Best Practice

PE and sports: The power of PESSPA

The PESSPA approach can have a big impact on students’ mental and physical health, attendance, attainment and behaviour – especially for those with SEND. Nasen Teacher of the Year Jon White discusses using school sport and physical activity to empower students


PESSPA stands for physical education, school sport and physical activity and includes PE lessons, school games events and competitions, sport leadership, extra-curricular clubs and enrichment.

Many senior leaders will say they are right behind the notion that PESSPA is important – even essential – for their students.

However, while most teachers will deliver similar levels of PESSPA this year as pre-pandemic, a survey ahead of the September return to school found that 17 per cent of key stage 2 teachers said that they will deliver less or no curriculum PE during the autumn term (Youth Sport Trust, 2020).

Furthermore, schools are facing the added financial pressure associated with Covid, which has been calculated by the Education Policy Institute (EPI) as nearly £13,000 for primary schools. Less than a third (31 per cent) of this looks set to be reimbursed by the government (Mills & Andrews, 2020).

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