Physical Education (PE) is often viewed as a marginal subject within the curriculum. Many secondary schools actively reduce PE time to make way for what is regarded as more “serious” or “important” subjects.
Research from the Youth Sport Trust shows that 38% of English secondary schools have cut timetabled PE for 14- to 16-year-olds. One of the main reasons for this is the increased pressure to produce excellent exam results. Much of the time pupils would usually spend in PE lessons is now spent receiving extra tutoring on topics other than PE. |
Why Should P.E given more importance?However, PE is still championed for its potential to promote health and encourage lifelong physical activity. This is an important issue due to the fact that over 30% of year six pupils are classed as “overweight” or “obese” according to the latest government figures.PE is also praised for its contribution to improved psychological health, as it helps nurture social and moral development – as well as supporting cognitive and academic performance.
The Association for Physical Education maintains that high-quality PE fosters the physical, moral, social, emotional, cultural and intellectual development of pupils. But the many aims for PE – such as health promotion, skills development as well as a focus on social and moral issues – has often resulted in confusion about the subject and has done little to encourage the educational experiences in practice. In fact, it has been argued that PE offers more of entertainment than education. |