2016) Firstly, what is sustainability? Sustainability can be defined in two ways, ‘the ability to be sustained, supported, upheld or confirmed’ or the ‘the quality of not being harmful to the environment or not depleting natural resources, and thereby supporting long-term ecological balance.’ (Dictionary.com, 2019) To answer the stated question I will be focusing on the later of the definitions as this one is gea...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Values of Nature Pedagogy in Primary Education

Firstly, how do we define exactly what nature pedagogy is? Many people will have their own definition of what nature pedagogy is. However, according to the founder of the International Association of Nature Pedagogy, Claire Warden (2018), ‘ ’ Nature Pedagogy  is a way of working with children and creating settings for care and education that embraces nature.’’ This can be achieved through different outdoor settings such as, forests, beaches and other accessible outdoor areas. ‘’ The natural world is vital to our existence, providing us with essentials such as food, water and clean air, but also other cultural and health benefits not always fully appreciated because we get them for free.’’ (Spelman. C, 2011) When in the outdoor space, the focus then turns to appreciating the outdoors and creating connections with your natural surroundings. The whole idea of nature pedagogy is based on connection. Connection to the outdoors and connection to yourself. In today’s society it’s ...
Post a Comment
Read more