Teachers talk too much in PE
A third of primary schools are failing to provide effective PE lessons for their pupils, Ofsted has warned, with warm-ups that are too easy, able athletes left ignored and not enough strenuous exercise.
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A report into physical education in schools found children spent too long listening to teachers rather than doing sport, with a fifth of primary pupils not even being able to swim 25 metres before they left.
Very few did anything to help students who are obese, the watchdog found, with PE failing to improve children’s fitness in a quarter of schools.
The report, based on four years of inspections and published today, showed lessons were not up to scratch in a third of primary schools and a quarter of secondary schools.
While acknowledging the subject was “in good health” in general, it highlighted significant problems in schools across the country.
Sir Michael Wilshaw, Ofsted chief inspector, said in some cases, teachers’ expectations were too low, more able students were not challenged and pupils did not have enough “physical, strenuous activity” in lessons.
“Our report found that only a minority of schools play competitive sport to a very high level,” he added.
“In particular, we found there often wasn’t enough physical, strenuous activity in PE lessons.
“Some teachers talked for too long and pupils were not provided with enough activity to enable them to learn or practise their skills.
“In many of the schools visited, the more able pupils were not challenged sufficiently because teachers’ expectations of them were too low.”
The report added that primary-aged children in a number of school were subjected to PE classes with warm-ups that were too short and too easy, followed by “long periods of inactivity” while the teacher talked.
Ofsted also suggested the most able youngsters were taught the same lessons as their classmates, and given tasks that were “frequently too easy for them.”
In secondary schools, sporty pupils were not given enough time to practise and achieve their best, the report said, and only a minority of schools played competitive sport to very high levels.
In general, “too much teacher-talk and regular interruptions to record information and observe others performing prevented them from remaining physically active throughout lessons,” the report found.
Very few schools had set up programmes to meet the needs of youngsters who were overweight or obese, it claimed.
Sir Michael said that schools with good PE lessons provided an “ever increasing range of extra-curricular and traditional activities”, helping pupils to achieve more.
He will now commission a follow-up report which will compare competitive sport in state schools to that in the private sector.
A new PE national curriculum, published last week, states children aged five to seven years old should be taught to master basic movements such as running, jumping, throwing and catching, take part in team games and perform simple dances.
Between seven and 11, youngsters should play competitive games like football, netball, rounders, cricket and hockey, as well as learn to swim at least 25 metres.
By the time they are in secondary school, students should “use a range of tactics and strategies to overcome opponents in face-to face competition through team and individual games”, develop their technique, take part in outdoor and adventurous activities and compare their performances with previous ones to achieve personal bests.
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