Giving pupils PE lessons every day boosts their brain power

A PIONEEERING initiative focusing on teaching primary pupils basic skills such as running and jumping is being credited with improving educational attainment in Scotland’s schools.

Led by the Scottish Football Association (SFA), the year-long pilot study involved six primary schools across Scotland, with children in selected classes being given PE lessons every day.

The initiative is the subject of a yet-to-be-published report by Stirling University, but initial feedback from teachers has shown it has improved the alertness, attendance and behaviour of the P3 pupils who took part. While it was organised by the SFA, the initiative has focused not on football, but on basic drills and improving general co-ordination.

Children at schools in Stirling, Paisley, Cumnock, Dundee and Aberdeen saw their number of PE classes increase from three to five a week as part of the pilot. Their performance was assessed by comparing it to a control group of children at another school which did not take part in the scheme.

David Drummond, the SFA’s regional manager for south-east Scotland, was involved with working with children at Edinburgh’s Flora Stevenson Primary, where youngsters where given four PE sessions a week due to the city’s schools finishing early on a Friday.

He said: “We went into six primary schools across Scotland to take part in a study to show the effects of increasing the number of hours children take part in organised sport. We increased the number of PE sessions from three to five, focusing on balance, co-ordination and running properly.

“It certainly seems to have been an enjoyable experience for both the pupils and the teachers and it seems there was a big impact, not only in terms of physical literacy, but also concentration and attendance.

“It’s only anecdotal evidence, but from what we’ve heard from class teachers, they are really happy with how the programme was delivered.”

The pupils, who were all around eight years old, were given lessons in basic skills such as running, bouncing a ball, throwing and kicking.

Maureen Allan, headteacher at Flora Stevenson Primary, said she hoped the positive impact of the scheme would lead to it being rolled out on a permanent basis across Scotland. She said: “We have noticed a significant impact on the concentration levels of the children who took part.

“They are more ready to listen and engage and we’re also noticing an improvement in attendance. In children about whose behaviour we were concerned at the start of the year, we have seen a marked improvement.

“The scheme was very well delivered by the SFA and they had really good command of the children.”

While the scheme has now ended, pupils at Flora Stevenson are taking part in a new initiative which sees pupils given PE three times a week and “active challenges” such as skipping, yoga or dance on the other days.

Last year, it emerged that nearly half of Scotland’s primary schools were still not meeting the target of two hours of PE a week.

However, the Scottish Government figures showed children at 55 per cent of primary schools were receiving two hours of PE a week compared to just 5 per cent in 2004-05.