to not want a move towards competitive sport in primary schools

[noseynoonoo]

First off, this is not a political rant and I hope it doesn't turn into one.

I am so cheesed off about this: www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-19219942

The details are patchy but it looks on the surface that competitive sport such as football and netball are to be widely promoted - is there anything less motivating?

Football, is just too dull, kicking a ball around, usually with limited skill at primary level whilst netball involves 7 girls per team of which 2 stand still most of the time.

My daughter just wants to be active. I don't care if it's competitive, I just want her moving and being fit. As the second tallest girl in her class, and if teachers are as unimaginitve as they were in my day, she'll be Goal Shooter or Goal Keeper and kept within a small semicircle. My son is a little dynamo and finds football dull. I hate to think of sports being so restricted.

So, can anyone tell me that I have misunderstood where school sports is going?

Most children who wear glasses now have plastic lenses.

Perhaps setting in sports is the answer, with a real shit-kicker attitude about mocking those who are working towards a fit and healthy lifestyle rather than excelling at competitive or team sports.

'Down, all the children know who?s on the top set/table for maths at school the same as they know who are the sporty kids. Why dumb down sports for a few children that are not good at it? '

Which is why, in the majority of maths lessons, the work is differentiated to three, four or more levels. So that you don't have to dumb down the lesson for the few that are not good at it.

Agreed, FallenCaryatid. I'm also pretty fit now (though not as impressive as you!), but it's in spite of being made to do sport at school, not because of it.

And you don't make kids do maths in a team and let them choose their own teams...

I?m sorry to hear you had a tough time at school Down. I?m sure most children nowadays would not behave that way during a PE lesson and anyone that was deemed not good at sport would not make the team anyway if competitive sports were played after school. I would much rather my child participated and learnt to try hard at everything even if it means coming last or loosing.

I think I had unaddressed rage issues when I left school.

FallenCaryatid

Secondary school DS 1 is going to shortly streams for sport. I hope this will help him. I hope the coaching teaches skills and team-work, and sporting behaviour (like DS2s Rugby Clud does),

Like AChickenCalledKorma's DD he is not competitive, and is good at things that aren't all that valued at Primary level - stamina, cycling, swimming, but not ball games, and hence has already written himself off (and been written off by some classmates) as useless at sport.

sadly - children with bad attitudes do make the school team because coaches can't overcome their own competitiveness.

Clud ? - club!

My experience of school PE and sport is slightly different as I was educated here. At school in my home country we have competitive sport from the age of 6. Clearly from the ages of 6-9 you play mini tennis, mini rugby, mini hockey etc and your team names are things like the peppermints and smarties once you reach 9 you will have trials for the under 9 teams boys had the option of playing rugby, football, tennis, swimming, cricket and the girls played hockey and tennis. Wednesday afternoons and saturday morning were match days for the whole school were we got to play against over schools.

PE was an hour a week and we did a variety of things - the boys and girls were split for this.

When we got to high school there was even more of a variety of sports, waterpolo, netball, squash, tennis, rugby etc. All students had to play a summer and winter sport, granted not everyone was going to make he first team but at least you still played and took part. Ours schools also offered Choirs, bands, drama groups, debating groups etc so if you were sporty you had the opportunity to shine else where.

I wasnt very sporty at all, played 6th team hockey or something ridiculous, but I still loved being part of a team and the competitiveness of it, so we weren't number 1 but we still wanted to be the best 6th team.

I think competitive sport in school is important, as is having the choice of what sport to play, granted schools in my home country an very different to be schools here, even though I was state educated my parents still had to pay school fees. Dont get me started on the facilities and sports of the private schools back home.

Sorry for the grammar and spelling mistakes trying to type and eat

I think what we have to be careful of is definitions and different exoectations for different situations. As a KS2 class teacher, I see it as my job to make sure children get as much exercise as posible in my lessons and learn how to run, hit, throw, catch and work cooperativly in small, similarly able teams in games lessons. We also cover gym and dance. I am not particularly sporty and HATED games at secondary school, which makes me very aware of the 'being the last to be picked issue'.

It is NOT my job to train future olympians, but to give children the basic skills to access more sport as they get older.

In an ideal world, the really competitive and sporty children would have access to free ( or at least subsidised) specialist coaching after school, at school, so parents can use it to support childcare, rather than having to ferry children here, there and everywhere.

More 'sporting taster sessions' should be avilable- how does a child discover a love of badminton, if they have never had any experience of it? I am not qualified to do this.

Re: sports days- the best are where chidren get to choose their events- some want to run races, some happily take part in team obstacle courses, others would rather throw things. Surely they should be building on their strengths? I have not worked in any schools where there was no aspect of competition, just less ritual humiliation!

We have to be careful not to lump all ages together- what is good for secondary school children is not the same for primary, especially given the skills and expectations of the respective teachers.

But Hula hoards of schools don't live near facilities they can walk to or have parents who can afford to pay for public transport and contributions to facility fees.Some of us have 2 or 3 children.Many parents couldn't pay,schools couldn't afford to subsidy....Tis a whole different world in the public sector.

Dave is going to have to put his hand in the coffers.

I think I'll have to create a new rule if competitive sports enters my primary school big time.
Penalty box with a 5 minute timer for every insult, sneer and unsportspersonlike comment. With me as the ref and no appeals allowed.
Muahhahaha

I'm with Downandoutnumbered on this, my own experience of team sport throughout school was absolute misery, not helped by a PE teacher who did nothing to discourage bullying and bad sportsmanship, I was the short sighted one who was always last to be picked because I always missed the ball and got shouted at by others, I remember struggling to swallow the shame/misery and praying for bad weather. Nowadays I am pretty fit, I cycle and exercise. I wish at school I had been able to access other fitness activities like athletics, aerobics, cycling. I think think all children should be given the experience of team sports but it's not the be all and end all, there are plenty of other ways of keeping fit.

Prarieflower - I am aware many don't but I was referring to our local schools here, the ones in the same area as DD's school - which is what I was discussing previously. All OUR local schools have access to the very same facilities as DD's independent school.

BTW I am not ignorant of the differences. I have worked in the state sector for many many years, and both myself and DH were educated in the state sector.

I think bullying stats will go up.

Still waiting to hear how increased competition in the likes of net ball etc would actually help a child in the areas I listed below.I'm suspecting nobody actually cares about these bottom kids, or raising fitness levels to be honest,Dave included.

Our primary is very keen on competitive sports, my son has played in the school football team playing against various other schools and they won the league last year. He's played in the mixed cricket team that narrowly missed out on getting through to the county finals and he also played in the mixed tag rugby team that won the county champs and narrowly missed out at regionals for the opportunity to play at Twickenham. The girls football team have won countless trophies, becoming county champions this year. Sports days are competitive, having children placed 3rd, 2nd and 3rd. My youngest daughter came first in both her races and was so thrilled, my other son who is not naturally sporty won one of his races and the pride on his face will stay with me forever.

I didn't realise some schools we're yet taking part in competitive sports, it doesn't make sense.

Duh! Children are placed 3rd, 2nd and 1st

I think the maj do have competitive Sports Days with 1st ,2nd or 3rd they just choose not to go overboard about it,handle it with some degree of tact and also celebrate other qualities such as team spirit,trying hard,enjoyment etc too.

I have nothing against competitive sports, even though I sucked at them at school. However I agree with the OP that we need more variety than netball and football. I was good at stamina sports like long distance running and I was above average at swimming but we did these things about once a year so I hated PE most of the time even though I wasn't unfit.

FallenCaryatid, can ypu come and impose your rules on my DS's future primary school? Poor little scrap, he's only 2 and I'm already worried about him repeating my miserable experiences. He's genetically doomed to be shortsighted.

Not all children are entered into each event, they all do a round robin of field events and then compete in 2 track events (obstacle course, sprint, relay, egg and spoon etc). My eldest absolutely loves sports and will give anything a go but my 2nd son really isn't keen on sport at all and detests football with a passion, he loves sports day even though the first race he won came in Yr4.

I think narrowing it down to football/netball just wouldn't happen - that takes me back to my schooling days, I think we've come on leaps and bounds since then

Just read the Strawberry post. My experience was identical to yours Strawberry.