Information on the sport and enrichment offers of every state school in England will be published on the government’s School Profiles tool that is expected to be piloted in the 2025-26 academic year.
However, school leaders have called for increased funding and warned that the plan must focus on supporting rather than placing “additional expectations” on already under-resourced schools.
The announcement today by the prime minister follows the Department for Education’s consultation on school accountability reform that ran from the start of February to late April, and which asked for responses to what should be included in the proposed School Profiles tool.
School accountability
The DfE described School Profiles as a “one-stop shop” for school information and said the tool would bring together Ofsted report card information alongside “a range of up-to-date performance data and other information that matters to parents”.
Among the questions asked by the consultation was: ”Are there other pieces of information that you might expect or want to routinely see in a school profile? This could include, for example, information from schools themselves such as its ethos or the breadth of, and pupil engagement in, curriculum enrichment activities.”
While the DfE previously acknowledged that there were “a range of options and possibilities for developing [School Profiles]” and that “there will be different views about what they should include”, the announcement today confirms that sport and enrichment offers will be included in the resource.
Extracurricular pressures
Pepe Di’Iasio, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said that although schools strive to do their best, they need “better support” from the government to deliver extracurricular provision.
“If the government intends to publish information about every school’s sport and enrichment offer then the least it can do is to ensure that schools have the resources they require to provide these activities,” he said.
“Funding pressures have already resulted in many schools having to reduce extracurricular and sports activities and it is likely that many more will have to do so in the future.”
James Bowen, assistant general secretary at school leaders’ union the NAHT, said: “It’s crucial that these plans remain focused on support for schools and do not become about layering additional expectations without the requisite resources.”
In March, the government said that it was “committed” to publishing its “Enrichment Framework”, developed by the DfE alongside the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport, by the end of 2025. It is expected to cover a wide range of activities including sport, gardening, board games, school bands and volunteering.
Tes has asked the DfE whether it is still committed to publishing the framework by the end of the year.
The government also said a national network will be developed to build stronger partnerships between schools, local clubs and national governing bodies to identify barriers for children who are less active and help improve access; this will particularly be for girls and pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).
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