We all know that being active is important; it’s critical for both our physical and mental health. But exercise also supports learning.
According to the Youth Sport Trust’s 2023 annual report, 91 per cent of primary and 63 per cent of secondary-age students say that being active helps them learn.
However, too few children are getting this important learning boost. As Sport England’s Active Lives Children and Young People Survey (2022) shows, only 47 per cent of children achieve the chief medical officer’s guidelines when it comes to exercise, while nearly one-third (30 per cent) are doing less than 30 minutes of activity a day.
Irrespective of talent, every child and young person has the right to be active - and it all starts with physical literacy.
What is physical literacy?
Physical literacy refers to the degree to which we have a positive and meaningful relationship with movement and physical activity.
Sport England recently launched a Physical Literacy Consensus Statement, which draws on the contributions of an expert panel comprising around 60 researchers and stakeholders covering the health, education, early years, youth and sport sectors; as well as disciplines such as psychology, physiology, human movement, physical activity, pedagogy, play and child development.
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How a child moves, connects, thinks and feels when being physically active plays a crucial role in shaping their physical literacy. By doing activities that they enjoy, find meaning in and value, children deepen their connection with movement and physical activity and foster an ongoing commitment to maintain an active lifestyle into adolescence and adulthood.
How to build physical literacy
So, how can schools help children to develop their physical literacy?
1. Acknowledge personal connections
Physical literacy is personal. Every child is unique and has their own strengths, needs, circumstances and past experiences that affect their relationship with movement and physical activity.
Help students to reflect on these factors, perhaps in PSHE lessons. Ask them to think about the benefits of being active, not just in terms of their physical and mental health but also by exploring the social side of physical activity.
For instance, get them to come up with examples of how sport has helped them to make friends or develop skills like resilience and confidence.
2. Draw on student voice
Use youth voice mechanisms (such as student surveys, young leaders and school councils) to ask your students what they enjoy and value about being physically active, making sure you draw on a representative sample of all the students in school, not just those who are already keen athletes.
Draw on this insight to re-evaluate the type and range of activities you offer in PE lessons and extracurricular provision.
This doesn’t just mean introducing new sports - it could mean offering sports to girls that have traditionally only been provided for boys, and vice versa. It might also mean introducing more non-competitive as well as competitive activities.
The aim should be to enable and inspire all students to be physically active throughout their life, rather than just providing a platform for your sporty students to shine.
3. Make sport inclusive
As well as catering to different preferences and interests, you also need to think about the logistics of supporting every child to take part in sport.
Monitor who is taking up existing opportunities and consider how you can encourage different groups of students to participate.
This means considering reasonable adjustments that will make activities inclusive for those with special educational needs and disabilities, but also making sure there are plenty of low- and no-cost options when it comes to extracurricular and enrichment opportunities.
Schools can keep costs down by encouraging volunteers and using facilities with little or no charge, and can make sure they are meeting everyone’s needs by involving students in the design of clubs.
4. Embed activity throughout the day
Aim to provide opportunities for pupils to be active before, during and after the school day. These don’t have to be run by specialists but can be as simple as using “wake and shake” activities or movement breaks in lessons; facilitating class challenges and active games in the playground; and encouraging students to walk or cycle to school.
5. Build community links
Consider how to expose students to the different ways they can be active in their local community, such as through trips, festivals and partnerships with local clubs.
For example, see if your local sports clubs or leisure centre will offer taster sessions for your students, or consider organising trips to local facilities, such as parks, walking routes and sports grounds, to help them to learn more about the opportunities available near them.
Tim Hollingsworth is chief executive of Sport England. This article draws on contributions from Emma Mackenzie-Hogg, development manager at the Youth Sport Trust; Dr Liz Durden-Myers, CEO of PE Scholar; and Sue Wilkinson MBE, CEO of the Association for Physical Education
