How can Physical education be used to promote well-being in Primary Education.

There are many perceived benefits of physical activity, as well as improving health and fitness it also has many more outcomes such as improving confidence, weight loss and control, social skills, and a way to relieve stress. Physical education can help tackle childhood obesity and other illness that are the outcome of being overweight. In Britain one in three children are overweight when they leave primary school, with increasingly more research showing evidence that physical activity improves achievement, partly due to the fact that physical activities improve brain function. Studies from the Universities of Strathclyde and Dundee, for example, found that intensive exercise boosted the performance of teenagers in English, Maths and Science. The study, of about 5,000 children, found links between exercise and exam success in English, maths and science. It found an increase in performance for every extra 17 minutes boys exercised, and 12 minutes for girls. The study by the Universities of Strathclyde and Dundee found physical activity particularly benefited girls' performance at science. In addition to academic improvements, physical activity can also have a positive impact on behaviour, psychological well-being, less depression, and enhanced cognitive function. “There is some evidence to indicate that physical activity is linked to improved concentration and behaviour in the classroom”. (Budde, 2008).

In recent years, mental health issues are impacting young people’s lives, one in ten children have a diagnosable mental health disorder, and almost one in four children and young people show some evidence of mental ill health, including anxiety and depression. More worryingly, suicide is the most common cause of death for boys aged between five and nineteen years old, and the second most common for girls of the same age. (Young Minds, 2017). Schools offer a range of options to help children with mental health issues, many have School Based Counsellors, Educational Psychologists, and Family Liaison Officers to name a few.

One of the main focuses of the new curriculum in Wales is Well-being, it is embedded across the four purposes:

·         Ambitious, capable learners, will be able to recognise how aspects of the environment, mind and physical state impact on their health and well-being and readiness to learn.

·          Enterprising, creative contributors, express and explain ideas, thoughts and emotions, and learn how to manage risk and are able to seek help and support.

·         Ethical, informed citizens, understand that choices can impact on health and well-being of themselves and others. Be able to engage with wider social and ethical issues connected to health and well-being.

·          Healthy, confident individuals who, apply knowledge about the impact of diet and exercise on physical and mental health in their daily lives, and know how to find the information and support to keep safe and well and take part in physical activity.

Health and Well-being is one of the Areas of Learning and Experience in Wales’ new curriculum, it states that children and young people need to experience social, emotional, and physical well-being to thrive and engage successfully in their education. (Donaldson, 2015). This Area of Learning and Experience uses themes from physical education, mental, physical, ad emotional well-being, sex and relationships, parenting, healthy eating, and cooking, substance misuse, work-related learning and experience and learning for life.

In a summary report by the Department of Education published in 2013, showed that, in 2006, analysis of LSYPE showed that 24% of pupils in Year 9 named PE, games or sport as their favourite subject. This was the most popular subject ahead of art, which 16% of pupils said was their favourite subject. More recently, a survey of pupils in Years 7-11 conducted by researchers at the University of Manchester1 confirmed these findings, stating that pupils’ favourite subject was PE (33%), followed by art (20%) and English (8%). It also stated that “Fun and enjoyment have been reported as the main reasons that pupils take part in physical activity. Being with friends and the sense of belonging to a team and achieving also encourages pupils to take part”. (Mason,1995). But on the other hand, reasons cited by 6-11 year olds for not enjoying school sport or exercise included: beliefs that their physique was not suited to sport, embarrassment at not being good enough and letting the team down, frustration at not understanding the rules, and boredom (Mason, 1995).

Physical education is an important subject for children and young people to participate in, it gives children the opportunity to be active every day and encourage the importance of making exercise a life long habit. Physical education in school for a lot of children is the only opportunity they may get to do any exercise. Many children are driven to and from school every day and may not got out to play after school or be part of a sporting club. Physical education can also boost confidence, especially for those children who may not be very academic and is also a great way to build team skills and encourage those children who would not normally talk to each other to socialise.

References

Assets.publishing.service.gov.uk. (2018). [online] Available at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/226506/Evidence_on_physical_education_and_sport_in_schools-summary.pdf.

BBC News. (2018). Exercise 'boosts academic success'. [online] Available at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-24608813.

Budde H, Voelcker-Rehage C, Pietraßyk-Kendziorra S, Ribeiro P, and Tidow G. (2008). Acute coordinative exercise improves attentional performance in adolescents. Neuroscience Letters 441(2):219–223.

Donaldson. G. (2015). Successful futures: Independent review of curriculum and assessment arrangements in Wales, retrieved: http://gov.wales/docs/dcells/publications/150225-successful-Futures-en.pdf

Jenkin, M. (2018). Fit for learning: what research says about the benefits of sport. [online] the Guardian. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/teacher-network/2015/sep/03/fit-for-learning-what-research-says-about-the-benefits-of-sport.

Mason, V. (1995). Young people and sport in England, 1994: the views of teachers and children. A report on in-depth interviews carried out by Social Survey Division of OPCS, on behalf of the Sports Council: London.

YoungMinds. (2018). Our Impact Reports — YoungMinds. [online] Available at: https://youngminds.org.uk/resources/reports/our-impact-reports/.