Ofsted have published a report entitled: Levelling the playing field: the physical education subject report.

The opening section reads:

“For many pupils, physical education (PE) will be the first and only place where they are taught safe, efficient and intelligent movement. In PE, pupils are also taught important health-related knowledge to help them make informed decisions about how to live a healthy, active life. When taught well, high-quality PE challenges myths, misconceptions and ingrained inequalities that can limit participation for all. In addition to timetabled PE lessons, schools also offer extracurricular experiences that can provide additional time for high-quality instruction, practice and feedback to increase pupils’ competence and confidence in PE, physical activity and sport.

Beyond the school gates, physical activity levels have generally recovered since the pandemic, but ‘improvements are not universal’. Stubborn differences between ethnicities, sex and levels of affluence remain. For example, pupils are still twice as likely to be able to swim 25 metres unaided if they are from a high affluence family than from a low affluence one. That is why it is important for high-quality PE to make a positive difference to pupils’ opportunities and experiences and contribute to levelling the playing field for all, regardless of individual starting points.

This report evaluates the common features of PE in 25 primary schools and 25 secondary schools visited between November 2022 and June 2023. It identifies strengths and areas for development in how pupils are taught the subject. It builds on our physical education research review, which was published last year.”

You can access the full report HERE.