Evidence on physical education and sport in schools

Evidence on physical education and sport in schools June 2013

Contents Introduction 3 Participation in PE and out of hours school sport 11 Participation in PE and Sport by pupil characteristics 14 Most common sports to participate in 16 School sports provision 19 Participation in competitive sports 23 Club links 26 Academically-able pupils (previously known as Gifted and Talented) 27 Curriculum time spent on PE and sport 28 International evidence on PE and sport in schools 30 Schools awareness of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (pre 2012 Games) 32 The School Games 33 Impact of the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games on participation in sport 34 GCSE PE 37 A-Level PE 40 Effective practice in PE and Sport in schools 42 Teacher Qualifications 47 Pupil attitudes to PE and sport 48 Barriers to participation for pupils with SEN and disabilities 52 Benefits of PE and sport 53 The impact of physical activity on attainment 55 References 62 Annex A: Sport surveys 68 2

Introduction This evidence note reports domestic and international evidence on physical education (PE) and sport in primary and secondary schools. The majority of the statistics are taken from the most recent PE and Sport Survey (Quick et al., 2010), which was commissioned by the Department for Education (the then Department for Children, Schools and Families, DCSF), and the Department of Culture, Media and Sport s Taking Part survey (DCMS, 2013). For more information on these surveys, please see Annex A. Key Findings Participation in PE and out of hours sport The most recent PE and Sport Survey (Quick et al., 2010) found that across Years 1-13, 55% of pupils participated in at least three hours of PE and out of hours school sport. The percentage of pupils taking part in at least three hours of PE and out of hours school sport increased across primary school and decreased across secondary school. The Tellus4 survey found that 21% of pupils (in Years 6, 8 and 10) said they did something active everyday during lesson time, whilst 74% said they were active some/most days, and 5% said they were never active during lesson time (Chamberlain et al., 2010). The Taking Part Survey (DCMS, 2013) found that 82.5% of 5-10 year olds did sport outside school and 94.7% of 11-15 year olds did sport in or outside school over the previous four week period: these figures have remained steady since 2008/09 with no significant changes. Over the previous week, 76.0% of 5-10 year olds participated in sport outside school and 94.4% of 11-15 year olds did sport in or outside school: there has been no significant difference for 5-10 year olds since 2008/09, however there has been a significant increase in participation for 11-15 year olds. Participation in PE and sport by pupil characteristics The PE and Sport Survey (Quick et al., 2010) found that: Schools where a high percentage of pupils took part in three or more hours of PE and out of hours school sport were more likely to be categorised as having low numbers of pupils on free school meals (FSM). Schools in deprived areas were over-represented amongst the lowest performing schools in terms of their participation in PE and out of hours school sport. 3

Schools achieving the lowest levels of participation in three hours of PE and out of hours school sport tended to have a relatively high proportion of children from an ethnic minority background and pupils with special educational needs (SEN). Across all year groups boys were more likely to take part in three hours of PE and out of hours school sport than girls. Most common sports to participate in The Taking Part survey (DCMS, 2013) reported that: The most common sport for 5-10 year olds was swimming, diving of lifesaving, with almost half (47.6%) having taken part in the last four weeks. There were significant increases in participation in tennis since 2010/11, whilst participation in walking or hiking, rounders, and angling or fishing had significantly decreased. For 11-15 year olds, football (including five-a-side) was the most common sport, with 56.1% having played in the last four weeks. Since 2010/11 there have been significant increases in participation in football, rounders, tennis, rugby, cricket, table tennis, and athletics, track and field events, running races or jumping, and a significant decrease in participation in walking or hiking. School sports provision The PE and Sport Survey (Quick et al., 2010) found that in 2009/10: Schools provided on average 19 different sports to both girls and boys. The most commonly offered sports in schools included football, dance, athletics, gymnastics, cricket, rounders and swimming. Sports that have become more likely to be offered in schools include tennis, multiskills club, fitness, orienteering and cycling. Participation in competitive sports The Taking Part survey (DCMS, 2013) reported that: Across 5-15 year olds, 81.6% reported doing some form of competitive sport in the last 12 months: 77.8% had taken part in school, whilst 37.9% had taken part outside of school. There have been no significant changes since 2011/12, the first full year of data collection on this. For 5-10 year olds, the most common way of participating in competitive sport was playing sport in their school in organised competitions (64.6%), whilst for 11-15 year olds, it was playing sport against others in PE and games lessons (76.0%). 4

The PE and Sport Survey (Quick et al., 2010) found that: Primary school pupils were more likely to take part in intra-school and inter-school sport competitions as they move up the school; however, secondary pupils were less likely to take part as they got older. Boys were more likely than girls to take part in intra-school and inter-school sports competitions regularly. The difference in boys and girls participation increased as they moved up the school. Almost all schools (99%) held at least one sports day or equivalent event during the academic year in 2009/10. Club links The PE and Sport Survey (Quick et al., 2010) reported that on average, schools indicated that they had links to clubs for nine different sports. The top five sports that schools had club links with were football (79%), cricket (61%), dance (55%), swimming (51%), and rugby union (50%). Curriculum time spent on PE and sport In 2009/10, the average curriculum time spent on PE and sport in primary schools was 127 minutes and in secondary was 107 minutes (Quick et al., 2010). Only a small number of pupils across primary and secondary schools, around 6%, completed three hours of PE and sport within school time. International evidence on PA and sport in schools Recommendations on the minimum taught time in PE vary widely between countries: approximately 50-80 hours a year in compulsory education, which corresponds to around 9-10% of curriculum time in primary education and 6-8% in secondary education (Eurydice, 2013). These figures are similar to those of the OECD (2012), who found that on average 9% of curriculum time was spent on PE for pupils aged 7-8 and 8% of time for pupils aged 12-14, in 2009. Eurydice (2013) highlighted large differences in the taught time for PE by primary and secondary school, ranging from 37 hours in primary schools in Ireland to 108 in France; and from 24 hours in secondary schools in Turkey to 108 in France. 5

Schools awareness of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (pre 2012 Games) Evidence suggests that awareness of the Olympics (prior to the Olympics) was high, with 96% of pupils in England reporting they were aware of the Games. Awareness of the Paralympics was also high (Bunt et al., 2011). Two-thirds of schools and colleges had been involved in at least one Olympic or Paralympic event during the 2009/10 academic year (66%), with almost all secondary schools having done so (96%) (Bunt et al., 2011). Impact of the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games on participation in sport The Taking Part survey (DCMS, 2013) found that over a third of 5-10 year olds (36.2%) and over half of 11-15 year olds (51.6%) had been encouraged to take part in sport a lot or a little as a result of the UK hosting the Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2012. Those children who responded that they were encouraged a little or a lot to take part in sport by the Games, said they were more interested in sport and in new sports, were taking part in sport more often and taking up new sports, and they intended to participate more often and in more sports. Around a fifth of children (19.6% of 5-10 year olds and 22.8% of 11-15 year olds) had taken part in sports activities in school linked to the Games. Entries and attainment in GCSE PE In 2012, 97,800 pupils entered GCSE PE. This is 16% of the cohort and compares to 18% of the cohort that entered in 2001 and 24% of the cohort in 2007, when entries peaked. In 2012, 71% of pupils achieved grades A*-C, compared to 53% in 2001. There was no difference in the percentage of boys and girls achieving an A*-C in 2012, with 71% of boys and 71% of girls achieving an A*-C. Entries and attainment in A-level PE In 2012, 17,135 pupils entered A-level PE. This was 2.2% of the cohort. Entries peaked in 2008 when 3% of the cohort entered A-level PE. In 2012, 41% of pupils who entered PE A-level achieved grades A*-B. Girls have consistently outperformed boys in achieving A*-B grades: in 2012, 50% of girls achieved A*-B grades compared with 34% of boys. 6

Effective practice in PE and sport in schools There is more good and outstanding PE in schools since the Ofsted 2009 report, however, not all pupils have a good physical education, some schools do not provide enough physical aspects, other schools do not teach PE in enough depth, and there is limited access to a high standard of competitive sport (Ofsted, 2013). Primary schools The teaching, quality of the PE curriculum, leadership and management, and overall effectiveness of PE was good or outstanding in over two thirds of the primary schools visited. Pupils achievement was good or outstanding in over two thirds of the primary schools visited, with boys, girls, disabled pupils and those with special educational needs (SEN) making similar progress in PE. Secondary schools The overall effectiveness of PE was good or outstanding in just under three quarters of secondary schools. Teaching, the PE curriculum, and leadership and management of PE were good or outstanding in over three quarters of schools visited. Pupils achievement was good or outstanding in almost three quarters of secondary schools visited, with pupils with SEN making similar progress to other pupils in PE, whilst boys tended to outperform girls in practical lessons. Teacher Qualifications The School Workforce Census (DfE, 2012) found that 56% of teachers in secondary maintained schools in England that taught PE had a degree or higher, 16% had a bachelor of education (BEd), 7% had a PGCE and 2% held an other relevant qualification. Overall, 80% of all teachers who taught PE had a relevant post A-level qualification, while 20% of teachers who taught PE had no relevant post A-level qualification. Eurydice (2013) reported that across Europe, PE is taught by generalists and specialist teachers in primary schools, whilst in lower secondary education PE teachers tend to be specialists. Specialist teachers at primary school usually have a Bachelor s degree whereas in lower secondary education almost as many countries require a Master s degree as a Bachelor s degree. The secondary school curriculum and staffing survey in England (Charles et al., 2008) reported that the gender split of teachers was almost equal, with 49% of PE teachers being male and 51% female. The majority of PE teachers were in the 7

youngest two age bands: 51% were under 30 and 27% were aged 30-39. Fifteen per cent of PE teachers were aged 40-49 and 10% were 50+. Pupil attitudes to PE and sport In 2006, analysis of LSYPE showed that 24% of pupils in Year 9 named PE, games or sport as their favourite subject. This was the most popular subject ahead of art, which 16% of pupils said was their favourite subject. More recently, a survey of pupils in Years 7-11 conducted by researchers at the University of Manchester 1 confirmed these findings, stating that pupils favourite subject was PE (33%), followed by art (20%) and English (8%). Reasons cited by 6-11 year olds for not enjoying school sport or exercise included: beliefs that their physique was not suited to sport, embarrassment at not being good enough and letting the team down, frustration at not understanding the rules, and boredom (Mason, 1995). Bad weather and wanting to spend time doing other things such as seeing friends, playing computer games or watching television were common reasons for not taking part in physical activity after school (Brockman et al., 2011; Burrows et al., 1999; Mason, 1995; Mulivhill et al., 2000; Tuxworth, 1997). Fun and enjoyment have been reported as the main reasons that pupils take part in physical activity. Being with friends and the sense of belonging to a team and achieving also encourages pupils to take part (Brockman et al., 2011; Burrows et al., 1999; Mason, 1995; Mulivhill et al, 2000; Tuxworth, 1997). Gorely et al. (2011) highlighted that girls participation in PE and sport declines over time. They identified suggestions for encouraging girls to be more active: having a genuine choice of activities, having girls-only sessions, including more friendly competition and fun, ensuring teachers are positive/encouraging, changing boys attitudes to girls in sport, and increasing girls confidence. SPEAR s (2011) evaluation of the Change 4 Life School Sports Club programme concluded that greater targeting of the programme at non sporty pupils has the potential to more than double the reach of the impact of the programme. Barriers to participation for pupils with SEN and disabilities The barriers of taking part in PE and sport for pupils with disabilities include: inaccessible facilities and equipment; staff without adequate training; and inadequate, non-compliant, or otherwise inaccessible programs and curricula (Auxter et al., 2010; Rimmer, 2008; Rimmer and Rowland, 2007; Stanish, 2010). 1 Available on the University of Manchester s website 8

Whizz-Kidz (2011) found that 57% of disabled pupils said they took part in PE as much as other children whilst 33% said they didn t: of those who didn t take part in PE as much as others, 33% felt that it was because of their disability, with 54% of wheelchair users reporting this. Only 22% of the powered wheelchair users and 27% of manual wheelchair users took part in team games and activities all of the time. Benefits of PE and Sport Physical benefits of physical activity in childhood include greater bone strength and positive movement skill development (Bass, 2000; Fisher et al., 2005; Kemper et al., 2000). There is also evidence that physical activity is linked to better cognitive functioning (Sibley and Etnier, 2003). There is evidence that physical activity has a positive effect on mental health in children, including reducing anxiety and depression and improving mood (e.g. Ahn and Fedewa, 2011; Mutrie and Parfitt, 1998). However, there is some evidence that for pupils who do not enjoy physical activity it can have a negative impact on self-esteem and mood (Biddle, 1999; Hellison, 1973). There is some evidence to indicate that physical activity is linked to improved concentration and behaviour in the classroom (Budde et al., 2008; QCA, 2007; Raviv and Low, 1990; Tuckman and Hinkle, 1986). The impact of school-based physical activity on attainment School-based PE and the link with attainment Overall, the evidence on the relationship between time spent on PE and sport and attainment is mixed. Some evidence shows that increased time in PE has a positive relationship with attainment while some evidence reports that there is no relationship between the two. However, overall the evidence suggests that there is no negative association between increased time spent on PE and sport and attainment; despite the reduced teaching time, studies have shown that pupils have equal or enhanced grades. Increasing physical activity lessons from twice a week to daily has been reported to have a significant effect on primary pupils academic achievement in maths, reading and writing (Ericsson, 2008). In secondary pupils, performance in certain sports including football, netball, athletics and hockey have been found to be positively associated with higher GCSE scores in maths and English (Dexter, 1999). Despite numerous positive findings, some studies, particularly at secondary level, have found that physical activity has no impact on attainment (Dollman et al., 2006; Melnick et al., 1992; Tremblay et al., 2000). 9

The impact of extra-curricular sport Overall, the evidence on pupils taking part in extra-curricular sport suggests that it has a positive impact or no impact on attainment. There is no negative association, though. Generally the evidence suggests that participation in school team sports, for secondary pupils, has a positive impact on attainment, but this is not conclusive and some studies have reported no association (Fox et al., 2010; Stephens and Schaben, 2002; Yin and Moore, 2004; Hawkins and Mulkey, 2005). For secondary pupils, there is some evidence that extra-curricular physical activity is associated with positive academic attitudes and better attendance and homework completion rates (Darling, 2005; Fredricks and Eccles, 2006; Harrison and Narayan, 2003). International Sport Schools Sports schools are mainstream secondary schools which assist young elite athletes to pursue their secondary education, while also training and competing at an elite level. In most countries, sports schools were founded in the early 1990s. The number of sports schools in each country varies widely: from one in Canada (which has 22 sports) and Singapore (14 sports); 10 each in Belgium and Italy (including ski colleges); 22 in Finland; 25 in the Netherlands; 36 in Australia; 38 in Germany and 61 in Sweden (Radtke and Coalter, 2007). Evidence gaps The annual PE and Sport survey last reported in 2010 and has been discontinued. Although the Taking Part survey (DCMS, 2013) reports some evidence on sport participation, and Sport England are lowering the age of participants in their Active People Survey to age 14, neither survey focuses on school sport: there is therefore currently minimal reported evidence on participation rates in school sport. Whilst the Taking Part survey (DCMS, 2013) reported some evidence on the impact of the 2012 Games on sport participation, using data collected between October 2011 to September 2012 (i.e. before, during and immediately after the Games), there is no evidence on the impact of the 2012 Olympics on school sport in the academic year following the Games. 10

Participation in PE and out of hours school sport Evidence from the PE and Sport Survey, commissioned by the then DCSF, found that by 2007/08, 90% of pupils across Years 1 11 were participating in at least two hours of high-quality PE and out of hours school sport in a typical week. Subsequent surveys provided information on the percentage of pupils taking part in three hours of high-quality PE and out of hours school sport. The survey in the 2009/10 academic year found that across Years 1 13, 55% of pupils participated in at least three hours of high-quality PE and out of hours school sport, an increase of five percentage points from the previous survey in 2008/09, as can be seen in Figure 1 below (Quick et al., 2010). Figure 1: Percentage of pupils taking part in at least three hours of PE and out of hours school sport 57 55 51 50 69 70 66 63 65 61 63 57 59 59 55 52 53 54 50 47 49 44 45 42 40 37 64 64 57 57 46 42 % All pupils Years 1-11 All pupils Years 1-13 Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5 Year 6 2008/09 2009/10 21 23 19 21 Year 7 Year 8 Year 9 Year 10 Year 11 Year 12 Year 13 Primary Secondary Special Base: All pupils in Years 1-13 where information given (2008/09: 6,557,890 ; 2009/10: 6,565,106) Source: Quick et al. (2010) In primary and special schools, 64% of pupils took part in at least three hours of PE and out of hours school sport a week in 2009/10, compared with 57% in 2008/09. In secondary schools, 46% of pupils took part in at least three hours a week, compared to 42% in 2008/09. Pupils in rural areas were more likely to participate for more than three hours than pupils in urban areas: 60% compared with 54%, respectively (Quick et al., 2010). 11

Overall, figures for participation in three hours of PE and out of hours school sport are highest for pupils in Years 4-6. This decreases steadily across secondary school, down to 40% in Year 11, then dropping to 23% and 21% respectively in Years 12 and 13. In comparison to 2008/2009, the greatest gains in pupils doing at least three hours were seen in younger pupils: in Years 1 and 2 there were 10 and nine percentage point gains respectively. The least difference was seen in the older years when there were only two percentage point gains (Quick et al., 2010). Tellus4 was an online survey, live between 5 October and 20 November 2009, representing the views of 253,755 children and young people in school in Years 6, 8 and 10 in 3,699 schools, in 151 Local Authorities. Children were asked how physically active they were in their daily lives during the last week, both within school and outside of school. Figure 2 below shows how active 2 children reported they were during the school week (Chamberlain et al., 2010). Focusing on being active during the school day, 21% of children said they did something active everyday during lesson time, compared to 74% who said they were active some/most days, and 5% who said they were never active during lesson time. During lunch and break times, 37% said they were active everyday, whilst 43% said they were active some/most days and 20% said they were never active. Figure 2: Extent to which young people were active in the last week The Department for Culture, Media and Sports (DCMS) Taking Part survey (2013) reported that 82.5% of 5-10 year olds did sport outside school and 94.7% of 11-15 year 2 Respondents were instructed that they could include a range of activities such as running around and playing sports. 12

olds did sport in or outside school, in the last four weeks. These figures have remained steady since 2008/09, with no significant changes. During the last week, 76.0% of 5-10 year olds did sport outside school and 94.4% of 11-15 year olds did sport in or outside school as can be seen in Figure 3. There was no significant difference for 5-10 year olds from 2008/09 figures, but there was a significant increase for 11-15 year olds from 88.8% in 2008/09. Figure 3: Percentage of children who did sport in the last week, 2008/09 to Oct 2011-Sept 2012 Note: Confidence intervals range between +/-1.7 and +/-6.5 from 2009/09 onwards. Data for 5-10 year olds relates to out of school activities only. Data for 11-15 year olds relates to activities undertaken both in and out of school. Source: DCMS (2013) 13

Participation in PE and Sport by pupil characteristics The PE and Sport Survey (Quick et al., 2010) found that in the schools which performed highest, i.e. over 70% of pupils participated in three hours of PE and out of hours school sport, there tended to be fewer pupils who were eligible for FSM than in schools where there are lower levels, i.e. 40% or less pupils participating in three hours of PE and out of hours school sport. Schools in deprived areas were over-represented amongst the lowest participation in PE and out of hours school sport and schools in affluent areas were over-represented in high-performing schools. Schools achieving the lowest levels of participation in three hours of PE and out of hours school sport tended to have a relatively high proportion of children from an ethnic minority background. In the lowest performing schools, there were a higher proportion of pupils with SEN than in higher performing schools. Across all year groups, boys were more likely to take part in three hours of PE and out of hours school sports in comparison to girls, as can be seen in Figure 4 below. On average across the year groups, 52% of girls participated compared to 58% of boys. The smallest differences between genders were seen in primary schools, whilst in secondary schools, the gap increased as pupils got older (Quick et al., 2010). Figure 4: Percentage of pupils who participated in at least three hours of high quality PE and out of hours school sport in a typical week 14

Source: Quick et al. (2010) Similarly, the TellUs4 survey found that boys were more active during break times, with 47% of boys doing something active every day, compared to 26% of girls. In addition, 27% of girls said they never did anything active during break times, compared to only 13% of boys. During lessons, boys were again more active, with 26% stating that they did something active every day in lessons, compared with 15% of girls (Chamberlain et al., 2010). 15

Most common sports to participate in The Taking Part survey (DCMS, 2013) found that swimming, diving or lifesaving was the most common sport amongst 5-10 year old children, with 47.6% participating in the last four weeks, as can be seen in Table 1. There were significant decreases in participation in walking or hiking, rounders and angling or fishing, and a significant increase in tennis since 2010/11. Table 1: Sports participated in by 5-10 year olds in the last four weeks, Oct 2011- Sept 2012 Sport Percentage Swimming, diving or lifesaving 47.6 Football (including five-a-side) 37.9 Cycling or riding a bike 25.7 Walking or hiking 17.1 Gym, gymnastics, trampolining or climbing frame 12.0 Tenpin bowling 10.2 Tennis 9.9 Roller skating/blading or skate boarding 6.9 Cricket 5.5 Martial arts Judo, Karate, Taekwondo and other Martial arts 5.4 Golf, putting, pitch and putt 5.0 Badminton 3.9 Basketball 3.7 Rounders 3.5 Table tennis 3.4 Horse riding or pony trekking 3.4 Dodgeball 3.3 16

Ice skating 3.0 Aerobics, keep fit 2.9 Netball 2.8 Cross country, jogging or road running 2.6 Hockey 2.5 Rugby 2.4 Athletics, track and field events, running races or jumping 2.1 Angling or fishing 1.2 Source: Taking Part survey (DCMS, 2013) As can be seen in Table 2, football (including five-a-side) was the most common sport amongst 11-15 year olds, with 56.1% having played football in the last four weeks. There were significant increases in participation in football, rounders, tennis, rugby, cricket, table tennis and athletics, track and field events, running races of jumping, and a significant decrease in participation in walking or hiking since 2010/11. Table 2: Sports participated in by 11-15 year olds in the last four weeks, Oct 2011- Sept 2012 Sport Percentage Football (including five-a-side) 56.1 Basketball 29.7 Rounders 28.1 Swimming, diving or lifesaving 26.5 Gym, gymnastics, trampolining or climbing frame 24.7 Tennis 22.9 Rugby 22.7 Badminton 22.2 Cycling or riding a bike 21.6 17

Cricket 21.5 Dodgeball 21.4 Table tennis 20.8 Cross country, jogging or road running 20.4 Netball 20.3 Athletics, track and field events, running races or jumping 19.6 Hockey 18.3 Walking or hiking 17.8 Aerobics, keep fit 11.8 Tenpin bowling 8.2 Ice skating 6.3 Martial arts Judo, Karate, Taekwondo and other Martial arts 6.1 Golf, putting, pitch and putt 5.8 Roller skating/blading or skate boarding 5.6 Horse riding or pony trekking 3.3 Angling or fishing 1.8 Source: Taking Part survey (DCMS, 2013) 18

School sports provision In 2009/10, schools in England provided on average 19 different sports to both girls and boys, with an average of 25.6 sports provided in secondary schools, 17.6 in primary schools, and 21.5 in special schools. There was no difference by school deprivation. Table 3 below shows the percentage of schools overall that offered each sport (Quick et al., 2010) Table 3: Percentage of schools offering each sport Sport Percentage of schools Football 98 Dance 96 Athletics 93 Gymnastics 91 Cricket 89 Rounders 85 Swimming 84 Tennis 80 Netball 79 Multi skills clubs 76 Hockey 73 Outdoors/advent 72 Fitness 71 Basketball 69 Rugby union (including tag rugby) 66 Orienteering 59 Cycling 55 19

Golf 44 Badminton 41 Table tennis 36 Rugby league (including tag rugby) 35 Volleyball 29 Canoeing 29 Archery 27 Softball 16 Martial arts 15 Mountaineering 14 Judo 13 Boccia 12 Sailing 11 Karate 11 Boxing 10 Lacrosse 8 Squash 7 Bowls 6 Equestrian 6 Triathlon 5 Skateboarding 4 Angling 3 Goalball 3 Kabaddi 2 20

Source: Quick et al. (2010) Several sports have shown increases over the past seven years, as can be seen in Table 4 below. Table 4: Sports that have shown a significant increase in schools over the past seven years Sport Percentage of schools 2003/2004 Percentage of schools 2009/2010 Tennis 70 80 Multi-skill clubs 26 76 Fitness 58 71 Orienteering 46 59 Cycling 21 55 Golf 14 44 Badminton 31 41 Table tennis 26 36 Rugby league 12 35 Canoeing 17 29 Archery 7 27 Martial arts 4 15 Rowing 2 12 Source: Quick et al. (2010) Swimming, multi-skill clubs and cycling are much more common in primary schools than in secondary schools. In contrast, there are a very large number of sports that are much more commonly offered by secondary schools than by primary schools rounders, netball, hockey, fitness, basketball, rugby union, orienteering, golf, badminton, table tennis, volleyball, canoeing, softball, martial arts, mountaineering, sailing, boccia 3, 3 Boccia is a Paralympic sport for athletes with disabilities that have a major impact on motor skills. Boccia is a target ball sport belonging to the same family as bowls. 21

rowing, boxing, squash, lacrosse, cheerleading, trampolining, yoga, handball, baseball and equestrian all fall into this category (Quick et al., 2010). Some sports were more likely to be offered to girls than boys in secondary schools. Those with the largest differences were cheerleading, netball and hockey. Sports that were the most likely to be offered only to boys were softball, baseball and rugby union (Quick et al., 2010). 22

Participation in competitive sports The Taking Part survey (DCMS, 2013) found that 81.6% of 5-15 year old children reported that they had taken part in some form of competitive sport in the last 12 months. Over three quarters of those surveyed (77.8%) had taken part in competitive sport in school, whilst 37.9% had taken part outside of school. There have been no significant changes since 2011/12, the first full year of date on this measure. For 5-10 year olds, playing sport in their school in organised competitions (such as a sports day) was the most common way of participating in competitive sport (64.6%), whilst for 11-15 year olds, playing sport against others in PE and games lessons was the most common way of doing competitive sport (76.0%), as can be seen in Figure 5. Figure 5: Percentage of children who did competitive sport in school, by type of participation, Oct 2011-Sept 2012 Note: Confidence intervals range between +/-2.1 and +/-4.1. Source: DCMS (2013) Intra-school competitive sport The PE and Sport survey 2009/10 asked about intra-school (i.e. within the school) and inter-school sport (i.e. between schools) separately. Their figures on intra-school participation were similar to DCMS s 2013 figures as schools reported that on average, 78% of pupils took part in intra-school competitive sport in 2009/10 (excluding sports day), as can be seen in Figure 6 below. This was a large increase from 2008/09 when 69% of pupils took part in intra-school competitive sport, and represents a 20 percentage point difference to 2006/07 when 58% of pupils took part (Quick et al., 2010). 23

Figure 6 also shows that primary school pupils were more likely to compete in intraschool competitive sport as they got older. However in secondary schools, fewer pupils compete in intra-school competitive sport as they get older. The gap between girls and boys taking part in competitive sport is larger as pupils get older. There is no difference in Year 1, but by Year 10 there is a five percentage point difference, with boys more likely that girls to be taking part (Quick et al., 2010). Figure 6: Percentage of pupils taking part in intra-school competitive sport 78 69 66 66 75 73 77 82 84 86 88 8086 84 78 80 80 81 75 77 7778 74 74 74 70 71 70 72 69 66 62 60 59 56 55 57 49 49 48 27 23 20 18 % % All pupils Years 1-11 All pupils Years 1-13 All girls Years 1-13 All boys Years 1-13 2007/08 2008/09 2009/10 Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5 Year 6 Year 7 Year 8 Year 9 Year 10 Year 11 Year 12 Year 13 Base: Base: All All pupils pupils in Years in Years 1-13 1 - where 13 where information information given (2007/08 given (2007/08 6,230,817: 6,230,817: 2008/09 2008/09-6,557,898-6,557,898 2009/10: 2009/10: 6,565,106) 6,565,106) Source: Quick et al. (2010) The PE and Sport Survey 2009/10 also reported regular intra-school competition, which was defined as 3 times or more during the academic year for Key Stage 2, and 12 times or more for Key Stages 3 and 4 (schools were not asked to supply data for Years 1 and 2 for intra-school competition). They reported an increase in regular participation from 28% among Years 3 13 in 2008/09 up to 39% in 2009/10. As with general participation in intra-school competition, boys (41%) were slightly more likely than girls (36%) to be regularly taking part in intra-school competition. This difference got larger as pupils got older (Quick et al., 2010). The PE and Sport (2009/10) survey revealed that half (49%) of pupils across Years 1 11 (47% across Years 1 13) participated in inter-school competition during the academic year. As with intra-school competitive sport, generally a higher percent of pupils take part as they move up through primary school and fewer pupils take part as they move through secondary school, as can be seen in Figure 7 below (Quick et al., 2010). 24

Figure 7: Percentage of pupils taking part in inter-school competitive sport 49 44 41 47 42 44 50 70 64 65 63 61 57 58 54 55 53 48 48 45 46 46 4443 43 41 41 39 39 37 37 37 37 32 3233 26 26 26 26 18 16 1617 % All pupils in Years 1-11 All pupils in Years 1-13 All girls in Years 1-13 All boys in Years 1-13 Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5 Year 6 Year 7 2007/08 2008/09 2009/10 Year 8 Year 9 Year 10 Year 11 Year 12 Year 13 Base: All pupils in Years 1-13 where information given (2007/08 6,230,852: 2008/09-6,558,191 2009/10: 6,565,106 ) Source: Quick et al. (2010) Across all pupils in Years 1-13, 50% of boys took part in inter-school competitive sports compared to 44% of girls. As with intra-school competitive sports, there are only small differences between boys and girls participation in primary school, with the difference getting larger as pupils move up the school. There is no difference in Year 1, but a six percentage point difference in Year 7 and a ten percentage point difference by Year 10. Around one in five (21%) pupils across Years 3-13 regularly participated in interschool competition during the 2009/10 academic year (regularly was defined as 3 times or more during the year for Key Stage 2, and 9 times or more for Key Stages 3 and 4). Boys were more likely to take part regularly than girls (Quick et al., 2010). School sport days The PE and Sport Survey 2009/10 found that almost all schools (99%) held at least one sports day or equivalent event during the academic year: 99% of primary schools reported having a sports day, 98% of secondary schools and 96% of special schools (Quick et al., 2010). The Taking Part survey (DCMS, 2013) reported that almost two thirds (64.6%) of 5-10 year olds played sport at school in organised competitions (such as a sports day). Over half (53.2%) of 11-15 year olds had participated in competitive sport in this way. 25

Club links On average, schools indicated that they had links to clubs for nine different sports. Secondary schools were more likely to have links to clubs, averaging 14 links to clubs compared to eight in primary and seven in special schools. Schools in areas of high deprivation tended to have slightly few links to clubs. The top five sports that schools had club links with were football (79%), cricket (61%), dance (55%), swimming (51%), and rugby union (50%). Links to clubs have risen over the seven years of the survey. From 2008/09, those with the biggest increases were dance (up from 50% to 55%), swimming (46% to 51%), and tennis (42% to 47%) (Quick et al., 2010). In 2009/10, 33% of pupils in Years 2-11 took part in a community sports, dance or multiskill club linked with their school. This has increased from 19% in 2003/04. Figure 8 shows the uptake by school year. In primary schools this increases year on year whilst it decreases year on year in secondary schools (Quick et al., 2010). Figure 8: Percentage of pupils taking part in one or more community sports, dance or multi-skill clubs linked with their school 32 33 31 43 43 44 4140 41 4243 41 383738 35 36 34 32 32 30 3029 28 29 27 27 25 25 23 24 22 19 19 20 16 14 15 13 All pupils Years 2-11 All pupils Years 2-13 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5 Year 6 Year 7 Year 8 Year 9 Year 10 Year 11 Year 12 Year 13 2007/08 2008/09 2009/10 Base: All pupils in Years 2-13 where information given (2007/08 5,698,515: 2008/09 6,006,628:2009/10 5,996,494) Source: Quick et al. (2010) 26

Academically-able pupils (previously known as Gifted and Talented) In 2009/10, 8% of pupils across Years 5-11 were registered as academically-able because of their sporting ability. Levels of registration have increased from 3% in 2003/04. Generally, slightly more pupils were registered as academically-able due to sport in primary school. There was little difference in gender but slightly more boys were registered than girls (8% compared with 7% of girls) (Quick et al., 2010). 27

Curriculum time spent on PE and sport Based on Years 1 11, the average number of minutes spent on curriculum PE has increased from 107 minutes in 2004/05 to 123 minutes in 2009/2010. In 2009/2010, primary school pupils in Years 1 and 2 spent on average 126 minutes curriculum time on PE and sport, whilst pupils in Years 3-6 spent 127 minutes, as can be seen in Figure 9 below. The average curriculum time spent on PE and sport in primary school overall was 127 minutes. There was more variation across year groups in secondary schools and curriculum time got progressively less as pupils moved up the school. Curriculum time on PE and sport was highest in Year 7 at 131 minutes and lowest in Year 13 at 28 minutes. The average curriculum time in secondary school was 107 minutes (Quick et al., 2010). Figure 9: Average curriculum time that all pupils in each year group spend taking part in PE in a typical week in the academic year 2009/10 145 123 117 126 126 127 127 127 127 131 129 125 104 101 127 107 % All pupils Years 1-11 All pupils Years 1-13 Year 1 Source: Quick et al. (2010) 32 28 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5 Year 6 Year 7 Year 8 Year 9 Year 10 Year 11 Year 12 Year 13 Base: All pupils in Years 1-13 where information given (6,565,106) Primary Secondary Special Figure 10 below shows that for each year group in primary school, the majority of pupils (92% or more), are participating in at least 120 minutes of curriculum PE a week. In secondary schools, the percentage of pupils doing at least 120 minutes declines with age across Years 7-11. In Years 12 and 13, only 25% and 22% of pupils respectively do 120 minutes of PE curriculum time (Quick et al., 2010). Figure 10: Proportion of pupils taking part in at least 120 minutes or more of PE in the curriculum PE in the academic year 2009/10 28

% 84 86 82 81 90 92 91 93 93 95 93 95 93 95 93 95 89 90 86 88 80 82 63 66 60 62 23 25 20 22 All All pupils pupils Years 1 Years 1-11 - 13 Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5 Year 6 Year 7 Year 8 Year 9 Year 10 Year 11 Year 12 Year 13 2008/09 2009/10 Base: All pupils in Years 1-13 where information given (6,565,106) Source: Quick et al. (2010) As stated earlier, 55% of pupils across Years 1-13 (57% across Years 1-11) participate in at least three hours of PE and out-of-hours school sport. Examination of how the three hours is achieved shows that only a small percentage of pupils (on average 6% across the year groups) complete three hours of school sport within the curriculum time, with the majority completing this through topping up with out of hours school sport, as can be seen in Figure 11. Figure 11: Analysis of how three hours PE and out of hours sport is achieved 'Top up' of out of hours school sport (%) Participation in at least 3 hours of PE/out of hours school sport (%) 61 63 66 69 70 57 55 57 54 56 59 62 63 51 49 50 59 50 54 46 49 43 45 42 Participation in at least 3 hours of curriculum PE (%) 40 37 23 21 22 20 6 6 7 7 7 7 7 7 9 8 6 3 3 1 1 All pupils Years 1-11 All pupils Years 1-13 Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5 Year 6 Year 7 Year 8 Year 9 Year 10 Year 11 Year 12 Year 13 Base: All pupils in Years 1-13 where information given (6,565,106) Source: Quick et al. (2010) 29

International evidence on PE and sport in schools Eurydice (2013) mapped out PE and sport activities in primary and lower secondary schools in 30 Eurydice Network countries in Europe, for the academic year 2011/12. They state that all European countries recognise the importance of physical education at school and that it is compulsory in primary and lower secondary education throughout Europe. In addition, around half of the education systems have national strategies to promote the development of physical education and physical activity at school and twothirds have large-scale initiatives devoted to them (Eurydice, 2013, p11). Furthermore, they found that around a third of the countries were engaged in national reforms or debates directly linked both to sport as practiced in society in general, and to physical education at school (Eurydice, 2013, p47). Eurydice (2013) found that recommendations on the minimum taught time in PE vary widely between countries: approximately 50-80 hours a year in compulsory education, corresponding to averages of around 9-10% of curriculum time in primary education and 6-8% in secondary education. These figures are similar to those provided by the OECD (2012) who found that across OECD countries in 2009, on average 9% of curriculum time was spent on PE for pupils aged 7-8 and 8% of time for pupils aged 12-14. Eurydice (2013) also highlighted large differences in the taught time for PE by primary and secondary school. For example in 2011/12, the average taught time in primary education in Ireland was 37 hours, compared to 108 hours in France. In secondary education, the figures range from 24-35 hours in Turkey, Malta and Spain to 102-108 hours in Austria and France (Eurydice, 2013). Extra-curricular activities complement or extend the PE covered in regular taught time, and tend to focus on competitions and other events (Eurydice, 2013). Australia In Australia, PE is the only subject that has a mandated amount of time allocated to it. Pupils aged 5-9 must have 20-30 minutes of PE a day. In Years 4 6 (ages 9-12) this rises to three hours each week of PE and sport, with a minimum provision of 50% for PE. In Years 7 10 (ages 12-16) the mandated time is 100 minutes per week for PE and 100 minutes per week for sport (DfE, 2011). Canada - Alberta In Alberta, all children in Years 1-9 (ages 6-15) are expected to participate in Daily Physical Activity (DPA). School authorities monitor the implementation of this DPA to ensure that all pupils are active for a minimum of 30 minutes daily. 30

France In France, for children aged 6-11, the weekly allocation of PE is decided by the teacher, while in secondary school the time allocated to PE gets progressively less as pupils get older. At 11-12 years old pupils do four hours a week, 12-14 year olds do three to four hours a week, 14-15 year olds do three hours and 15-16 year olds to two hours. The recommended minimum number of hours across primary and lower secondary education is 108 hours a year (Eurydice, 2013). Hungary In Hungary, the recommended minimum number of hours in primary education was 83 hours, decreasing to 68 hours in secondary education in 2011/12. However, a new reform which is being introduced in the academic year 2012/13, means that taught time allocated to compulsory PE will increase so pupils will have the opportunity to take part in physical activities five times a week. Taught time is doubling in lower secondary education (Eurydice, 2013). Japan In Japan, between ages 6-12 pupils do between 68 hours and 75 hours of health and PE. Most pupils participate in sports and culture study clubs, and most schools offer sports such as baseball, soccer, tennis, swimming, and judo. Korea In Korea, pupils aged 8-14 do 102 hours of PE and sport a year. This reduces to 68 hours a year for pupils aged 14-16. Singapore In Singapore, pupils aged 6-10 have three 30 minute lessons a week on PE, pupils aged 10-12 have two sessions a week, and pupils aged 12-17 spend two 35/40 minute sessions a week on PE. From 2012 onwards, all time allocations for PE increased by half an hour per week. Netherlands In the Netherlands, PE is compulsory between ages 5-18. The amount of time spent on it is at the teacher s discretion (DfE, 2011; Eurydice, 2013). 31

Schools awareness of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (pre 2012 Games) Evidence suggests that awareness of the Olympics prior to them starting was very high, with 96% of primary and secondary pupils aware of the Games. Awareness of the Paralympics was also high. For primary school pupils, the best things about the London 2012 Games being held in London were It will get more people to take part in sport (27%), going to watch it (20%) and having famous sports stars in the country (19%). For secondary school pupils and further education (FE) students, the key benefits were: It promotes sport fitness (44%), it will get more people to take part in sport (33%) and it is good for the UK (30%) (Bunt et al., 2011). Two-thirds of schools and colleges had been involved in at least one Olympic or Paralympic event during the 2009/10 academic year (66%), with almost all secondary schools having done so (96%). The event that had the most involvement (52%) was the Lloyds TSB National School Sports Week 4, which was also the event most likely to have been promoted as a London 2012-related activity. Among schools and colleges involved in any Olympic and Paralympic-related events, just over half had involved the whole school/college in these events (52%) and around a quarter had involved a specific year group. Only a small number of schools limited participation to pupils who were the most involved in sport (Bunt et al., 2011). Three in ten schools and colleges had introduced new sporting activities as a result of being part of Get Set 5 or London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic-related events and activities and two thirds of pupils said they had tried a new sport at school. Four in ten pupils said that they had learnt or done an activity related to the Olympic Games or Paralympic Games in the last school year (Bunt et al., 2011). 4 Lloyds TSB National School Sports Week, delivered in partnership with the Youth Sport Trust, is a weeklong sporting celebration for schools across Britain. 5 Get Set was the official London 2012 education programme for children and young people in thousands of schools and colleges across the UK, and is a flexible cross-curricular programme for 3-19 year olds, offering materials and resources for teachers to use in the classroom, in assembly and in wider activities and has continued post Olympics. 32

The School Games The School Games was established in 2011 and is a competition over four levels for school-aged children, designed to build on the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games and enable every school and child to participate in competitive sport, including opportunities for pupils with disabilities. The four levels are: Level 1 sporting competition for all pupils through intra-school competition; Level 2 individuals and teams are selected to represent their schools in local inter-school competitions; Level 3 the county/area will stage multi-sport School Games festivals as a culmination of year-round school sport competition; and, Level 4 the Sainsbury s School Games finals: a national multi-sport event where the most talented young people in the UK will be selected to compete. Levels 1 to 3 are open to all schools in England, whilst level 4 is a UK wide event. By August 2012, 8,341 schools (around 1/3 of schools), with 3.85 million eligible pupils, were participating in the School Games. Participation was measured by numbers of schools registered rather than by pupil level, with number of pupils participating being estimated from numbers of schools taking part. An additional 5,860 schools registered for the School Games before 31st January 2012 but did not confirm their participation (if all of these did participate, the total number of schools was 14,201) (DCMS, 2012). 33

Impact of the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games on participation in sport The Taking Part survey (DCMS, 2013) found that over a third of 5-10 year olds (36.2%) and over half of 11-15 year olds (51.6%) had been encouraged to take part in sport a lot or a little as a result of the UK hosting the Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2012, as can be seen in Figure 12 below. Figure 12: Percentage of children indicating to what extent the Olympic and Paralympic Games encouraged them to take part in sport, Oct 2011-Sept 2012 Note: Confidence intervals range between +/-0.9 and +/-4.2. Source: DCMS (2013) Those children who responded that they were encouraged a little or a lot to take part in sport by the Games, were asked in what way the Games had encouraged them. Figure 13 shows that as a result of the UK hosting the Olympic and Paralympic Games, encouraged children: were more interested in sport (66.8% of 5-10 year olds and 50.9% of 11-15 year olds) and in new sports (34.8% of 5-10 year olds and 36.4% of 11-15 year olds); were taking part in sport more often (25.0% of 5-10 year olds and 27.6% of 11-15 year olds) and were taking up new sports (14.5% of 5-10 year olds and 20.1% of 11-15 year olds); and, intend to participate more often (16.5% of 5-10 year olds and 23.1% of 11-15 year olds) and in more sports (9.5% of 5-10 year olds and 11.5% of 11-15 year olds). 34