PE Under spend during COVID-19

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Sammy Rayner
PE Underspend
25 February 2021

PE Underspend

As you are all too aware, the past 12 months of education have been extremely disrupted. Many children have been unable to attend school.  As a result of the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, the Department for Education took steps to relax the ring-fencing arrangements for the PE and sport premium in the 2019 to 2020 academic year to allow any PE underspend to be carried forward into the 2020 to 2021 academic year.

Due to children being away from school the typical use of the Primary PE and School sport funding may mean your school has money left.  Lots of schools have found ways of using their funding to support PE at home. However, if you do find your school has some funding remaining you only have a short time to use it.

This means any PE underspend carried forward will need to be spent in full by 31 March 2021, and schools should factor this into spending plans for their 2020 to 2021 PE and sport premium allocation. The 2020 to 2021 conditions of grant documents reflect this.

What can you spend your funding on?

You can use any PE and School Sport funding in the following ways

  • Raising the profile of PE and school sport across the school as a tool for whole-school improvement.
  • Increasing the confidence, knowledge and skills of all staff in teaching PE and sport.
  • Increasing participation in competitive sport.
  • Raising attainment in swimming so all pupils can swim 25m by the time they leave school.

How does your school measure up?

Schools have been receiving extra funding for PE and school sport since 2014. It is essential that schools can evidence the impact of the funding on their pupils.  Schools are used to self-assessing and this should be the same when you look at your PE provision.

What are the 5 key indicators?

  1. 30:30 Activity - Engage all children in at least 30 minutes of physical activity a day at school and inspire a further 30 minutes at home.
  2. Profile of PESSPA - Elevate PE, school sport and physical activity as a tool for whole-school improvement.
  3. Commitment to staff development - Support staff development in the effective teaching of PE and sport.
  4. Variety - Encompass a broad range of sports and activities to develop children’s skills and expand interests.
  5. Competition - Create opportunity for competition and, in turn, inspire teamwork, perseverance, empathy and tenacity

Primary School PE Scorecard

Analyse your PE, school sport and physical activity (PESSPA) offering across the DfE's five key indicators, in less than 5 minutes.  By understanding the current picture of your school’s PESSPA, that you’ll be able to determine how to move forward.

How does it work?

  • Answer 40 quick-fire questions based on the 5 key indicators of high-quality PESSPA
  • The bespoke algorithm calculates your score for each of the 5 key indicators, plus your overall score
  • Your score for each indicator is explained and paired with tools, resources and actionable advice
  • A full in-depth and bespoke report is emailed to you
  • Optional 1:1 free PE, school sport and physical activity health check
  • Put your report into practice so your school and PESSPA prosper
PA scorecard

Click here to view the PESSPA scorecard

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