Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of the School Sport and Activity Action Plan published in 2019.

The School Sport and Activity Action Plan set out a range of measures to ensure that all children have access to high quality PE and sport sessions during the school week and opportunities to be physically active throughout the school day, to help them do the 60 minutes a day of physical exercise recommended by the Chief Medical Officer.

The Government remains committed to supporting schools to make good use of their sports facilities and to promote physical literacy and competitive sport. We plan to update the School Sport Activity Action Plan with longer-term proposals to support schools to work with sports clubs, coaches and others to ensure children’s activity levels continue to rise when they return to school.

The Government has already provided £2.4 million in funding to support this activity and has worked with Active Partnerships, helping schools, clubs and others to adapt plans to provide activity while schools have been closed.

Active Partnerships have been working with national and local partners to identify how best to support the sport and physical activity sector during the coronavirus outbreak. The Department has also published online educational resources approved by subject experts for schools and parents to help children to learn at home, including resources for PE.

As schools open more widely, we recognise the importance of children returning to taking part in physical activity and PE as part of the curriculum, with well-established links between physical activity, improved mental wellbeing and educational attainment. The Department’s guidance includes details on the teaching of subject areas including PE and ensuring children have opportunities to increase their physical activity throughout the school day.