Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans his Department has for physical education and school sport as part of the covid-19 recovery plan for education.

The Government published its cross-government School Sport and Activity Action Plan in July 2019, which sets out a number of actions to increase levels of physical activity for all children in England, providing them with greater opportunities to do 60 minutes of physical activity every day during and outside the school day. The Government has confirmed its intention to publish an update to this action plan later in 2021.

The Department has focused on ensuring that pupils have opportunities to be fit and active as part of education recovery. In addition to additional funding for recovery, the Department has confirmed £320 million for the physical education (PE) and sport premium in the next academic year. Schools have the flexibility to use the premium to provide additional opportunities, including engaging the least active children in PE and sport. The Department has taken steps to relax the ring-fencing arrangements for the PE and sport premium in the 2019 to 2020 academic year to allow any unspent grant to be carried forward into the 2020 to 2021 academic year. Any under-spends carried forward from the 2019 to 2020 academic year will need to be spent in full by the end of the 2020 to 2021 academic year.

The Department has also provided £10.1 million to provide support to schools to reopen sport facilities outside of the school day. We are also funding the Holiday Activities and Food Fund and Summer Schools programmes, which are targeted towards children from lower socio-economic groups and will help to maintain activity over the summer holidays.