Following an important government announcement earlier this week, children will have a greater opportunity to do 60 minutes of sport and physical activity per day under new plans.
A third of children are currently doing fewer than 30 minutes of physical activity a day, according to a survey conducted by Sport England.
The “School Sport and Activity Action Plan” provides a number of resources for schools and teachers, including a "Netflix-style library" of workout videos aimed at schoolgirls.
"Our plan will help shift the dial in school sport," said Sports Minister Mims Davies.
The announcement to boost school sport with the backing of government, Sport England, National Governing Bodies and other key organisations in the sport and education sector is very encouraging for the nation and for young people, and also something that Basketball England has been pleased to be involved with since its inception.
Stewart Kellett, CEO Basketball England said: “We know that primary and secondary school experiences in PE and sport is so important in supporting the health and wellbeing of young people and providing opportunities for lifelong participation.
“Basketball England has been involved in this development and the School Sport and Activity Action Plan since the start of the cross government review and we are delighted to contribute to any boosting of PE and sport in schools.”
In tune with providing more children and young people with better physical literacy and supporting schools to achieve this, Basketball England has designed a new programme call Slam Jam aimed at giving 7-11 year old children the fundamentals of running, jumping, catching and throwing whilst having fun through basketball.
It has been designed and tested in over 60 sites in Manchester and London with very positive initial results. The programme has received detailed analysis to examine its suitability for use in the national curriculum by an education expert from Sheffield University, confirming its application in school and community settings.
As part of the new government plan, The Department for Education has committed £2.5m in 2019-20 to deliver extra training for PE teachers, help schools open up their facilities at weekends and during the holidays, and expand sports volunteering programmes.
In addition, Sport England will invest an additional £2m to create 400 new after-school 'satellite clubs' to get more young people in disadvantaged areas active.
Sport England will also provide £1m to develop a digital resource for girls which will include workout videos encouraging them to exercise.
Coupling Slam Jam with the release of additional government funding will allow basketball to play a huge role in assisting schools to deliver a great PE and sporting experience. To date, over 170 organisations have signed up to deliver Slam Jam in Autumn 2019, with further uptake expected in the coming months.
To find out more about Slam Jam and how the programme can be used in schools to encourage participation, please use the button below.
A link to the government’s School Sport and Activity Action Plan has also been included as a button below.
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