Throughout compulsory education over the past 30 years physical education has been given a raw deal. There has been a steady decline in the amount of time spent on PE and games. This has been particularly acute in the primary sector, especially since the additional pressures of the National Curriculum, the literacy and numeracy strategies and the Early Learning Goals.
Now a new study (see box) has reinforced the importance of physical education in promoting children's learning and self-esteem.
The British Heart Foundation tells us that a third of under-sevens fail to reach minimum recommended activity levels. Obesity has reached epidemic levels, with 10 per cent of children beginning primary school classified as obese and considered to be 'alarmingly overweight'.
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