New sports coach website launched for primary schools

A new website aimed at helping schools utilise government funding from the PE and sport Premium was launched this week.

The Coaching in Schools Portal - unveiled by Sports Coach UK - will provide advice for headteachers on how to recruit, develop and use coaches effectively using the government funding.

The funding is part of the PE and Sport Premium, introduced in 2013, which goes directly to primary school headteachers so that they can decide how best to provide PE and sporting activities for pupils.

Primary schools across England are receiving more than £150 million a year from the premium to improve PE and sport, with a typical 250-pupil primary school getting around £9,000 a year.

To coincide with the launch, Sport England has produced some short films to illustrate how schools can use the funding.

Children and Families Minister Edward Timpson - who features in one of the films - said that the PE and Sport Premium had already helped to transform school sport.

"We want all primary school children to play and enjoy sport, so they keep up the healthy habit for life.

Our PE and sport premium is helping to transform PE lessons - and enables schools to hire extra coaches, buy new equipment and run free after-school classes."

So far, headteachers have used the funding to recruit extra specialist PE teachers and train up staff - as well as buying new equipment and offering a wider selection of sports clubs.

Two-thirds of schools (67%) have used the funding to bring in new sports coaches.

Research has shown that schools have used the PE and sport premium - worth more than £450 million over 3 years - to deliver more and better sport. Primary schools are now doing an average of 122 minutes of PE each week, up 13 minutes from the year before the funding was brought in.

British athlete Bianca Williams, who attended the launch event today at Berrymede Junior School in Acton, west London, said:
"PE and school sport isn’t just about nurturing future champions. It’s about building the fundamental movement skills that enable young people to take part in physical activity and find something to inspire them for an active life."

"PE and sport have also given me a range of skills which I can apply in other aspects of my life - teamwork, communication, resilience and the ability to persevere when things go wrong. So it’s vital that we get it right in primary schools."

John Driscoll, Executive Director of Sports Coach UK, said:
"We’re pleased that the majority of primary schools are using specialist sports coaches to support their teachers in the delivery of PE and sport."

"We know that identifying, recruiting and deploying the right coach is a tough task."

"The Coaching in Schools Portal is a free source of objective advice on everything headteachers and PE co-ordinators need to recruit and deploy coaches to support their staff, effectively and sustainably."

Commenting on the funding, Sport and Recreation Alliance CEO Emma Boggis said:

"It is good to see continual investment in resources to support the delivery of school sport and PE."

"Encouraging an active lifestyle from a young age is key to developing future generations of healthy and happy adults, who can then encourage their children to do the same which is why a part of our five-step plan to raise the heartbeat of the nation, we are calling for to see increased investment in Initial Teacher Training for primary school teachers to ensure high quality PE, sport and physical activity from the start of the educational journey."

"We want to see a society where, from the day they learn to walk, until the day they take their last steps, people have the confidence, opportunity and motivation to participate in school sport."

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