Education and Skills written question – answered at on 19 December 2005.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what steps she is taking to encourage children to participate in sport in schools; and if she will make a statement.
The Department for Education and Skills and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport are jointly implementing the national school sport strategy in England. In the five years to 2008 over £1.5billion is being invested (including £686 million lottery funding) to implement the strategy. Spearheading action is the creation of a national network of sports colleges and school sport partnerships across England. To date, 80 per cent. of schools in England are already part of one of the 411 live partnerships and all schools will be within one by 2006.
The strategy is delivering an ambitious public service agreement target to increase the percentage of 5 to 16-year-olds who spend a minimum of two hours a week on high quality PE and school sport within and beyond the curriculum to 75 per cent. by 2006 and then 85 per cent. by 2008. The long-term ambition, by 2010, is to offer all children at least four hours of sport every week.
Good progress is being made and we are on track to deliver the target. The 2004/05 school sport survey results found that overall, 69 per cent. of pupils in the 11,498 schools involved, were participating in at least two hours of high quality PE and school sport a week. In 2003/04 this figure was 62 per cent.
Of course my hon. Friend would know that the issue of PE and sport in schools in Wales is a devolved matter.
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