These are the data from the 2023 Report on “Physical Education and School Sport” related to England.
Our children are:
Unhappier
- 97% of teachers are concerned about the mental health of young people in their school.
- The number of children in England needing treatment for mental health problems has risen by 39% in a year.
- 18% of children aged 7 to 16 have a probable mental disorder.
- 45% of parents are concerned about their child’s mental health.
Unhealthier
- 73% of teachers are concerned about the physical health of young people in their school.
- Rates of obesity are higher than before the pandemic. In England, prevalence of reception children with obesity is 10.1% and 23.4% for year six children. These are both decreases from last year’s data but are still higher than pre-pandemic.
More distracted
- Most parents (78%) believe that children are spending too much time online and not enough time with each other in person.
- Over 3 in 5 (62%) of parents believe that digital distractions mean
- that their children are spending less time being active.
- Almost half (46%) of 7- 8 year olds
- and 38% of 9-11 year olds agree they spend more time online or watching TV than they do talking to their family.
Physical activity
- Less than half (47%) of young people in England are meeting minimum physical activity levels.
- 72% of parents are concerned that young people are not getting enough physical activity, however, only 43% of parents are aware that children should be active
- for 60 minutes or more a day.
- 54% of children would like to do more exercise or sport than they are currently doing – an increase from 44% in 2014.
PE and school sport
- In England, PE hours have fallen in the last decade — a reduction of 11.1% from 326, 277 to 290,033 since 2011.
- The number of PE teachers in England has also declined in the last 10 years, from 26,005 in 2011 to 23,708, a fall of 8.8%.
- Whilst around half (52%) of practitioners feel that PE, school sport and physical activity are seen as priorities within their schools, a quarter (26%) disagree or strongly disagree that this is the case for their schools.
What we need is:
- Urgent action: Build back healthier, happier and more resilient young people and level the playing field for those most disadvantaged.
- Generational shift: To balance the demands of the digital age through the human connection of physical play and sport.
- Societal change: Transform society’s perceptions and attitudes towards the importance of physical literacy, play and sport in the education and development of young people.
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