The Government has announced £360,000 of extra primary school funding to recruit 120 more trainees into primary schools by September 2015.
This will double the number of primary PE specialists to 240. The extra funding will be used to bring on board at least six new training providers and will also create a model course that teaching schools across the country can use to provide the specialist PE course.
James Allen, Head of Policy at the Sport and Recreation Alliance said:
“We commend the Government’s ongoing commitment to improving specialist school sport provision at primary school level, which we know that OFSTED has recognised as a particular issue.
"Whilst 240 PE specialists in primary schools is a fantastic step, we must keep in perspective the greater challenge that lies ahead of us, which is reaching the rest our 17,000 primary schools in England so that they too reap the benefits of specialist sports provision.”
The announcement follows a report by Ofsted last month, Going the extra mile: Excellence in competitive school sport, which criticised the provision of competitive sport in state schools.
