How can physical education be used to promote well-being in primary education?


Within this blog post, I will be evaluating how physical education can promote well-being in primary education. Physical education has lots of benefits to children at school as they are learning different sports, how to keep healthy but recently learning how to look after themselves especially with what to eat. Children today are facing so many issues than earlier generations... Children are getting overweight, mental health issues and boys behaving badly and many more issues they are facing today.

According to an NHS report childhood, obesity is rising once again. Children in their first year at school show 10% are in fact obese! In 2015-2016 it was reported that 9.3% of children in primary reception are obese and that figure the year before was 9.1% an increase of 0.2%. The rate also increased to 10-11-year-olds from 19.1% in 2015 to 19.8% in 2016. - Nearly one in five. According to the figures, boys are dangerous overweight than girls according to the latest NCMP results published by NHS Digital. (The Guardian, 2016)

Experts voiced deep unease at the figures and upward trend. “It is deeply worrying that more children are leaving primary school overweight or obese than ever before and levels are increasing,” said Prof Kevin Fenton, the national director for health and wellbeing at Public Health England, which recommends the government. Children today weigh more and have a higher body mass index (BMI) than their peers of just a generation earlier (Ogden et al., 2012) Which again demonstrates children are becoming overweight and obese due to eating habits and the lack of exercise even though the Welsh government are committed for children to lead active, healthy lives. 

This lack of participation in physical activity has contributed to a greater prevalence of paediatric obesity, a decrease in fitness (e.g., flexibility, muscular strength, cardiorespiratory capacity), and a greater risk for disease (Boreham and Riddoch, 2001; Eisenmann, 2003; Malina, 2007; Steele et al., 2008). This is very worrying news as all the results so far are proving that this epidemic is getting worse despite all the initiatives set out by the Welsh government to improve standards in physical education. -  More needs to be done! 

According to UK Active Kids, Jan 2017 the government spends more on obesity £27 billion than they do for education £26 billion. This alone shows that the more effect put into physical education now will save the government money which then can be reinvested back into public education.

For example, there is evidence of a clear link between childhood physical activity and bone strength, with its potential impact on osteoporosis later in life (Bass, 2000; MacKelvie et al., 2002). Which again shows physical exercise and exercising from a young age can help them later in life and would help prevent Osteoarthritis. The Welsh government has committed to sorting out the physical inactivity which has been recommended by The Lancet' Report. (Vol. 380, July 2012) Comparative research was undertaken known as 'Designed to Move' which proved 'today's generation will be the first to have a shorter life expectancy than their parents’.

If children are active and in rigorous sporting activity for at least an hour each day that increases the hormones in the brain and strengthening its memory capacity and raising their thinking ability and they do 40% better on standardized tests. This level of increased performance helps the student but also the school in terms of how well they perform in their exams. (Designed to move, 2015)

According to the Designed to move project if you attend organised activities you are more likely be exposed to a wider variety of children, mentors and role models. Strong connections through sport help your child develop positive ways to control emotional pressures but they also develop more advanced social skills in the process than their inactive peers. It is also claimed that those who are active in sport but also in competitions are more likely going to earn 10% more than their inactive peers due to their extra confidence, work ethic, memory and attentiveness. (Designed to move, 2015)

'Focusing on children before the age of 10 could change the trajectory for the next generation' For that reason the Welsh government are firmly committed to getting more children physically active than ever before. Teaching them the correct ways while in primary school will be beneficial later during their education and adult life. Other risks that could develop later in life could be heart attacks, type 2 diabetes and many more health issues if children are inactive and do nothing but play video games.

Physical Education used to be classed as a foundation subject in Wales and didn't have any importance compared to subjects like English, Maths and Science? However, a report commissioned by the Schools and Physical Activity Task and Finish Group looked in to Physical Literacy –  an all-Wales approach to increasing levels of physical activity for children and young people. This report looked what was happening currently and what recommendations they can make to improve physical activity amongst primary school aged children.

We believe that elevating physical education to core subject status would help set up Wales as a world leader in terms of the priority and emphasis given to physical education, physical activity and sport within schools. This would contribute to improved levels of physical literacy throughout life and prove the Welsh Government’s commitment to active, healthy lifestyles for all citizens helping, in the process, to address significant, systemic health problems. 

Sporting skills: We are still committed to ensuring children and young people are provided with basic physical skills from an early age and that physical literacy is as important a developmental skill as reading and writing.



The picture on the right shows a survey that is carried out every 2 years to show current levels of participation completed by Sport Wales and the figures were encouraging and were increasing for children taking part in physical activities at least three or more times a week. In 2011 it was 27% but in 2013 it increased to 40%. 110,000 thousand children aged between 7-16 years were asked in 1000 schools across Wales to take part in the survey. (Sport Wales, 2011 and 2013) 
in 2015 the survey was conducted once again, and the results were very promising as it increased to 48% up 8% two years prior. The survey sample was bigger than 2013s survey and increased by 6,000 children. Which shows Wales is making progress to getting more and more children in physical activity and 93% of children said, "they enjoyed physical education". There stays a gap between the two genders. Boys 52% were more likely than girls 44% to regularly take part in sport or physical activity. However, they have both increased but the gap stays static. (Sport Wales, 2015)

Skills + Confidence + Motivation + Lots of Opportunities = Physical Literacy. (Michael Dauncey, National Assembly for Wales Research Service, 2015)
The statistics from Sport Wales on the Physical Education (PE) and School Sport Project shows that 4,142 practitioners have been trained in 2013-14. A physical literature framework will be developed during 2014-15 by Sport Wales, together with an intervention programme to promote PE and sport in schools. This shows what actions the Welsh government have taken up until 2014 but after that Professor Graham Donaldson was asked by the Education minister back in March 2014 to review the National Curriculum as it stands and what changes they need to make. Donaldson produced a report known as successful futures in Jan 2015. PE especially is being prioritised in Wales due to the advantages it gives to children especially in primary schools. His reports recommend that the government should treat it as a core subject to allow teachers to deal with this current issue 'the pivotal and deep-seated concerns around levels of physical activity and the health of our young people in Wales.’ However, the new curriculum proposed would see this proposal placed through one of the six 'areas of learning and experience (AOLE) The idea of this is to enhance learning in other areas of 'Health and Well-being' such as healthy eating and sexual health which will give them a broader knowledge at school rather than just concentrating on sports! (Donaldson, 2015) 

To conclude we have examined why physical activity is crucial to a child's development and recent findings to how things are getting worse but recommendations by the Welsh government to improve the standards across primary schools across Wales. Especially reviewing Donaldson to educate learners more about healthy eating, sexual health and to make sure they are educated enough for them to realise physical education is crucial to become a healthy adult and by being active and eating healthy they have so many health, emotional, learning benefits from that. 



References: 

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