Competitive school sport: going the extra mile
20 Jun 2014 03:35 PM
Students in the state
school system deserve the same opportunities to excel at competitive sport as
those in the independent sector, Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector, Sir
Michael Wilshaw, said today.
In the report Going the extra
mile: excellence in competitive school sport, Ofsted finds that schools with
high sporting standards have similarly high expectations in the classroom. Both
help to cultivate an environment in which pupils excel.
Following the success of Team GB
in the 2012 Olympics, Ofsted was keen to explore why so many winning athletes
attended independent schools and examine the link between quality of
competitive school sport and later sporting success.
The survey reveals unacceptable
discrepancies between the proportion of pupils attending state schools and
their representation in elite sport. For example, fewer than one in ten pupils
across the country attend fee paying schools but they make up the majority of
the players in the English Rugby Union premiership, and more than a third of
players in top level cricket.
The survey finds that in the
best schools, both independent and state, leaders recognise the benefits of
competitive sport in building the school’s culture. They make sure that
sport helps pupils to excel in the classroom and on the playing
field.
Competitive sport thrives in
schools with staff that dedicate time and energy to organising sport before,
during and after-school, as well as at weekends. Schools identify particularly
talented pupils and develop them through extra coaching whilst also ensuring
that sport is accessible to pupils of all abilities.
However, only 13 per cent of
headteachers of state schools surveyed for the report said that they expected
all students to take part in competitive sport, and only 40% of young people
said they regularly played sport outside school.
Launching the report on the
morning of his speech to the Wellington Education Festival, where he will set
out to reclaim the comprehensive ideal, Sir Michael Wilshaw
said:
'It simply cannot be right
that state educated athletes are so woefully under-represented in our elite
sports. Heads who treat competitive sport with suspicion or as an optional
extra are not only denying youngsters the clear dividends that come with
encouraging them to compete, they are also cementing the social inequality that
holds our nation back.
'Sport can have a
transformative effect on schools and pupils. It is clear that a commitment to
sporting excellence often reflects a culture of high expectations and
achievement in the school as a whole. Schools that win on the field win in the
exam hall.
'More state schools are now
encouraging sporting excellence. They use competitive schools sport to energise
the entire school culture. They demonstrate that high school fees and large
playing fields are not a pre-requisite to success.
'If all schools follow the
example of the best identified in this report, there is no reason why more
pupils from state funded schools can’t be batting for England at the
Ashes or scoring a winning try in the next Six Nations.'
Ofsted recommends that
maintained schools and academies should recognise the wider benefits that sport
brings to pupils and their school, and that they should make a distinction
between physical education on the one hand and sports coaching on the other.
Schools should:
- raise the quality of their
competitive sports programmes by learning from the best and supporting the most
able students;
- work with professional
associations to help and inspire the best athletes; and
- put sport at the centre of the
school by involving parents and governors, and take every opportunity to
celebrate sport and reward success.
In addition, the Government
should ensure that improving the proportion of athletes reaching elite levels
from state schools is a specific focus of the national strategy for improving
competitive sport in schools and monitor and report on this.
This Ofsted survey also
recommends that sport associations should be proactive in offering support for
school pupils. They should help schools forge meaningful links with sports
clubs so that pupils can take part in school during the school day and outside
regular school hours.
Ofsted visited 35 state schools
and 10 independent schools, and took into account the views of more than 500
headteachers and 1,000 pupils aged between 11 and 18 years in preparation for
this report.
Of the 15 state schools
identified as delivering excellence in competitive sport, 13 were either good
or outstanding and the remaining two had good or outstanding
leadership.
Case studies of good practice in
the report include Barking Abbey School in Essex which has teamed up with
England Basketball to become a Regional Institute for Basketball and John
Cleveland College in Leicestershire where a focus on rugby and netball has led
to sustained success for the school.
Notes to
Editors
- Going the extra mile: excellence
in competitive sport is online.
- In England seven per cent of
pupils attend a fee-paying school at any one time. However, almost 41 per cent
of the English medallists at the London 2012 Olympics attended
an independent school.
- Additional research for this
report was commissioned from the TOP Foundation and through a survey of 1005
young people by TNS-BRMB. These reports are available on the Ofsted
website www.ofsted.gov.uk
- The Office for Standards in
Education, Children's Services and Skills (Ofsted) regulates and inspects
to achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in
education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects
childcare and children's social care, and inspects the Children and Family
Court Advisory Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher
training, work-based learning and skills training, adult and community
learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure
establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects
services for looked after children, safeguarding and child
protection.
- Media can contact the Ofsted
Press Office through 03000 130 415 or via Ofsted’s enquiry line 0300 123
1231 between 8.30am – 6.00pm Monday – Friday. Out of these hours,
during evenings and weekends, the duty press officer can be reached on 07919
057 359.
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