A little confusion reigns in England on what is meant by sport and physical education. To the general public they are the same and they are used interchangeably. The Council of Europe in 1993 provided a broad definition of sport in their European Sports Charter.

'Sport means all forms of physical activity which, through casual or organised participation, aims at expressing or improving physical fitness and mental well-being, forming social relationships or obtaining results in competition at all levels'.

This is a wide and inclusive definition of sport that extends far beyond traditional team games to incorporate individual sports and fitness-related activities such as aerobics and dance, as well as recreational activities such as long walks and cycling. It extends from casual and informal participation to more serious organised club sport and for the minority involves commitment in pursuit of the highest levels of excellence at Olympic and national level.

In England in 1988 the School Sport Forum provided a broad definition of sport identifying four categories:

In 1991 the Secretary of States' working group which began to develop the national curriculum for physical education defined physical education as a process of learning, the context being mainly physical. The purpose of this process is to develop specific skills, knowledge and understanding and to promote physical competence.

Different sporting activities can contribute to that learning process and learning enables participation in sport. The focus is on the individual child and on the development of his or her competence, rather than on the activity.

Physical education is achieved through the combination of physical activity and the intellectual processes of making decisions, selecting, refining, judging, shaping, adjusting and adapting. Physical education also involves the development of qualities such as commitment, enthusiasm, fairness, integrity and the concern for quality as well as success.

The outcomes of high quality physical education will be young people who can perform reflectively and with increasing physical competence. High quality physical education will help young people to look and feel confident in most physical environments. They will become more self-confident, have greater self-esteem and be more willing to take up an active and healthy lifestyle.

Teaching should ensure that when evaluating and improving performance, connections are made between developing, selecting and applying skills, tactics and compositional ideas and fitness and health.

These aspects of physical education are developed through a range of activities at different key stages (age groups) as set out in the breadth of study.

The national curriculum is structured in such a way that the programmes of study set out what pupils should be taught and an attainment target divided into eight level descriptions of increasing difficulty, plus a description of exceptional performance above level 8. Each level description describes the types and range of performance that pupils working at that level should demonstrate. Progress in the four aspects can be traced through the 8 level descriptions. Teachers are required to make and record judgements of pupils' performance against these standards. They report these judgements to parents. Teachers will determine which level description best fits a pupil's performance. By the ages of 7, 11, 14, 16 (the end of each key stage) the majority of pupils are expected to reach level 2, 4, 5/6 and about 7.

By indicating expectations at particular levels and progression in the subject they can be used to inform planning, teaching and assessment. By the end of each key stage the teacher will have built up sufficient knowledge about a pupil's performance across a range of areas of activity to enable them to make a judgement in relation to the level descriptions. The aim is to make a rounded judgement which:

Is it acceptable to say that if the majority of pupils across the country are not demonstrating these characteristics then the schools are failing to produce an acceptable physical education curriculum? There may also be a problem for teachers in the consistency of their judgements. Do all teachers agree on what is a good, bad or indifferent performance?

Possible ways of working together on teaching and assessment to improve consistency may involve:

The Qualifications and Curriculum Authority has undertaken a study to show that high quality physical education and school sport adds value to a child's overall education.

The key findings from the study indicate the following:

High levels of participation in high quality PE and school sport lead to:

The Government believes that high quality physical education and school sport:

All children have an entitlement to two hours of high quality physical education and school sport each week, within and beyond the curriculum.

The Government is also highly committed to making physical education, school sport and links with clubs a priority. Two Government departments (education and sport) and the Prime Minister are working together to ensure that this happens. The initiative will be carefully monitored and evaluated.

The PE, Sport and Club links initiative will achieve:

II. Sports Colleges

Three years ago a few secondary schools were designated as Specialist Sports Colleges to give priority on the school curriculum to physical education and school sport. By next year there will be 110 such colleges/schools and by 2006 there will be 400. The Specialist Sports Colleges are at the forefront of developments in school physical education and sport. All work with other schools to share their expertise, resources and good practice so that locally there is a 'family of schools' working together to provide training and support for teachers in secondary and primary schools and to maximise opportunities for young people.

III School Sport Co-ordinator Initiative

In addition to the introduction of Sports Colleges, the Government has begun to establish new posts in schools to strengthen and develop the range and quality of physical education and sport available to young people of school age. The School Sport Co-ordinator initiative receives funding from the Lottery Fund.

An essential element of the initiative is the education and training programme. The programme supports the professional development of teachers who are locally involved.

The strategy for the School Sport Co-ordinator initiative is for the development of physical education and sport based on five key principles:

The key to the above principles is to raise standards.

There are about 100 school centred partnerships further developing the family of schools concept. A secondary school supports work in other local secondary schools and their feeder primary schools.

Preferred Partnership Model

By 2006, it is anticipated that there will be at least 600 schemes involving 3000 SSCOs and 18000 PLTs

IV. Professional Development Board

The Professional Development Board for Physical Education (PDB-PE) was formed in 2001, following a joint agreement between PEAUK, BAALPE and YST.

The PDB-PE was established to assure the high quality of the Continuing Professional Development (CPD) of all teachers of physical education for the benefit of young people and to raise standards in the subject.

This quality assurance will ensure that Development Activities offered are of a sufficiently high standard and that Providers who offer and lead these activities have a proven track record of high quality provision.

In addition, to support teachers of physical education the PDB-PE will:

There are many other initiatives in physical education and school sport being developed for the benefit of youngsters. It is a very exciting and onerous time for all those involved in teaching the subject. Physical education and school sport has never had a higher profile.

All the initiatives must lead to the raising of standards and the developing of high quality physical education. The implications for all of us in the UK are immense and extremely challenging.

Are we on the right path?

What is happening elsewhere in Europe to develop high quality physical education?

Can we help each other?