Why our children all need more sport in their lives

We recently spoke about the power of creativity when educating our children. The same goes for sport – sport is another vital source of untapped learning and benefits. And yet, it is again an area that is often top of the list for funding cut backs or to be cancelled if time is tight in the school day.

Physical education(PE) in state schools is often an afterthought. Certainly in primary school (when we should be engendering a real passion for sport and exercise) PE lessons are often run by the class teacher and for perhaps just an hour a week. It’s also hard to locate many playing fields in inner cities or to find state schools with decent outdoor spaces. It always feels like it’s an afterthought rather than an essential part of education.

But sport really does have the power to transform how children view themselves. A classroom may not be somewhere particular children excel; take them outside in the fresh air, doing something physical and everything changes.

The untapped benefits of sport

I appreciate that sport is a very broad term, but if you think about the endless possibilities for learning and skills development through sport, how can we not focus more on this area?

It teaches so many lessons – the need to work together in team sports of course. But also the importance of practice; of starting out not very good and growing your skills; understanding those who are then themselves starting out – you have been there. That’s empathy.

There’s the all-important creative thinking and problem solving – if something isn’t working, what can you change to make it better? Whether it is how well you’re improving or in the moment on the pitch or court as you make split second decisions to steer things in the right way.

But it’s also about having fun, making friends, supporting each other, kindness and encouragement. These are all essential life skills that are not given much time during the school day.

Investment in sport is not a nice to have, it’s essential

There are then the obvious physical benefits – how many of us don’t move enough these days? Meanwhile, the mental benefits are proven too and more important than the physical in many ways.

And most will find a sport that suits. Whether you are a team player or not, whether you want to be running around or focused on just on spot, there are so many options.

Without investing here, there are such a lot of lost opportunities. Thinking about the kind of world we want to live in, in 20 or 30 years’ time, surely investing sport is an essential, not a nice to have.