Physical activity has numerous benefits for children and young people’s physical health, as well as their mental wellbeing (increasing self-esteem and emotional wellbeing and lowering anxiety and depression), and children who are physically active are happier, more resilient and more trusting of their peers. Ensuring that pupils have access to sufficient daily activity can also have wider benefits for pupils and schools, improving behaviour as well as enhancing academic achievement.

The school sport and activity action plan sets out the government’s commitment to ensuring that children and young people have access to at least 60 minutes of sport and physical activity per day. It recommends 30 minutes of this is delivered during the school day (in line with the Chief Medical Officers guidelines which recommend an average of at least 60 minutes per day across the week).

The PE and sport premium can help primary schools to achieve this commitment, providing primary schools with £320 million of government funding to make additional and sustainable improvements to the quality of the PE, physical activity and sport offered through their core budgets. It is allocated directly to schools, so they have the flexibility to use it in the way that works best for their pupils.

Schools must use the funding to make additional and sustainable improvements to the quality of the PE, physical activity and sport they provide. This includes any carried forward funding.

This means that you must use the PE and sport premium to:

• develop or add to the PE, physical activity and sport that your school provides
• build capacity and capability within the school to ensure that improvements made now are sustainable and will benefit pupils joining the school in future year

This means schools must use the PE and sport premium to:

·   Build capacity and capability in the school and make sure that improvements made to the quality of PE, sport and physical activity provision now are sustainable and will benefit pupils joining the school in future.

· Develop or add to the PE, sport and physical activity that the school provides.

 It is important that schools make the most effective use of the premium. To best achieve this, spending should focus on making improvements in 5 key areas, to assist in:  

· Increasing confidence, knowledge and skills of all staff in teaching PE and sporting activities

·  Increasing engagement of all pupils in regular physical activity and sporting activities

· Raising the profile of PE and sport across the school, to support whole school improvement

· Offer a broader and more equal experience of a range of sports and physical activities to all pupils

· Increasing participation in competitive sport