PE, Sport and Physical Activity: How Artis can help bring ‘additional and sustainable improvements’ to schools

By Wendy Steatham (Whirl) & Carys Barnes (Cuckoo)

The government has confirmed the continuation of the Primary PE and Sport Premium funding for 23/24 and 24/25 as part of its vision that all children have access to a high-quality and broad range of physical education. An update to the Department for Education’s* Sport and Activity Action Plan, published in summer 2023, which sits alongside the long-term strategy for Physical Education in the UK, focuses on schools working to improve the quantity (schools are now encouraged to deliver a minimum of two hours of PE for all pupils each week), quality and equality of their PE provision. To ensure the premium is being used effectively, a new digital tool is being introduced from 2024 and spend will need to be clearly reported. The government have five key priorities, which will act as reporting indicators for schools:

1. Increasing all staff’s confidence, knowledge and skills in teaching PE and sport

2. Increasing engagement of all pupils in regular physical education and sport

3. Raising the profile of PE and sport across the school, to support whole school improvement

4. Offer a broader and more equal experience of a range of sports and physical activities to all pupils

5. Increased participation in competitive sport

So how can Artis help?

1. Increasing all staff’s confidence, knowledge and skills in teaching PE and sport

Artis has worked with thousands of teachers to develop their skills and confidence to teach effective dance sessions. Alongside our delivery, we also support teacher CPD through tailored workshops which can provide staff with a comprehensive understanding of a basic movement framework, which they can effectively utilise in order to become catalysts for the children’s creative exploration. Teachers don’t need to be dancers themselves – they can unleash incredible creativity with a simple awareness of the movement framework. By engaging Artis, schools are not only provided with a toolbox of strategies, ideas and resources, but leaders are also creating a legacy for their schools, as teachers enthusiastically develop their creative teaching and impart their knowledge to new generations of children and teachers alike.

2. Increasing engagement of all pupils in regular physical education and sport

Artis works with schools every week for the full academic year and works to support the whole-class. Our provision can be adapted from EYFS to KS2 and is tailored to support each class groups’ topics, so that what they are doing in the sessions reflects what they are doing back in the classroom. A movement-focused creative session that is based in dance can help engage children in physical education who struggle with more formal, competitive sports.

3. Raising the profile of PE and sport across the school, to support whole school improvement

Dr Vanessa King, assistant deputy chief executive officer for the Association for Physical Education, outlined in a recent article for TES magazine that school leaders should ‘ensure that their PE provision extends beyond just a sports offer and to ensure breadth within their curriculum’.

Artis is able to provide your school with a trained movement specialist to deliver high-quality dance provision. Not only is dance an important – but often unconfidently delivered – part of the statutory PE curriculum, but it is also a tool to support learning across the wider school curriculum. Theming a dance session around geometry, properties of materials or even Ancient Egypt consolidates classroom learning and supports a range of different learning styles. Dance can play a crucial role in the statutory PE curriculum, but it also serves as a valuable tool to support learning across the broader school curriculum.

4. Offer a broader and more equal experience of a range of sports and physical activities to all pupils

By engaging Artis, schools use skilled external expertise effectively, developing a physical activity which has the ability to inspire and engage every pupil. Dance is a highly accessible discipline and with consideration of language and basic understanding of foundation principles, can be inclusive of ‘every’ body. A recent study found that girls enjoy PE significantly less than boys, despite nearly two-thirds wanting to be more active in school. Less than two-thirds of girls and young women (64%) who took part in a survey this year by the UK charity the Youth Sport Trust (YST), said they enjoyed PE, down from 74% when the poll began in 2016. Dance and movement is a great way for schools to better include girls in physical activity.

In short, dance is a powerful way to develop children’s physical education while simultaneously improving wellbeing, confidence, self-esteem, oracy and creativity for all pupils. With so many advantages, it’s no wonder that schools are using Artis to develop and add to existing PE provision, at the same time making sustainable improvements that benefit the wider school community. For more information about how Artis can support your PE and Sport Premium goals, contact Carys (Cuckoo), Partnerships Manager .