Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how she plans to measure the effect of the new Primary PE and Sport Premium on children's activity levels.

We want all pupils to be healthy and active. That is why we have provided over £600M of ring-fenced funding since 2013 through the Primary PE and Sport Premium and have doubled funding to £320M a year from autumn 2017.

We know this funding is having an effect. Independent research found that the most common use for the PE and sport premium was to up-skill and train existing staff, and that since the introduction of the PE and sport premium there has been an increase in the number of schools with a specialist PE teacher from 30 per cent before the premium to 46 per cent in 2014/15. The research also found that 87% of schools reported that the quality of PE teaching had increased, and 84% that there had been an increase in pupil engagement in PE during curricular time, and in the levels of participation in extra-curricular activities. Schools also reported almost universally that the PE and sport premium had had a positive impact on physical fitness, healthy lifestyles, and the behaviour of pupils.

We continue to work with the sector to determine how best to further measure the effect of the doubled premium, and details will be announced in due course. At a local level, schools will continue to report online how they are spending their funding, which includes reporting on the impact that the funding is having on pupils’ PE and sport participation.