Active Norfolk to support schools with government funding for school sport & physical activity
Active Norfolk enthusiastically welcome the government’s pledge to fund school sport and physical activity. This will enable more young people to access opportunities to be physically active.
As part of our funded role, we are here to support schools and education settings to use these opportunities to make a significant difference in improving the lives of their pupils, allowing them to FLOURISH.
“This is an exciting opportunity to work even more collaboratively with schools across the county. This two-year funding commitment is unprecedented and offers a fantastic opportunity to make a real impact to young people’s experiences of physical activity.”
Simon Hamilton, Interim Director of Active Norfolk
What can we expect from the government?
It has been announced that the government have committed to the following:
- Over £600 million investment across the next two years for the PE and Sport Premium – to improve the quality of PE and sports in primary schools and help children benefit from regular activity. This includes a digital tool to support schools to use the funding.
- Equal access to sports in school – making it clear that offering girls and boys the same activities is the new standard.
- Delivering a minimum 2 hours of curriculum PE weekly – with more support being offered through a refreshed School Sport Action Plan.
- £22 million for two years of further funding for the School Games Organiser network– additionally expanding the Schools Games Mark – to reward equality of provision for girls.
Further announcements: Opening Schools Facilities and Ofsted
Active Norfolk are supporting settings to access the newly announced Opening School Facilities programme in Norfolk. There is up to £1m of funding available in the Norfolk area for 2023-2025. This will facilitate the opening up of more school facilities outside of curriculum hours. It is hoped this will especially target girls, disadvantaged pupils and pupils with special educational needs.
We also eagerly await an Ofsted report into PE which will be published in the coming months. This report will inform future inspections and set out what Ofsted believe is possible. This will focus on high quality physical activity opportunities in education, both in and outside of the PE curriculum.
We know that happy, healthy children are more likely to FLOURISH. Physical activity can help tackle issues like behaviour, attendance, anxiety, confidence and self-esteem, concentration levels and social skills. These are all things that worry us about those most vulnerable.
How can Active Norfolk help you?
We would love to have a discussion with you on how we can support your school.
Jo Thompson, Development Officer for Education has dedicated and funded capacity to help schools. She can do this through advice, guidance and training, as well as signposting and bespoke support.
This is not just to help improve PE and School Sport. It can also help schools identify how they can meet the needs of pupils at risk of an unhealthy lifestyle.
Contact our Children and Young People team
For an informal conversation on how physical activity can support your school, get in touch.
Find out more