Children would not have to move a muscle if new proposals are adopted. So says an association for PE teachers which has slammed a review of the proposed new Primary School Curriculum.

The Association for Physical Education expressed their extreme reservations following the publication of the Independent Review of the Primary Curriculum in England by Sir Jim Rose.

The AFPE believe if measures in the review are adopted, it will systemically lessen and weaken the opportunities for physical activity and physical education in primary school learning. A spokesman for the AFPE, who represent all PE teachers in the UK, told Telegraph Sport: “The ‘Understanding physical health and well-being’ [section in the report] as written in these proposals could be delivered without children moving a muscle, which obviously is not the intention.

“It would also weaken the Government’s stance on two hours of quality physical education on the curriculum. Many primary schools make up the number of schools successfully reaching Government targets. The new proposals threaten that move forward.”

The AFPE have already conveyed their concerns about these proposals to the Department for Children, Schools and Families (formerly the Department for Education), to the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority and to Rose, and hope their recommendations, released yesterday, along with the setting up of an online petition from teachers and parents, will pressure the Government not to adopt the recommendations.

The AFPE are also encouraging their membership to write directly to the DCSF to express their dismay at the marginalisation of physical education in primary schools. The AFPE have already offered to work alongside Government to improve the position of physical education in the new primary curriculum.

The AFPE’s Manifesto for Physical Education was issued two days early yesterday, their position supported by a national survey of parents of primary school children last summer which demonstrated that 98 per cent of parents believe that physical education is an important element of the National Curriculum.

In the AFPE manifesto, the assertion is that: “For many children, curriculum physical education remains their only guaranteed exposure to physical activity and sport.”

Source: Daily Telegraph

Human Kinetics titles you might find of interest in relation to this post:

Youth Physical Activity and Sedentary Behavior
International Games: Building Skills Through Multicultural Play