Yr3 critical for girls and sport

[Lifechallenges]

I've been reading up a lot recently about girls and sport and how year three is a vital year and age for girls engagement that lasts a lifetime or not. I am in despair about how awful our school provision is for girls and the casual acceptance that girls opting out of sport is fine.
I would honestly go to a local private school if I could afford it to overcome this for my DD.
Has anyone challnenged a school on this??
We are a large school with dedicated PE staff yet sport is still v boys focused ... and pondering emailing governors?

Research shows girls are as fast and as strong as boys until 11/pubertyish
www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/iu-wsg052512.php
the myth that boys are faster and stronger is just that.

I think all schools should provide more sport and hence all children (boys and girls) get the chance to find something they enjoy.

And puberty can start at 8 hence why juniors onwards us probably when they should start.

Certainly yr 4/5 there were boys starting to become much taller than the girls at Dds school

Sally I agree. The issues are complex as there in actually no physical difference in Yr3 but the boys start taking over in sports and play between themselves / don’t pass to the girls. It’s very well documented that girls football is a massively growing sport nationwide but its driven via girls only sessions where they are not intimidated by the boys and are allowed to try it out at their own pace. So on one hand I think they should be encouraged to do sport together, I also think that a lot of girls thrive in a girls only environment for sport.

I also agree that the reverse is true for boys; so sad that boys exclude themselves from trying dance and even gymnastics (and at our school choir too) as they are seen as ‘for girls only’. My DS loves to dance for hours at home and yet would not be seen dead at street dance classes as its for girls.... and he’s Yr2

The DC at our school overall are firmly split into the B/G camps which seems sad

I agree OP its very sad.

One of the TAs told me very cheerily - 'Oh the children are really busy at playtime - the boys play football in the playground and the girls sit on the benches and chat'. And I thought - oh fab :-(.

I guess the question is why.

Are They being treated differently?

Or in a bid to appear to treat everyone the same boys are being allowed to dominate some sports and girls are fed up and not able to give things a proper go.

My feeling is its to do with expectations and what the children see at home. The expectation is the boys will run around a play football and the girls will sit and chat. Unless someone shows them or expects differently it will happen.
I know that boys who dont like football find it hard to fit in at our school.
We bought some new netball nets thinking the girls would play with them but apparently the boys use the netball court to play football on..
And as I said earlier gymnastics was banned for being 'too dangerous' whilst DS2 comes home about once a week having been hit in the head by a stray football but no one would think to ban football!!

At our school the swimming teacher set up - of his own accord - a table tennis rota when he was on playground duty (we have 2 table tennis tables which used to be dominated by about 10 very keen boys). He has got some of the other teachers to do it too during their duties. Basically he just puts down 8 kids to play table tennis every break. As their names are down they "have to" do it - but they all love it. It's not a perfect solution but it does mean everyone can have a turn regardless of whether they can grab the table for themselves.

llangennith
Yr 5 at DGS’s school is doing ‘dance’ as this term’s PE lessons. You can imagine how well this goes down with the boys, and a lot of the girls. Our National Curriculum is a joke.
I don't understand this post.

At our primary we have one designated football area with a referee (TA) and a year group rota. No football anywhere else in the playground, but areas for basketball shooting, 4-square, wall ball, skipping, space hoppers, ‘quiet area’ with benches and lots of space for running.

The problem within PE lessons is that we don’t have space/staff to do separate boys and girls PE, so we tend to teach the skills of football/netball/tennis/cricket/tag rugby and play a few mini games at the end of the half term. Of course, if Little Johnny is going to training 2 evenings a week and playing increasingly competitive matches at the weekend, he will improve faster than other children. They are more likely to pass to him in lunchtime matches, because they want to win!

We have a girls’ football league and mixed netball and handball leagues in our Borough for Years 5 and 6, which are very popular, but we can only take children whose parent/carers can pick them up from the sports pitch at 5pm.

The problem within PE lessons is that we don’t have space/staff to do separate boys and girls PE, so we tend to teach theskillsof football/netball/tennis/cricket/tag rugby and play a few mini games at the end of the half term. Of course, if Little Johnny is going to training 2 evenings a week and playing increasingly competitive matches at the weekend, he will improve faster than other children. They are more likely to pass to him in lunchtime matches, because they want to win!

I think that can be overcome to an extent by trying to evenly distribute those who do said sport outside of school between teams and by perhaps making them play positions where they arent perhaos the main goal scorer/bowler/ etc

Unfortunately that does not combat what sally pointed out and that's the expectations that girls can't do X and boys dominating.

Which is why girls should perhaps have the chance to play separately

IME Y3 is when schools change from teaching all kids sports skills, to expecting all children to have sports skills despite lots of them not, and the ones without are written off. Which results in lots of girls (not socialised to play football or catch every spare second from the time they can toddle) and some boys (ditto) assuming it's not for them, unlike say reading or maths where the lower achievers get help at their level.
I am still bemused about what PE teachers learn, as they still seem to simply shout at kids to watch balls and tell them they're lazy if they can't run fast, and teach nothing.

I think the rota that lockedout has witnessed demonstrates a great point. By pushing all the kids to at least have a go without dominant kids taking over, others then discover they do like it after all.
The casual assumption that all boys will play football and all girls will sit and chat is damaging and it’s no wonder girls participation falls off a cliff.