The government’s commitment to fund the School PE and Sport Premium only lasts until 2020 and unless this is extended, schools have only two more years to benefit from the additional income this generates. With this in mind, it’s more important than ever to spend the funding in a way that has long-term benefits. In this post, we’ll look at five ways you can invest your School Sport Premium for the future.

What is the School Sport Premium?

The School PE and Sport Premium is an initiative which delivers ring-fenced funding to English primary schools to help them improve PE and sport provision. Schools with over 17 pupils receive an £8,000 lump sum plus an additional £5 per pupil, while those with fewer than 17 get £500 per pupil.

This is a generous figure for cash-strapped schools and, used wisely, can make a huge difference. There are, however, conditions which need to be met: the money has to be spent on additional and sustainable improvements to PE and sports provision, it has to benefit all pupils and encourage them to lead more active and healthy lifestyles.

Investing for sustained improvement

Using the funding in a way which meets the conditions for which it is given can be a challenge. To achieve ‘sustained improvement’ means spending it on something that will have an impact over the long term. Perhaps the best examples of things which can achieve this are training staff so they can teach additional sports or skills in the future, or by purchasing equipment that can be used for many years and which encourages more children to participate. With this in mind, here are five suggestions to consider.

An overview of Sports Premium Funding

Set to run until 2020, the Primary PE and Sports Premium is a £150 million per annum initiative designed to improve the provision of PE and sport in schools throughout England. During the initiative, any school with more than 17 pupils aged five to eleven receives £8,000 a year plus £5 per pupil. Those with fewer than 17 on roll, receive £500 per pupil.

Requirements of Sports Premium Funding

The key stipulation of the initiative is that funding must be spent on additional and sustainable improvements to the provision of PE and sport and that these must be for the benefit of all pupils to encourage them to lead healthy, active lifestyles.

In other words, the money a school receives has to add to or improve PE and sports provision and do so in a way that benefits all pupils over the long term.

To ensure that the funding is spent as instructed, schools may be asked to provide evidence to inspectors that shows the impact of the Sports Premium on PE and sports provision and how this has improved pupil health and activity levels.

How can you spend your Sports Premium Funding?

There are quite a few ways you can use the funds, here are some of the main ones:

purchase equipment that extends provision or encourages activity
introduce new sporting or physical activities to encourage wider pupil participation
train existing teachers to deliver new sports or improve existing skills
hire specialist coaches to work alongside teaching staff
run extracurricular clubs and activities for the least active children
host sporting competitions, including interschool events

1. Install a Daily Mile Track

The Daily Mile Challenge is a new project that aims to tackle inactivity and obesity by getting all pupils to complete a daily, one-mile circuit at school. Unlike cross country, this is more of a social activity, where children can run, jog or walk at their own pace with their friends. Taking around 15 minutes out of the school day, it has become increasingly popular with over 3000 UK schools taking part. It has also been taken up in many other countries.

Investing your School Sport Premium in a Daily Mile track can bring sustainable improvements in provision for all pupils, including the least active. Taking part can help the pupils improve their physical and mental health and their social and emotional wellbeing. Regular exercise can also help with behaviour, concentration and even attainment.

2. Kit out your playground with outdoor sports equipmenth

Primary schools often have little in the way of PE resources, one of the main reasons being a lack of storage space. One way to get around this is to provide permanently erected, outdoor sports equipment in the playground.

Outdoor equipment doesn’t need storage space and it can be used for a variety of purposes: PE lessons, extracurricular sporting activities and for active play during lunch and break times. In this sense, its impact is sustained in terms of how it is used throughout the school day and over the years that it remains fit for use.

Typical examples of sports equipment include basketball and netball hoops, goals (with either nets or recesses), freestanding ball catchers and ball walls for practising football, tennis and cricket. If you are short of space, you can even install multi-sports equipment, such as our combined football – hoop units which are ideal for football, hockey, netball and basketball.

3. Get some proper sports surfacing

Primary schools often have little in the way of PE resources, one of the main reasons being a lack of storage space. One way to get around this is to provide permanently erected, outdoor sports equipment in the playground.

Outdoor equipment doesn’t need storage space and it can be used for a variety of purposes: PE lessons, extracurricular sporting activities and for active play during lunch and break times. In this sense, its impact is sustained in terms of how it is used throughout the school day and over the years that it remains fit for use.

Typical examples of sports equipment include basketball and netball hoops, goals (with either nets or recesses), freestanding ball catchers and ball walls for practising football, tennis and cricket. If you are short of space, you can even install multi-sports equipment, such as our combined football – hoop units which are ideal for football, hockey, netball and basketball.

4. Mark out your existing playground for more sports

Playground markings offer a practical and affordable way to extend the number of sports and activities you provide. There is a wide range of sports playground markings available, including football, futsal (5-a-side football), tennis, netball, rounders, cricket and basketball.

These markings can be installed on most hard surfaces, provided they are in reasonable condition, enabling your school playground to double up as an outdoor sports facility while providing pupils with new pitches to play on during their free time.

For schools with small playgrounds, an ideal solution is to install multicourt markings. A multicourt is a single space over which there are markings for futsal, netball and basketball.

5. Install a multi-skill zone

A multi-skills zone meets all the criteria that the School Sports Premium stipulates. With long lasting markings and all year availability, they can be used during lessons, for extra-curricular activities or for playground games.

Their versatility enables more pupils to benefit from them, giving increased opportunity to develop key physical skills such as agility, balance, coordination, stability and physical awareness and sporting skills such as footwork, jumping, throwing and ball skills.

There is a diverse selection of multi-skills markings to choose from, enabling schools to create zones tailored for their specific needs. These include the ‘Famous Five’ multi-skills markings (ideal for working with groups on a range of different skills), a multi-skills circle, agility ladder and trainer trail. There are many more to choose from.

Conclusion

The School Sports Premium is an opportunity to invest in the long-term provision of sports and PE in your school. The ideas we have provided here enable schools to deliver new and additional provision that we think will offer sustainable improvements in your school and which can benefit all pupils, including the least active.

For more information, take a look at our School Sport Premium page or call us on 01282 43 44 45.