School Sport - comments by our great leader

[flexybex]

www.guardian.co.uk/education/2012/aug/08/cameron-scraps-targets-school-sport

Another way to cut the wage bill! All teachers to take it in turns to take PE lessons!

What could he have said about school sport that would have pleased you though? TBH if a labour PM had said the same thing it would all have been 'hooray, more competitive sport, what a great idea' - but since it's a Tory 'idea' you're all ready to bash it and slag it off. Just gets a bit tiring after a while in here.

I think it's because the Tories cancelled the schools sports partnership funding then said 'more competitive sport by getting lazy-arsed teachers to do some unpaid overtime for once'.

They are jumping onto the success of the Olympics by making grand statements with no actual intention of doing anything constructive but blaming teachers if it doesn't happen.

I mean, nameus would you think it simple Tory bashing if Cameron had said 'we want more competitive sports in schools but have cancelled the specialist funding and sold all the playing fields, so nameus will be running free after-school sports clubs in their back garden for kids who want to do it. And if name-us isn't willing to play their part, then hey, at least we tried to cash in on the success of the Olympics. Vote Tory!' and you complained about this?

I loathe the man every day a little more.

As far as competitive sports is concerned, well he's right, the outstanding school my children attend has hardly any provision for sports; teachers do not run any clubs and there is only one provider who comes once a week for one sport and that's at parent's expense. They don't even take children swimming.

I don't see how DC scrapping the target for 2 hours a week gives our school the resources to provide more sports for our children. I am baffled.

i took a PE lesson last term and i BLOODY LOVED it. I am mad keen fitness person atm and we did aerobics to a DVD.

I bet Ofsted would love that. What NC level was it?

Oh god school sport has changed beyond belief. It's all jenga and Zumba and wii fit these days

What I don't understand is how DC and his fellow wingnuts work out that by removing a minimum target schools are suddenly going to think 'Oh great, we don't have to do a minimum of 2 hours' PE any more - yay, let's now do more than that!

And did anyone hear his comments about how state school sport is all meaningless and then quoted schools doing 'Indian dancing' as a reason for abolishing the requirement? That man is wrong on so many levels that he's practically a multi-storey car park.

(All this aside from him not having a clue about how dance in general is in fact hugely physically demanding and can be done competitively too)

I think it is fairly common in independent schools for a good proportion of staff to do their bit.

There is no reason why the geography teacher can't do a badminton club, or a science teacher can't help out with after school netball club, or an English teacher can't look after the 4th team football, is there?

No reason? They might not want to do it? Given that it would be unpaid overtime I don't think schools can suddenly start requiring teachers to do it.

ClaireRacing this already happens in many state schools as well - but it should be in addition to PE, not instead of.

On the whole independent school teachers are also better paid and afaik don't have the enormous admin burden that state school teachers have. Not to mention a substantially shorter school year (although yes, longer school days).

I don't think independent school teachers are necessarily better paid. Most have the national settlement, afaik.

They also tend to do their own admin. they are not held to PPA time, no photocopying, no cover, no duties that state school teachers get.

But being a teacher in an independent school is about taking part in the whole life of the school, not just your subject.

I expect extra-curricular activities form part of their contract.

I don't understand why you think it is ok to ask people to work all the hours God sends when they have a contract for so many hours per week. it is not right - not in the private sector and not in the public sector either.

'taking part in the whole life of the school' - is that independent sector code for 'be on call whenever we want you to and forget about having a life'?

This government axed a very successful programme for sports in state school and is now trying to get something for nothing out of teachers who already work ridiculously hard.

"But being a teacher in an independent school is about taking part in the whole life of the school, not just your subject."

As it is in any school, ClaireRacing, not just independent schools.
A third of our teachers take an extra-curricular sports club. These are all people who like a particular sport, and know enough about it to improve the children's performance.
Other teachers 'take part' in other ways - music, gardening, school council, etc.

The fact that DC comes out with these throwaway soundbites shows his total lack of understanding of what goes on or any consideration for teachers.

I thought his children went to state school. It must be crap if that's what he bases his comments on.

It depends whether the sound bite is throwaway or reality.

The reality is that this government has made 2 hours of PE per week non-compulsory and cut about £160m in sports partnership funding, at the same time as getting rid of a few fields (for whatever reason). DC also had the audacity to say that other teachers could do sports clubs in their 'free time', and tagged on the old Daily Mail line of sport not being competitive enough.

Fron the Telegraph today:
"......Mr Cameron told ITV's Daybreak show: "I think we should be doing as much sport in schools as possible. We have got to deliver that by dealing with all the different things. We need to make sure facilities are there. Next, we need to make sure that the money's there."

Look at the words in bold! They're all things his government have culled (or are in the process of culling).

Throwaway soundbites. His real message is, "Go deal...."

DC is ignorant - possibly he should be volunteering and taking a sports club, but to foster it over to teachers and sports clubs who already do this as extras is disgusting.

My kids don't get any state funding and their teachers do lots of games training during their "free" time.

In their three schools, they have quite a few elite athletes, but mostly a high level of fitness and enjoyment of sport.

Are they at independent schools, ClaireRacing?
There seems to be a broader range of sports available at independent schools, and I assume this is because they have better facilities (e.g. squash courts; number of pitches for multiple field games such as rugby, football, lacrosse, hockey; shooting ranges, etc). Surely the fees provide the funding for maintenance, tuition, etc. rather than the state?

As I mentioned, the teachers in my state school also give up their free time to coach sport.
Because of the decrease in funding for Sports Partnerships (which will cease altogether next year), children in state schools will now be unable to experience a wide variety of sports.

What gets me is that none of them seem to be able to understand the difference between physical activity (which every child needs to do) and sport.

By forcing children into sports they dislike and/or can't do you reduce the chances of them staying active.

Yes you need time and facilities to let children try difference sports and to continue with them if they enjoy them. But you also need to ensure that their are other suitable physical activities for those who do not want/or can't do them.

My DS has dyspraxia and rather than let him do activities he can do, he has has endured year after year of standing on muddy fields whilst football/rugby/other ball games are played around him. He can kick a ball or throw a ball, but not catch one as his co-ordination is too poor. The other kids know this and thus exclude him from as much as possible. But the school can't offer alternatives as competitive team games are good for you .

Apparently Primary schools are going to receive funding for sport

Well, it may be possible for private schools to devote an entire afternoon to sport practically every week, but I'm not sure how a 1,600 pupil comprehensive can have everyone out on the sportsfield at the same time every afternoon - not when it has only a tiny proportion of the amount of land that the sporty private school uses and doesn't have the tennis courts, badminton courts, gymnasia, swimming pool etc. As for the top boarding schools and boarding/day schools - they give their teachers free housing, so of course they can be around to help with extra sport (and go to their second homes in the long school holidays). And then there's the difference between teachers helping out with the sport and teachers being required to teach it without any training. I thought private schools were supposed to provide specialist teachers? Now, apparently, they all teach sport.

(Or, should I say, the boarding schools give some of their staff free housing, on campus, for the sake of accuracy).

According to the BBC website
A draft new curriculum this autumn would require participation in sports such as football, hockey and netball.Competitive team sports will be made compulsory for all primary school children in England, Prime Minister David Cameron will say later.

A draft new curriculum this autumn would require participation in sports such as football, hockey and netball.

Remind me how many medals we have won in these team sports. Ah yes, hockey -1 bronze.

So it can't be to build on our stunning success in these sports.

Cycling - 9 in track cycling including 7 golds, plus 3 in road cycling, including 1 gold

Obviously, we don't need any Government support here. We are doing very nicely thank you without Cameron's interference.