What is the Sports Premium and how does it help?

The Primary PE and Sport Premium is a government-backed funding initiative aimed at helping primary schools across England improve their physical education and sport provisions.

The premium is designed to help children get an active start in life, supporting primary schools to improve the quality of their PE, physical activity/literacy, and sport provision so that pupils experience the benefits of regular exercise. This results in pupils becoming healthier both mentally and physically, to improve behaviour and academic achievement

What are the objectives of the Sports Premium?

The Primary PE and Sport Premium is ring-fenced and must only be spent on physical education and sport provision in schools.

The funding aims to achieve improvement in all areas of PE, from the standard of physical education to introducing health focused physical activities and after school sports. The key objectives of the premium are:

• Engage pupils in regular physical and healthy activity
• Raise the profile of PE and sport across the school as a tool for whole-school improvement
• Increase confidence, knowledge, and skills of all staff in teaching PE and sport
• Create a broader experience of a range of sports and activities offered to pupils
• Increase participation in competitive sports

How do we use the funding?

At Butlers Court we use the funding to make additional and sustainable improvements to the quality of the physical education, physical activity and sport we provide. 

Focussing on improving physical education and pupil engagement in sport, the premium has been used here to:

• Develop or add to the physical education activities, and sports that our school provides
• Ensure there is capacity to benefit pupils joining the school in future years by building capability within the school
• Invest in new and updated equipment
• Provide staff with professional development, appropriate training, and resources to help teach PE and sport more effectively. Introduce coaching and new sports to make PE more enjoyable.
• Run and maintain after school sports clubs
• Introduce physical activity throughout the school day

How the Sports Premium affects our pupils?

At Butlers Court the funding has a number of positive effects on pupils such as:

• Strengthening peer relationships especially around club and team sports
• Improving physical fitness and reducing stress
• Making pupils feel valued
• Increasing the confidence of children who would normally distance themselves from being actively involved in PE

Enabling and empowering children who would normally not want to be involved in being active and seeing them participate in new and varied activities is key to their physical and educational development.