In March 2013 the government announced that it was to provide substantial additional funding to improve provision of physical education (PE) and sport in primary schools in England - The Primary PE & Sport Grant.
This funding - provided jointly by the Departments for Education, Health and Culture, Media and Sport - is allocated to primary school headteachers. The funding is ring-fenced and therefore can only be spent on provision of PE and sport in schools.
Purpose of funding:
Schools must spend the additional funding on improving their provision of PE and sport, but they have the freedom to choose how they do this.
The four objectives of the Primary PE and Sport Grant funding are:
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To improve the quality of existing PE teaching through continuing professional learning in PE for generalists, so that all primary pupils improve their health, skills and physical literacy, and have broader exposure to a range of sports
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To increase participation levels in competitive sport and healthy activity of pupils, and maintain these into adolescence
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To increase the quality of initial teacher training in PE and sport, and to promote PE specialisation in primary level workforce
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For schools to show that they understand and value the benefits of high quality PE and sport, including its use as a tool for whole school improvement
Due to lockdown, an analysis of the impact of sports premium on outcomes for children has not been possible. Children were unable to access the resources laid out on the spending program from March, and no assessment data was secured at the end of 2019-20. However, the costs related to sports premium were not reduced during this time.