ALMOST HALF of newly qualified primary teachers are inadequately trained in PE, the Association for Physical Education has said.

It has written to the Prime Minister asking for action and is calling on the Training and Development Agency to be more explicit about the standards expected and ideally set a date to achieve them.

It found that almost half of trainee teachers received six hours or less of training in physical education. Professor Margaret Talbot, chief executive of AfPE, said: “This is a national scandal.

“You can’t learn how to teach PE by looking at a textbook. You have to experience it.

“In terms of health and safety, it is essential that teachers understand the consequences of what they ask children to do.”

A national summit on physical education, which brought together PE experts in 2005, recommended that would-be primary teachers were given 30 hours training in sports and exercise during their initial teacher training course.