State urged to make school exercise compulsory

EXERCISE must be made a mandatory part of the school curriculum, the Government has been warned, after new figures show most schoolchildren do less than an hour of physical education (PE) each week.

A survey by campaign group the Nutrition and Health Foundation (NHF) has revealed that 96% of primary and secondary school-goers take regular PE classes, but 65% are taking less than one hour a week.

The Department of Education recommends that all children should have a minimum of two hours of PE each week. But this is not mandatory and it is up to individual schools how the recommendation is implemented.

NHF manager Dr Louise Sullivan said: “The effects of this are very obvious. We only have to look at the problem of obesity now and its increase year on year.

“There is a huge amount of focus now on what kids are eating, but there is a tendency to neglect the problem of a lack of activity.”

She said: “The problem is that it is up to individual schools how often they have PE on the timetable. We are saying that the 120 minutes a week recommended by the Department should be made mandatory.

“As well as having direct health benefits, this would educate children about the importance of exercise for the rest of their life.”

The survey of 1,200 children and their parents also found that about 7% of children are taking PE in the classroom itself, which, according to Dr Sullivan, is “clearly not a suitable environment.”

Children in disadvantaged areas took less exercise in school, with 28% having more than one class a week, compared to 36% of children from better-off areas.

Dr Sullivan said: “For the future of our society, health is very important.”

The results emerged just days after the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child called on the Government to place more emphasis on the creation of facilities for children to enjoy leisure, recreation and cultural activities.

“The committee is concerned that little political and financial importance is given to the creation of recreational facilities and that increasing housing demands may further hamper the developments of playgrounds and public space,” it said in a report published at the weekend.