Nearly half of children ‘leave school without basic movement skills’, study says
A A new survey has revealed that many children leave primary school with poor physical literacy, despite the majority of teachers viewing PE as an important subject. Nearly half of primary school pupils are leaving school without “basic movement skills” to engage in physical activity.
B
Teachers also said more than one in three children dislike exercise by
the time they leave primary school and believe 42 per cent of children don’t
enjoy PE lessons. However, a survey of 400 primary school teachers revealed
negative attitudes towards physical activity among primary school pupils still prevail. The survey, by Virgin Active,
the University of Bedfordshire and primary school teachers nationwide,
revealed teachers believe 39 per cent of children across the UK leave primary school with a negative
attitude towards being physically active.
C
Experts say primary school teachers play a crucial role in helping
children develop physical literacy. But a third of them lack confidence when it
comes to teaching PE, while over a quarter said they don’t feel adequately
qualified to teach the subject and more than half want more professional
development opportunities for PE. The vast
majority of teachers, or 88 per cent, say they recognize PE is as important as
the other subjects they teach.
D
Professor Margaret Whitehead, an academic on physical literacy, said:
“PE lessons help shape a child’s first experiences of physical activities and
their attitude towards leading an active lifestyle. It is crucial that these
first experiences are positive, rewarding and enjoyable. We must do all we can
to make sure teachers are equipped with the knowledge and tools they need to
deliver quality PE, helping all students to make progress on their physical
literacy journey. We need to enable teachers to nurture a lifelong love of physical activity among future
generations.”
E To help tackle the issue, Virgin Active are
launching Active Inspiration, a five year-long programme working with charities
such as the Youth Sports trust and various educational partners. Their aim is
to introduce an active lifestyle to 500,000 young people, by developing new
ways of approaching PE that they hope will inspire a lifelong love of physical
activity in primary school pupils. Official figures show more than one third of
children in England
are now overweight or obese by the time they leave primary school.
Adjusted to (1)
prevail – převládat
vast – obrovský, rozsáhlý
nurture – živit, vychovávat
tackle – bojovat, poprat se
1) Read the
article and match each of the headings to a paragraph.
1
A new survey on physical literacy
2 Whitehead’s opinion
3
A new active programme is starting
4 Children dislike PE
5 Teachers don’t feel to be qualified
2) Read the
article and answer the questions.
1 What does a new survey deal with?
2 How do teachers feel about PE education and their
pupils?
3 Who is Whitehead? What does she say?
4 What is Active Inspiration?
5 What kind of problem do 33% of children leaving
school have? Why?
3) Explain
the following words and phrases.
1 poor physical literacy
2 basic movement skills
3 negative attitude towards being physically active
4 don’t feel adequately qualified to teach the
subject
5 overweight or obese
4) Answer
the following questions.
Why is physical
activity important? How much physical activity should a preschooler get daily?
How to make physical activity fun? What are social benefits of physical education?
Video:
Tips, sources of information:
Source:
(1)
ESPINOZA,
Javier. Nearly half of children 'leave school without basic movement skills',
study says. The Telegraph [online]. 2015 [cit. 2015-09-22]. Available at:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationnews/11693791/Nearly-half-of-children-leave-school-without-basic-movement-skills-study-says.html
