Your article “Lunchtime sport losing out” (TES, February 25) does not do justice to what is being developed and achieved in physical education at school.
As part of the national school sports strategy, the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority has been working with schools across the country to plan and implement high-quality PE and school sport. The main finding is that, where this exists and is used strategically, it has a positive impact on learners.
There is strong evidence that pupils’ behaviour, attendance, attitudes to learning and attainment in PE have all improved. Pupils’ physical activity levels have also risen, sometimes directly as a result of opportunities they have been given to exercise leadership skills and engage in aspects of citizenship.
Most of the schools involved in this investigation have also seen an improvement in their attainment across the curriculum.
We wish to continue to make yet more progress towards providing a higher-quality curriculum and infrastructure of opportunities. For more information about how schools are improving and the difference being made by PE and school sport see www.qca.org.ukpess Crichton Casbon
QCA
83 Piccadilly, London W1
