I would l like to walk on to the TTA stand at the Education Show and pick up a new Initial Teacher Training syllabus for the primary school generalist. And what would be different about the syllabus? If I had my way, it would contain a new approach to the inclusion of physical education for trainee teachers, providing them with enough hours of PE to help them feel confident and competent about teaching PE. Currently it’s possible for these trainees to receive as little as eight hours’ E training in four years - hardly sufficient to produce good quality, well-prepared, dynamic lessons. These few hours focus mainly on safety, so there is little time to explore content, teaching styles and classroom organisation (particularly important when children aren’t pinned behind desks, but have the whole teaching area to roam in)! Better training equals better teachers.
John Matthews is chief executive of the Physical Education Association of the United Kingdom