The wheels of government turn slowly but they are at last turning in favour of action on a grander scale to tackle young people’s lack of fitness. Only this week, David Maiden, physical education specialist in Fife, said: “We want to break the cycle where we become a nation of couch potatoes who watch sport, but rarely take part in it,” he said, launching extra PE programmes in primary.
Nationally, politicians are moving PE and sport up the agenda after years of apparently fruitless pressure by lobby groups, including Sportscotland. What has changed? Easy access to the Scottish Parliament has helped influence decision-makers but equally the Westminster push through the lottery, backed personally by Tony Blair, is channelling unprecedented cash into young people and sport. Some pound;87 million is not too shabby.
The school sports lobby welcomes ministers’ conversion, even if it harbours some doubts about the location of a specialist agency for school sport and its remit. There is much to be done to bring Scotland up to European standards. National sports strategies so far have focused on success at elite adult level through the heavily funded Scottish Institute of Sport. Now it’s time to put the base in order.
