Jowell concerned school sports legacy could be ruined
Tessa Jowell, the Shadow Olympics Minister, has said she is deeply concerned what the school sports legacy from the London 2012 Games will be, due to the changes the coalition Government made to the plans for school sport when they came to office.
Jowell now fears that the school sport legacy plans promised back in 2005 could be ruined due to the different approach the current Culture Secretary, Jeremy Hunt, and Sports Minister, Hugh Robertson, have to school sport.
While the duo have been instrumental in setting up the new School Games, building on the success of the previous Government’s UK School Games, Jowell says that this event alone will not be enough.
“I really do commend Hugh Robertson and Jeremy Hunt for the cross-party support that they have created on the Olympics,” said Jowell.
“We disagree on only one thing and that is school sport. I am a huge supporter of the School Games which build on the UK School Games our Government set up. I am however sceptical that the School Games, on its own, will be enough for school children who operate outside that event.
“I’m just deeply concerned because not all school children will get the opportunity to compete in the School Games and there is no real sports participation plan for them.
“We promised in Singapore to provide a real legacy for young people from the London 2012 Games and we were certainly delivering that under our Government.
“Had we kept our scheme intact, the figures show that 90 per cent of children would have participated in two hours of sport in school per week by London 2012 and that 70 per cent would have participated in five hours or more of sport in school per week by the Games.
“But the drop off rate in the last year since the new Government broke up our system has been alarming.”
In last year’s Comprehensive Spending Review, Education Secretary Michael Gove announced that the entire £162 million funding for the School Sports Partnerships would be axed, which met with heavy criticism from teachers, pupils and Olympic athletes.
The Department for Education (DfE) therefore agreed to pay the School Sports Partnerships to the end of the last academic year at a cost of £47 million, while £65 million from the DfE’s spending review settlement has been allocated to allow every school in England to release a PE teacher for one day a week for the following two academic years.
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