Chesterfield mum petitions Parliament after school cuts PE to one hour a week

Victoria Burton, a PE teacher at a secondary school in South Yorkshire, has spent the autumn term pursuing a formal complaint against Heritage High School in Clowne after it halved the subject’s timetabled hours for years seven and eight without consultation.

Despite presenting a wealth of evidence for the importance of PE to governors at the final complaint hearing on December 7, the panel opted to uphold the school’s position, leaving Victoria with nowhere else to go but over their heads.

A spokesperson for the school said: “As a school we are committed to providing our students with excellent educational opportunities, both inside and outside the classroom.

“To achieve this we provide a broad, balanced, and diverse educational offer which meets the requirements of the national curriculum and includes a variety of enrichment opportunities.”

The petition, which requires 10,000 signatures for a government response and 100,000 to be considered for a Commons debate, calls on the Government to make it mandatory for every child to receive a minimum two hours of PE a week – the level already recommended, but not required, by national policy.

Victoria said: “The Government advice which came out in July for school sports was only a recommendation, so schools can choose to drop it. Because it’s not compulsory, and Ofsted had acknowledged its ‘broad and balanced curriculum’ the school was able to dismiss my complaint, and say they were doing nothing illegal.

“Just because it’s not illegal, that doesn’t mean it’s in the best interests of the children. Until the headteacher says children can get two hours again, I will keep escalating this.”

She added: “We know all the benefits that PE offers, not just for physical health but for cognitive abilities, concentration, mental health. The World Health Organisation recommends 60 minutes of physical activity a day, including 30 minutes during school hours, and for so many children, PE is the only access they have to sport.

“I know from the classes I teach that when you ask students whether they do sport out of school, so few put their hands up these days, whether that’s because their parents can’t afford it, can’t manage transport around work, or the children have responsibilities like caring for family.”

Following England’s footballing triumph at the UEFA Women's Euro 2022, Chesterfield-born Millie Bright and the Lionesses’ squad sought to build on their legacy by lobbying now-Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to deliver a minimum of two hours per week PE for every girl in school.

In July this year, government departments for health, education and sport responded with a joint two-year plan to “improve equal access and the quality of PE.

At the time, Education Secretary Gillian Keegan said: “Today’s plan crystallises our commitment to equal access to all sports and two hours of PE per week, and will help instil a lifelong passion for sport and fitness in each and every young person.”

Victoria said: “I don’t think the government realises schools are doing this – reducing PE hours just because they can – and ultimately they’re not doing anything wrong.

“I’ve been teaching since 2002 and I’ve never known a school to cut PE like this in Key Stage 3. My concern is that if one gets away with it, others might follow to try and improve academic results.

“Religious education has been made compulsory, so has PSHE [personal, social, health and economic education] so that time’s had to be taken from somewhere else. If PE was made compulsory they would have to find the time for it.”

The reduction in PE hours accompanied the introduction of a one-week timetable at Heritage, rather than the old fortnightly one.

Victoria said: “I think each department had to make their case for why their subject needed the time, and PE lost that argument. There is so much pressure on schools and PE is an easy target. A lot of parents might not even notice it being cut.

“When I first raised concerns with the school they insisted how much they valued PE, but because my son’s only lesson is on a Friday now, INSET days and other events have meant that he’s only had 70 per cent of his lessons so far this year.

“They’ve also reduced the number of sports taught during the year from about 12 to six, to ‘increase the depth of study.’ According to the national curriculum one of those has to be dance, and my son isn’t going to be a dancer so they’re already reducing his chances of success at GCSE by limiting the variety of sports.

“My son actually chose to go to Heritage because it was closer to home so he could stay late for extra-curricular sport but now he only has a choice of two activities which both run on the same night.”

She added: “My eldest goes to another school in Chesterfield, and I’ve looked at a few others, some with one-week timetables, others with two-week. All of them offer at least two lessons of PE.

“We’re coming to the time to decide where my daughter goes to secondary school, and I don’t want her to go somewhere that PE won’t be important. Primary schools do so much good work to engage children in sports, and show them how important exercise is, but the drop-out rates for girls at secondary school are even higher than boys.”

To sign the petition, go to http://tinyurl.com/mw4fyah4.

Support your Derbyshire Times by becoming a digital subscriber. You will see 70 per cent fewer ads on stories, meaning faster load times and an overall enhanced user experience. Click here to subscribe.