New Funding for Primary School Sport

The Government has announced a renewed package of funding for physical education (PE) and school sport. Through a new ‘Sport Premium’ the Government is providing £150 million in each of the next two years to support the delivery of PE and sport in primary schools.

 This funding will be ring fenced, and will be allocated directly to primary schools across England, providing them with dedicated resource to buy in invaluable expertise and support, such as the Knowsley School Sport Partnership (KSSP). Funding will be allocated through a lump sum for each school and a per-pupil top-up mechanism. The formula will reference the number of primary-aged pupils (i.e. children between the ages of 5 and 11). All schools with seventeen or more primary-aged pupils will receive a lump sum of £8,000 plus a premium of £5 per pupil. Smaller schools will receive the sum of £500 per pupil. Thus: a school with 16 eligible pupils would receive £8,000; a school with twelve such pupils would receive £6,000; and a school with five such pupils – the smallest that we know of – would receive £2,500 – a typical primary school with 250 pupils will receive around £9,250 each year.

 In order to ensure all young people have access to high quality PE, schools will be required to publish details of their sporting provision on their websites. Elsewhere, the guidance provided to Ofsted inspectors will be amended in order to ensure they give PE and sport high priority when assessing the overall provision offered by schools. This guidance will direct inspectors to assess how well schools have used their Sport Premium funding to improve the quality and breadth of PE school sport and increase participation in both. Crucially, one year on from the announcement, Ofsted will carry out a survey reporting on the impact of the new funding and holding schools to account on how they have spent their Sport Premium money.

In addition to the Sport Premium funding, there will be series of measures designed to enhance the delivery of PE and school sport, and provide a lasting sporting legacy from the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. These include:

  • Renewed funding from the Department for Education for the Young Ambassadors programme.
  • Reform of initial teacher training (ITT) in order to develop expertise in the delivery of PE in primary schools.
  • Funding for the Department for Education for (as yet unspecified) coaching and volunteering programmes, and those designed to improve the delivery of sport for young people with a disability.
  • £1.5 million of funding from Sport England to allow County Sports Partnerships to support national governing bodies of sport to provide specialist sports coaching in schools.

This is positive news for PE and school sport, and at KSSP we are keen to ensure that any national initiative results in improved quality provision of physical education and school sport in the local area. KSSP is ideally positioned to help you utilise this funding and maximise its effectiveness whilst helping all children access a high quality and diverse programme of PE, sport and physical activity.

 The Partnership can support schools by:

  • Offering specialist coaching or advice on appropriately qualified coaches
  • High quality training and development opportunities for teachers and support staff
  • Dedicated sports programmes that can contribute to key Ofsted outcomes, including Healthy Lifestyle Coaches and Change for Life Clubs.
  • High quality inter and intra school sport competitions for all

 It is it is important to recognise that KSSP can assist groups of schools to ‘pool’ their Sports Premium funding to ensure the greatest possible impact. For example full time PE specialist across three schools could be identified by KSSP and utilised, or sports specific coaches could be brought in to develop after school clubs.

The Partnership is committed to changing young people’s lives through sport, and we are passionate about helping all young people achieve their full potential by developing high quality PE and sport opportunities. The announcement of this funding is a opportunity for KSSP to build and expand on its work with schools within Knowsley to help ensure that each child reaches their sporting potential through a range of activities, competitions and programmes. If you would like any advice or support on any of the above then please do not hesitate to contact the Partnership.