£1bn boost to PE and school sport to end fitness postcode lottery

More young people will have access to high quality PE and school sport under the government’s new PE and School Sport Partnerships Network, which will bring national sporting expertise into every primary and secondary school to tackle inactivity. 

The government is investing over £1 billion in school sport over the next three years, including funding for the new Partnerships Network, improvements to school sports facilities and support for primary schools as we move to the new approach. 

Backed by £580 million and set to be fully up and running from Spring 2027, the Network will replace the existing PE and Sport Premium and put an end to the one-size fits all model that has failed too many children for too long, while meeting the ask of leading voices in sports education. 

Responding to longstanding calls from schools, a further almost £200 million will go towards improving school sporting facilities, which could be used to make facilities more accessible for children with SEND or additional equipment, alongside a one-off £100 million PE Premium payment to support primary schools during the transition year. 

Less than half of young people get the 60 minutes of activity a day they need – with girls, those with SEND and those from disadvantaged backgrounds impacted the most, and by the time children reach the end of primary school, 1 in 5 are living with obesity, despite successive governments investing billions through the PE Premium over the past decade. 

The shift is part of the Education Secretary’s wider school reforms, with children getting a broader and richer education, including greater emphasis on the importance of sport and music and also builds on the government’s ambition to help raise the healthiest generation ever. 

Education Secretary, Bridget Phillipson, said: 

This government was elected to give more children the opportunity to get on – no matter where they live. That starts with a richer school experience: not just academic subjects, but music, art, drama and, of course, sport. 

School sport builds confidence, belonging and wellbeing: priceless gifts that put kids on the path to getting on in life – and can even uncover the elite sports stars of the future. 

Yet too many children have been missing out. Our new approach will see every child – across both primary and secondary – more physically active regardless of their circumstances, background, ability or where they go to school.” 

The new model will modernise the approach that operated successfully in the early 2000s before being scrapped in 2011 by the then-government. Ofsted recognised in 2011 that School Sport Partnerships improved access, participation and school-club links. 

Sports MinisterMinister, Stephanie PeacockPeacock, said:

We want every child to be able to enjoy the benefits of sport, both in school and beyond.

Our new Partnerships Network will not only mean that children get access to high-quality PE lessons, it will also bring in clubs, coaches and sporting bodies to help physical activity become part of their everyday lives.

Whether it’s setting them on the road to an Olympic or Paralympic dream or simply teeing them up to lead a healthy, active life, getting children engaged in sport and PE early on is vital.

A national delivery partner will work alongside national governing bodies to provide a mixture of universal and targeted support to schools based on their needs to directly tackle the activity divide between boys and girls, and disadvantaged pupils and their peers. Targeted support could include expert and quality assured coaches, top-up swimming lessons and increased extra-curricular opportunities. The universal offer will make online training available to all schools, on demand. 

Simon Hayes, Sport England chief executiveexecutive, Simon Hayes, said:

We welcome the Government’s continued commitment to school sport and PE, and this investment will help more children and young people experience the many benefits that sport and physical activity can bring.

This funding, which includes significant investment in facilities, has the potential to create lasting benefits for schools and communities by improving the places where children and young people can get active and enjoy sport, while helping tackle inequalities in access to physical activity.

Creating positive experiences for children and young people is key to helping them build lifelong habits, while supporting their physical health, mental wellbeing and social development.

Sport England is looking forward to working closely with schools and partners to help ensure this funding creates more opportunities for children and young people to get active, enjoy sport and build confidence through being active.

RobertFootball Sullivan,Foundation CEO, FootballRobert FoundationSullivan, said:

We welcome today’s announcement from the Department for Education, and the Government’s clear recognition of the vital role that sport and physical activity play in young people’s lives.

Every day, at the Football Foundation, we see first-hand the impact well-funded sports facilities in educational settings can have not just on children, but the whole community. With the support of funding from the Premier League, The FA and the Government, we already invest over £20m a year directly into school sports facilities, but we need to do more. Our plans show us that there are almost 400 schools identified as potential sites for further investment including new pitches. Today’s additional funding will support delivering more game changing facilities for young people, ensuring the power of sport can continue to transform communities across the country.

High quality pitches and facilities help young people to be active, whilst improving their wellbeing and confidence, and creating stronger community connections. We look forward to continuing to work with the Government and our partners to ensure every child in the country has access to great places to play.”    

The announcement builds on the Prime Minister’s commitment to reform school sport, set out when he met the Lionesses ahead of the Euros to back their call for equal access to sport for every child. 

It builds on the government’s broader mission to raise the healthiest generation of children from rolling out free breakfast clubs and extending free school meals to half a million more children to restricting junk food advertising, banning volume-price promotions on less healthy food and drink and updating School Food Standards. 

FA CEO, Mark Bullingham, said:

We worked closely with Government in proposing a new national partnership model which will build networks in order to support schools in delivering high-quality sport. We are pleased that we are a step closer to this partnership model today with the announcement of significant funding and a new capital programme.

It is vital for the next generation to get this model right and we look forward to collaborating with Government and the sector on the detail going forward. We appreciate the efforts from across Government in uncertain times to guarantee this really important funding for three years, and we hope that the partnership will grow as it starts to deliver for children up and down the country”.

Chief Policy and Social Impact Officer, Premier League, Clare Sumner, said:

We welcome this investment in PE and school sport and the opportunity it creates to help more young people benefit from being physically active and develop essential life skills. Through our work supporting more than 19,000 schools as part of the Premier League Primary Stars free education programme, we see first-hand the importance of ensuring every child has access to sporting opportunities, regardless of background or postcode.

The Football Foundation, funded in partnership between the Premier League, the FA and Government, will benefit from the investment in facilities to help create safe, inclusive and accessible environments where young people can play sport. It will also strengthen collaboration between schools and local communities, encouraging lifelong participation in sport and physical activity.

ECB Chief Executive Officer, Richard Gould, said:

Today’s announcement is a positive step towards a national partnership model that gives schools the support they need to deliver high‑quality sport. Cricket has been working with Government on this approach for some time, and we’re pleased to see momentum behind a more joined‑up system.

We welcome the certainty that three‑year funding provides and look forward to shaping the next phase with Government and sector partners so that children everywhere benefit.

LTA Chief Executive Officer, Scott Lloyd, said:

The LTA has called for a new approach to PE and school sport for a number of years. We therefore welcome the introduction of PE and School Sport Partnerships backed by the funding announced today, as well as a new capital programme.

PE and school sport is a vital opportunity to get kids more active. Over half of all schools in Britain have signed up to our schools’ tennis programme, but we want to make sure that every child has the opportunity to feel the benefits of sport and activity.

We are committed to working with government going forward and we hope that these new partnerships can grow in the coming years.

RFU CEO, Bill Sweeney, said:

We’ve worked hard in recent years to make rugby union more accessible in primary and secondary schools, with strong delivery through our Allianz Kickstart Programme.

But there is much more to do to ensure that children of all backgrounds have the chance to experience the joy and wide-ranging benefits of sport at a young age, and that’s why we welcome this renewed focus and these plans. 

“Having worked closely with government to re-shape the way PE and school sport is delivered, we believe the proposed School Sport Partnerships offer a positive opportunity to build on recent  progress and, if implemented effectively, could help extend our reach further so that more children can benefit from everything our sport has to offer.”

Youth Sport Trust CEO, Ali Oliver MBE, said:

Today’s announcement setting out funding for PE and school sport is an important step in providing greater certainty for schools ahead of the half-term break. Increasing physical activity levels is crucial to achieving the Government’s ambition to raise the healthiest generation of children.

I am grateful to officials and ministers across the Department for Education, Health and Social Care, and Culture, Media and Sport, as well as Sport England and the National Governing Bodies of Sport for their engagement with the sector and commitment to delivering a new vision for PE and school sport. Today’s announcement reflects a step towards a new approach Youth Sport Trust, national governing bodies and other voices across the sector have consistently called for.

Our hope is the new approach to PE and school sport – including through a reimagined PE curriculum and the new PE and School Sport Partnership Network – can deliver a more strategic approach with greater impact, building on the best impact of the Primary PE and Sport Premium, and the previous success of the world-leading School Sport Partnership Network.

A period of change with the transition to a new era of PE and school sport will take time and understandably cause uncertainty. We know many questions will remain from across the sector and we, like others, await further detail about what the investment today will mean in practice. I would like to take this opportunity to recognise and thank those dedicated professionals who have been waiting and hoping for this announcement for a long time, but who have never been distracted from their mission. We will of course continue to engage with our networks and partners to share information where we can.

In the meantime, we hope today’s announcement is a step towards longer-term clarity and stability for schools and those working with education to harness the many life changing benefits that come from play and sport. We are optimistic a new approach can transform the system, building capacity within schools, closing the gaps created by inequality, improving quality and opportunity, and building the right local partnerships which maximise resources and long-term sustainability.