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The Report of the Review Group on Physical Education
Introduction
The Physical Education Review
The Physical Education Review Group was established at the request of Scottish Ministers in response to a recommendation made by the Physical Activity Task Force.
The Group was originally chaired by the then Deputy Minister for Education and Young People, Nicol Stephen, and subsequently Michael O'Neill, Director of Education, North Lanarkshire Council.
The Group worked within the following remit:
"To consider how schools can be supported, within the National Priorities framework for planning, delivering and monitoring improvements, to provide a quality physical education which meets the needs and talents of all pupils, drawing on the following:
- 5-14 curriculum Guidelines for Expressive Arts;
- The HMIE report Improving Physical Education in Primary Schools;
- The Education, Culture and Sport Committee report on Sport in Schools;
- The report of the Physical Activity Task Force;
- HMIE report, Effective Learning and Teaching: Physical Education;
- The Sport 21 Strategy."
Membership
Membership was drawn from a range of appropriate bodies and individuals involved in education, physical education, and sport. A list of members is contained in Annex A.
The Group also received presentations and made visits as part of its work and considered the submissions made to it. These all contributed to the discussions and decisions made by the Group. Members would like to thank all who participated.
The Report
While the Group was charged with preparing this Report for Scottish Executive Ministers, it was also conscious that it should consider the needs of a wider range of potential readers: school managers, headteachers, physical education specialists, primary teachers, parents, coaches, Sports Development Officers, health promotion specialists, Active Schools Co-ordinators and pupils.
This is not intended to be an exhaustive and fully comprehensive Report on all aspects of physical education and physical activity which might feature in a young person's life. The focus is firmly placed on how schools can be supported to implement improvements in the physical education curriculum, how this can improve current levels of participation in physical education and how that might in turn lead to greater participation and levels of performance in physical education, sport and physical activity for life.
The Group recognised that many other opportunities outwith the formal curriculum, such as Out of School Hours Learning and outdoor education were also important contributors to increasing the physical activity levels of young people. This is a complex area of provision, with valuable potential to support the primary aim of this Report. However, consideration of these wider issues was outwith the remit of the Group and recommendations on this specific area have not been made. Nevertheless, the Group would hope that further consideration how Out of School Hours Learning can complement physical education. In this context, the Group welcomes the forthcoming review of Out of School Hours Learning and hopes that this Report can provide the foundation for this additional element of work.
The recommendations are directed at a range of agencies: the Scottish Executive; local authorities and their schools; teachers; and Initial Teacher Education (ITE) institutions. However, everyone involved in the provision of physical education in schools has a role to play in improving the quality of physical education and participation, and the Group hopes that the personal commitment that has been shown by professionals during the review process will lead to a proactive and positive response at school level, while the more structural recommendations are implemented.
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