§ Mr. Jim CunninghamTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what assessment he has made of the provision of physical education in(a) state and (b) private schools. [64427]
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§ Ms Estelle MorrisOFSTED inspections report on individual schools' provision of National Curriculum subjects including physical education. At a national level, Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Schools reports annually to my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State on compliance with the National Curriculum requirements, including physical education, in state schools. The provision of physical education in private schools is the responsibility of individual headteachers and governing bodies of such schools.
§ Mr. Jim CunninghamTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment (1) what estimate he has made of the number of hours spent by children doing PE(a) in inner city schools and (b) in suburban schools; [64428]
(2) how many hours per week (a) primary and (b) secondary school children (i) spend currently and (ii) spent in each of the last 10 years doing PE. [64429]
§ Ms Estelle MorrisThere is no prescribed statutory minimum or maximum time which schools should devote to PE. The National Curriculum for PE consists of six areas of activity and schools have a degree of freedom in deciding which physical activities to teach and how much time should be allocated to them and to other National Curriculum subjects. PE must be taught to all children throughout their compulsory schooling.
Evidence from OFSTED inspections of the number of hours per week primary and secondary schools currently spend teaching PE is given in the table.
Key Stage Average hours of PE per week (approx.) 1 (ages 5–7) 1 hour 20 minutes 2 (ages 7–11) 1 hour 35 minutes 3 (ages 11–14) 2 hours 4 (ages 14–16) 1 hour 15 minutes These figures do not account for travelling and changing time incurred in the provision of swimming tuition. In addition, the amount of time devoted to PE at Key Stage 4 is reduced when pupils study for public examinations.
My Department also carried out a survey of PE and sport in English schools in January 1996. It found that primary schools had on average 1.5 to 2 hours per week of National Curriculum PE. The amount of time devoted to PE in secondary schools varied between 1.5 and just over 2 hours per week according to year group. No information is held prior to that time or divided by the location of schools.