Physical education from the sidelines: pre-service teachers opportunities to teach in English primary schools

ABSTRACT

After two decades of political interest in primary Physical Education (PE) and school sport, the London 2012 Games (and its promised legacy) ushered in a new wave of government investment. To date, the impact of this funding on new entrants to the profession is unknown. This paper draws upon findings from the first phase of a national study that gives insights into the opportunities of pre-service primary teachers (PSTs) to teach PE. A short online survey was administered to PSTs across England. Data were collected to identify how many lessons of PE were taught and who delivered the subject in schools. Nearly 50% of PSTs reported they had no opportunity to teach PE, largely due to curriculum outsourcing. We caution, that if a persistent pattern of outsourcing remains, this could continue the removal of PSTs from teaching PE and the exclusion of teachers from the subject altogether.

KEYWORDS:

• Physical education
• primary
• initial teacher education
• pre-service teachers
• PE and sport Premium

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 The PE ESAG was one of 17 ESAGs initially established and funded by the Department for Education. The group was formed to give sector-led guidance and support to teachers, schools and ITE with regards to the implementation of a new National Curriculum in 2013.

2 This figure was calculated from participating providers stating the total number of PSTs on their ITE programme at the time of the study.

3 The recommended allocation of curriculum time for the PE curriculum, outlined by UNESCO, is 120 minutes per week. This is not to include changing time or travelling to the venue or facility.

4 The public service agreement of two hours of curriculum PE was removed by the Coalition Government in 2012, but has remained a benchmark for curriculum planning ever since.