Do Children Receive Enough Physical Education?

There has been discussion on if children receive enough daily physical activity to lead a healthy lifestyle. However only a small amount of discussion has gone into if a child receives enough physical activity from their school.

Physical Education (PE)

Throughout school children will take part within PE, it becomes a great way for a child to become more physically active whilst learning. Participation within PE has been very limited and schools have been trying to design ways of gaining a bigger inclusion within the sessions however, no one is really checking to see if these plans are actually working.

Does it matter?

I am a firm believer that children are our future and that we should encourage them to become the best of themselves. We should strive to create honest, reliable and trustworthy citizens that have high self-esteems and great quality people skills. Physical Education can help towards all of this, if done correctly.

Obesity

In 2017 Birmingham University found and stated that the United Kingdom has the highest rates of obesity in Europe. This being shocking however, the NHS also pointed out that 1 in 5 children at reception age are recorded as obese, as well as 1 in 3 at year 6 age.

Looking at the statists for between the years 2017-2018 2.4% of children in Reception (aged 4 to 5 years) and 4.2% of children in Year 6 (aged 10 to 11 years) were severely obese. This from Public Health England 2019 really shows how much of a concern this really is.

Can PE Really Help with Obesity?

Physical activity has been proven to help maintain a healthy lifestyle along with healthy eating. By allowing children to participate within PE sessions can help them gain the experience of physical activity whilst gaining confidence and leadership qualities. If we can show children that by taking part within a physical activity can improve not only their physical health but also their mental health, we can start creating a better future of citizens.