Latest news with #physicaleducation
BBC News
02-07-2025
- Health
- BBC News
Carmarthenshire obesity data prompts primary school PE rules
All primary schools in Carmarthenshire must offer two hours of physical education (PE) per week, following a hard-hitting report about childhood noted 31.4% of children aged four to five were overweight or obese in the local authority in 2021-22, higher than any other Welsh county. The Wales average was 27%.The report, by a council working group, also found fewer than half of 73 primary schools surveyed in the area complied with the recommended two hours of PE per week, with 23 offering 60 minutes or Gareth John, chairman of the task and finish group, described the data as "alarming" and said obesity was one of the "greatest public health challenges". He said 87% of pre-school children in Carmarthenshire were below average or poor at things like jumping, running, throwing, and catching, based on 2023 findings."As we all know," he said, "unhealthy lifestyle choices and behaviour significantly increase the possibility of developing chronic diseases, and [are] a major cause of preventable disease and early death."He acknowledged factors affecting health were numerous and complex but added: "Everyone agrees that prevention is better than cure, and early and positive interventions around diet, movement, and social networks play a key part." According to the report, only 34.8% of primary school pupils in Carmarthenshire attended swimming classes, compared to 79.5% a decade also drew on evidence showing a link between areas of deprivation and higher levels of childhood seven recommendations drawn up by the group, who heard from public health experts and also reviewed studies and policies on childhood obesity, included all primary schools providing two hours of high-quality PE per also called for every child to be able to swim 25m by the time they leave primary school and to reduce or remove the costs of school swimming. Other recommendations included integrating with the council's existing plans for food strategy and using a health research complex in Llanelli, which is under construction, to address task and finish group chairman said it had been "mightily impressed" with the number of initiatives in Carmarthenshire aimed at tackling obesity and that the group was mindful of financial pressures facing the council cabinet accepted six of the seven recommendations, with the swimming proposals to be considered further once a separate report about school transport costs - including those for swimming classes - had been completed. Jane Tremlett, cabinet member for health and social services, said the report, which also had 37 recommended "sub-actions", was described the proportion of obese or overweight children in the county as "a huge concern".According to Public Health Wales, the proportion of children aged four and five who are overweight or obese in the country fell from 27% in 2021-22 to 25.5% in 2023-24, with Carmarthenshire down from 31.4% to 30.2% – one place behind Anglesey. This article was written by a trusted journalist and then edited for length and style with the help of AI, before being checked again by a BBC Journalist. It's part of a pilot.
Yahoo
02-07-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Almost one in three 4-5-year-olds are overweight or obese in this Welsh county - here's the plan
All primary schools in Carmarthenshire will have to offer two hours of physical education per week after council chiefs approved a hard-hitting report about childhood obesity levels. The report, which also urged action to get more youngsters swimming - including potentially reducing or ending transport costs to pools - made seven recommendations and was written by a council task and finish group. The group heard from public health experts and also reviewed studies and policies on childhood obesity. The key finding was that 31.4% of 4–5 year-olds were were overweight or obese in Carmarthenshire - a higher number than any other Welsh county - based on 2021-22 data. The Wales average was 27%. Stay informed on Carms news by signing up to our newsletter here READ MORE: Investigation launched after police officer appears to punch man in face during arrest READ MORE: 'I never thought I'd be a widow twice by 49 but I never want my brave husband to be forgotten' Introducing the report at a cabinet meeting on June 30, Cllr Gareth John, chairman of the task and finish group, described the data as "alarming" and said obesity was one the "greatest public health challenges of our time". He said: "As we all know, unhealthy lifestyle choices and behaviour significantly increase the possibility of developing chronic diseases and (are) a major cause of preventable disease and early death." Cllr John said the determinants affecting health were numerous and complex, but added: "However, everyone agrees that prevention is better than cure, and early and positive interventions around diet, movement and social networks play a key part." The report found that fewer than half of 73 primary schools surveyed in Carmarthenshire complied with the recommended two hours of minimum time for physical education per week, with 23 offering 60 minutes or less. And only 34.8% of primary pupils in the Plaid-Independent-run authority attended swimming classes compared to 79.5% a decade ago. Cllr John said a healthy and balanced diet was critical, and that significant research showed the most effective preventable measure against ill health was being active. He said 87% of pre-school children in Carmarthenshire were below average or poor at things like jumping, running, throwing and catching, based on 2023 findings. "One fact that sticks in my mind - it's four times harder to change behaviour in Year 4 (8-9 year-olds) than at age four," said Cllr John. The report also drew on evidence showing a link between areas of deprivation and higher levels of childhood obesity. Cllr John - a former cabinet member himself - said the task and finish group had been "mightily impressed" with the number of initiatives in Carmarthenshire aimed at tackling obesity and sedentary lifestyles and felt it was imperative they continued. He said the group was mindful of financial pressures facing the council and was confident that its seven recommendations could be implemented without additional cost. The seven recommendations put forward by the group were: - All primary schools to provide two hours of high-quality physical education per week, backed by a thriving extra-curricular activity programme - Ensure every child to be able to swim 25m by the time they leave primary school and reduce/remove the cost of school swimming to schools - Ensure a thorough understanding of the current sport and physical activity infrastructure, to inform planned developments with funding routes in place or identified - Integrate actions with the council's local food strategy and the council-led food systems development project - Improve collaboration to make best use of resources - Collaborate across sectors to maximise benefit from existing programmes, networks, and opportunities for pre-school groups - Use the under-construction Pentre Awel health and research complex in Llanelli to address health inequalities and as a catalyst for change. Cabinet accepted six of the seven recommendations - the one about swimming will need to be considered further once a separate report about school transport costs, including transport costs for swimming classes, has been completed. Cllr Jane Tremlett, cabinet member for health and social services, said the task and finish group's report, which also had 37 recommended "sub-actions", was excellent. The proportion of obese and overweight children in the county was, she added, "a huge concern". Cllr Tremlett welcomed the work being done by the council's sports and leisure service, Actif, not just in leisure centres but out and about as well. According to Public Health Wales, the proportion of 4-5-year-olds who are overweight obese in the country fell from 27% in 2021-22 to 25.5% in 2023-24, with Carmarthenshire down from 31.4% to 30.2% - one place behind the Isle of Anglesey. The lowest rate - 20.5% - was in Cardiff.
Irish Times
20-06-2025
- Sport
- Irish Times
Leaving Cert physical education (PE): Students pushed for time with longer questions
The higher-level physical education (PE) paper was fair and had lots of choice and popular topics, although students were pushed for time with the longer questions. Brian Gregan, a PE teacher at the Institute of Education, said that there was more choice than in previous years. 'Entering into this exam, students will have already completed two projects and have 50 per cent of their grade locked in,' he said. 'This final push will see students racing through some sections only to be faced with more daunting long answers that will keep them writing until the final second.' READ MORE In section A, which focuses on short questions, Mr Gregan said that there was a great range of ideas but Students with a slight emphasis on topic five (promoting physical activity). 'While not always a popular topic, the questions were clear and to the point meaning that few will struggle to have something to say,' said Mr Gregan. 'Topic five synthesises well with topic seven, inclusivity which was a prescribed topic for this paper, so everyone should be prepared for these ideas. 'Questions on coaching will be popular with those who are up to speed on their principles of training, and the ever-popular topic of doping appeared twice. Tricker topics like vectors and scalers were absent or while others like stereotyping were avoidable through lots of internal choice.' However, Mr Gregan said that section B's compulsory case study will have ground some student momentum to a halt. 'The text was denser, and students needed to pay attention to every aspect of the pages to ensure they had the correct material,' he said. 'You couldn't simply skim the text on move on - the details really mattered. As a result, some will feel that time ebbed away in this section. Overall, the case study on throwing was a good mixture of Topics one, two, five and six – all of which will be familiar but the fact there was little choice meant that they really needed to know their stuff. Skipping sections wasn't an option.' Section C's long questions reiterated the previous two sections' relationship in miniature: a swift start that loses speed in longer essay questions, said Mr Gregan. 'PE isn't like other subjects that are heavily essay based, but long questions do demand the students cover a good amount of material in order to safeguard against any ambiguity in the marking scheme. In terms of the material, there was nothing unexpected here: questions on components of fitness and principles of training would all have been banker topics heading into the exam.' Mr Gregan said that, while all the questions were viable, question 15 was a great balance of principles of training, ethics and coaching that will draw many people in. 'This was a fair paper, but students will find themselves in a sprint to the finish to fill everything in,' he concluded.
CNA
20-06-2025
- Sport
- CNA
From troubled teen to caring teacher: How this 31-year-old educator found his calling helping children with special needs
Physical education (PE) teacher Kumaran Arumugam described himself in his younger days as someone who was impatient, temperamental and often 'gets into fights with just about anyone'. 'My younger self would not have imagined what I am doing right now,' the 31-year-old said. He has since spent a decade coaching sports to children with special needs. For the past six years, he has been teaching PE at Lighthouse School in Toa Payoh and he is also the co-founder of Fitty Witty Sports, an organisation that teaches sports to underprivileged and special needs children.
Yahoo
08-06-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
'Troubling decline' in secondary school PE lessons
A "troubling decline" in the number of hours England's secondary school pupils spend doing physical education (PE) "should be a wake-up call to society", according to children's exercise charity the Youth Sport Trust (YST). The organisation says figures show "nearly 4,000 PE hours lost in the last year alone" in state-funded schools, and calls for "urgent action to protect and prioritise" the subject. The YST also claims that since the London 2012 Olympics "almost 45,000 PE hours have disappeared from secondary school timetables", and that the number of PE teachers in England has also dropped by 7%. In response, the government said it is "determined to break down barriers to accessing PE and school sports for young people". In its annual report, the YST says that 2.2 million children in England are now doing less than 30 minutes of activity a day, and less than half (48%) are meeting the UK's Chief Medical Officers' recommendation of at least 60 minutes of physical activity a day. It says the steepest decline has hit 11-14-year-olds, with more than 2,800 hours cut and 347 teachers lost for this age group in the past year, at a time of rising childhood obesity rates. YST also adds that girls, children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), and those from disadvantaged backgrounds "continue to face the greatest barriers to being active". However, the study also found that 93% of young people believe PE is important, 71% want to be more active at school, and 96% of teachers agree that sport and play benefit mental wellbeing. While PE is a mandatory subject in schools, the recommended amount of two hours a week is not enforced. YST chief executive Ali Oliver said: "Our children are moving less, feeling unhappier, and losing access to the transformative power of PE, contributing to stagnant physical activity levels. "The fall in PE hours is sadly an exacerbation of a longer-term trend and should be a wake-up call to society, from policymakers to schools and parents. "Unless we take action to reverse these damaging trends and increase activity levels to improve wellbeing, we risk failing a generation." In a statement, the government said: "These figures highlight the government's dire inheritance, but we're determined to break down barriers to accessing PE and school sports for young people through our Plan for Change, helping to improve their mental and physical wellbeing. "We are working across the government and with our partners including Youth Sport Trust and Sport England to boost participation and have already invested £100m to upgrade sports facilities and launched a programme to improve access to sports for pupils with special education needs and disabilities. "Our ongoing curriculum and assessment review seeks to deliver a broader curriculum, so that children do not miss out on subjects including PE and sport."
