‘To a certain extent it is a business decision’: exploring external providers’ perspectives of delivering outsourced primary school physical education

Figures & data

Table 1. Participant table.

Participant	Age/Gender/Ethnicity	Outsourcing Company	Role	Duration	Qualifications (prior to/during working at company)	Coaching Philosophy
Alex	25; Male; White British	Direct PE	Sports Coach (SC)/Tournaments Organiser	7 years	Prior: FA L2 Football During: Sports Leaders L2, Handball L1, and Dodgeball L2	Pupil enjoyment and development
Ben	22; Male; White British	Direct PE	Sports Coach	3 years	Prior: BTEC L2 in sport During: Various coaching badges including Dodgeball	Student-centred approach. 95% pupils doing and 5% coach talking
Callum	23; Male; White British	Direct PE	Sports Coach	2 years	PE degree, Sports Leaders L3, Football L1 and Athletics L1	Pupil engagement and enjoyment (safe environment)
David	37; Male; White British	Redmere Sports Trust	Head of Community Engagement (HofCE)	10 years	PE degree, other qualifications	Not specified
Ellie	23; Female; White British	Direct PE	Sports Coach	< 1 year	Sports Coaching degree, Rugby Union, Basketball, Gymnastics, Tennis, Lifesaving, and more qualifications	Pupil development and excellence. Also, pupil enjoyment
Faiz	23; Male; South Asian British Pakistani	Summerdale Sports	Sports Coach and Activities Co-ordinator	< 1 year	PE degree, no coaching qualifications	Encourage pupils to be active (extrinsically/intrinsically). Role model for pupils
Harry	21; Male; White British	Summerdale Sports	Sports Coach and Well-being Leader	3 years	Rugby L2, L1s in Football, Dodgeball, Tchoukball, Spikeball and Handball	Pupil enjoyment, inclusivity, and development
Michael	32; Male; White British	Elite Sports	Franchisee	9 years	Prior: Sports Development degree, football L2, and Multi-skills L2 During: Qualification opportunities increased ‘5-6-7-8 fold’, now qualified to teach 20 + sports (L1 qualifications)	Pupil engagement and active pupils. Provide pupils with a range of different sporting opportunities (not just traditional sports)
Sam	24; Male; White British	Direct PE	Sports Coach	18 months	PE degree, PGCE primary student	Pupil development and excellence. Also, pupil enjoyment
Sian	20; Male; Female	Direct PE	Sports Coach	1 year	Sports-related degree, netball L2 and more qualifications	Pupil excellence. Preparing for elite performance

Table 2. Outsourcing company table.

Outsourcing Company	Founded	About	Aim/Values
Direct PE (DPE)	2008	Previously known as ACE Sports Coaching (pseudonym). Name change in 2017, due to wanting to be known as more than a coaching company because of educational services offered (e.g. own PE curriculum and PE-CPD events).	To enhance/develop physical activity opportunities provided to children and young people.
Elite Sports (ES)	1999	Large outsourcing franchise in UK. Approximately 100 franchisees across UK. Franchisee in this study had worked with 70–80 primary schools. Now, works with 30 primary schools.	Tagline: ‘To inspire and teach future generations’. Values and visions: Improvement of children’s health and wellbeing.
Redmere Sports Trust (RST)	2005	Outsourcing professional sports foundation. Founded when other sports clubs began to create foundations and charities.	Tagline: ‘To enhance young people’s life experiences through physical activity’.
Summerdale Sports (SS)	2011	Company focuses on providing primary school PE provision and competitions.	Champions children’s mental health. Attempts to improve children’s knowledge of mental health, through their ‘five ways of happiness’.