Teachers have seen a big rise in girls playing football at break or lunchtimes this year and more schools have girls’ or mixed football teams than previously, a poll suggests.
Last year, a Teacher Tapp survey found that 46 per cent of primary teachers reported that girls were playing football at break or lunchtime every day or most days of the week.
But a follow-up survey, which was carried out last month in the build-up to the Women’s World Cup and published today, reveals that 58 per cent of primary teachers say they see girls playing football at break or lunchtime every day or most days of the week - a rise of 12 percentage points.
The survey also reveals that schools are now more likely to have a girls’ or mixed football team. In primary schools, 61 per cent of schools had a girls’ or mixed team last year, rising to 71 per cent this year. In secondary schools, the figures have gone up from 72 per cent to 78 per cent.
But in spite of the massive acclaim for England’s Lionesses, who won the 2022 European Women’s Football Championship and have had a strong start in this summer’s World Cup, there is still a yawning gap between the sexes when it comes to playground football at secondary level.
In the 2022 survey, just 16 per cent of teachers reported seeing girls playing football at break or lunch every or most days; this year, the figure had risen to 19 per cent. And last year, some 43 per cent of secondary teachers said they never saw girls playing football at break or lunch; this year, that figure had fallen to 38 per cent.
Teacher Tapp surveyed 3,674 teachers in mid-July this year and 6,597 in July 2022.
Funding challenges
Julie McCulloch, director of policy at the Association of School and College Leaders, said the positive findings were “testament to the inspirational Lionesses and the efforts of schools to give all pupils the same opportunities to participate in sport”.
Ms McCulloch said school leaders and teachers know how important it is to provide pupils with access to sports clubs and other extracurricular activities.
But she added that the long-term underfunding of our schools and colleges was “making this more and more challenging”.
James Bowen, director of policy for school leaders’ union the NAHT, said: “The success of the England Lionesses will no doubt have inspired a whole new generation of girls to start playing football.
“Many schools and local clubs already ensure girls have the opportunity to enjoy playing football, and we’ll almost certainly see the demand grow further following the successes of this inspirational team.”
‘So encouraging’
The news will come as a boost for government efforts to improve activity and inclusion for female pupils. Last month, the Department for Education launched its School Sports and Activity Action Plan, which aims to support teachers and schools to deliver two hours of high-quality PE and provide “competitive and extracurricular opportunities to both girls and boys”.
For the past four years, the Youth Sport Trust (YST) has worked with the Football Association to deliver the Barclays Girls’ Football School Partnerships programme, which hopes to ensure all schools in England offer girls equal access to football.
YST chief executive Ali Oliver said it was “so encouraging” that more primary school teachers were seeing girls playing football at breaks and lunchtimes, and that girls across both primary and secondary had a chance to play in football teams.
She added: “At Youth Sport Trust, our ambition is for a future where every child can take part in a sport they love, building a lifelong habit of enjoying and benefiting from physical activity.”
The Department for Education has been approached for comment.
