Informal Sport in School and the PE Curriculum

Economic and Social Research Council Seminar 3: Informal Sport in School and the PE Curriculum

The National Curriculum for physical education introduced into secondary schools in England in 2009 marked a shift in emphasis from activities (such as team games) towards core skills (such as balance and flight) encouraging schools to adopt a greater range of activities. Some schools have since incorporated non-traditional lifestyle sports such as skateboarding, ultimate frisbee, street surfing, and parkour.

Research about the impact of these initiatives, which pupils benefit, and why, remains anecdotal. Proponents argue activities like parkour provide managed risk-taking for children in urban environments but critics claim there are legitimate health and safety fears.

An Economic and Social Research Council conference was held at the University of Brighton’s School of Sport and Service Management today, 27 January, and examined the ways schools have expanded their provision of non-traditional lifestyle sports (both during and outside curriculum time), and the perceived benefits.

Chaired by University of Brighton principal lecturer Dr Gary Stidder and introduced by Head of School Professor Jo Doust delegates listen to esteemed academics and researchers in the field of physical education including Professor Ken Green, Professor David Kirk, Dr Annette Stride, Dr Anthony Maher and Dr Alex Channon.

Key questions were addressed through the day such as:

• How do children develop physical literacy in these physical activities?
• Are benefits transferable to other contexts such as education, work and community?
• How have schools and policy makers established parameters of acceptable and safe practice in these types of physical activities?
• Why do these physical activities attract different pupils to those attracted to traditional sex-segregated, gender stereotyped and competitive team games?
• What is the role of dance in these debates?

Dr Gary Stidder said: “Pupils in secondary schools have been force-fed the same staple diet of physical activities for far too long. Rather like school dinners, very little has changed in the world of PE teaching. The recipe and ingredients have remained untouched for generations with many pupils being dished up the same menu of activities that their own mothers and fathers endured 20 years ago often in the same school and often by the same PE teacher.

“There is a real need for radical reform to the design of the secondary school PE curriculum and I believe that all the keynote speakers were able to provide informative suggestions as to how the PE profession can do that.”