The British Association of Advisers and Lecturers in Physical Education (baalpe) is pleased that chief inspector David Bell identified 85 per cent of PE teaching in secondary schools to be good or better (TES, October 21).
However, we were concerned at your article “St Peter’s pupils get a taste of soccer heaven” (TES, October 21) . Although there is a place for coaches working with teachers to raise PE standards, using them to replace teachers to provide planning, preparation and assessment time is no way to achieve high-quality outcomes. The head seemed more concerned about costs than quality.
The best people to raise standards are teachers, not coaches who often concentrate on teaching the activity rather than the child. Primary teachers know their children well and are best placed to ensure that learning across the curriculum and development of the whole child is achieved. Coaches should only be used to support, not replace them.
Eileen Marchant. General secretary, baalpe5 Mount Pleasant, Lockwood Huddersfield, West Yorkshire
