Irish pupils bottom of class at PE

THE Government has been accused of neglecting young people after Ireland was ranked as one of the worst EU countries for provision of physical education.

The report for the European parliament shows that six out of ten primary schools here have inadequate facilities and equipment for PE, while the maximum recommended one hour a week is one of the lowest in Europe.

The Irish National Teachers’ Organisation (INTO) said the cutting of a grant for PE equipment for more than three years shows that the area was not a priority for the Department of Education.

Education Minister Mary Hanafin announced a PE grant of 2,000 a year for every primary school last November. Her predecessor Noel Dempsey had axed an annual payment to schools for PE equipment or sports coaching in 2003.

“Cutting the grant forced schools to use old, unsafe sports equipment. Unless there is substantial investment in providing indoor facilities in schools the PE curriculum just will not happen. And there is no point in pretending that it will,” said INTO general secretary John Carr.

He said under-investment in PE facilities was highlighted by Department of Education inspectors in recent school evaluation reports. A report published last week showed that the general purposes room of a Galway primary school, which should be available for physical education, is used as a staff room.

A previous INTO survey showed that just one-in-five primary schools in some counties have no PE hall, while those with a hall often do not have adequate facilities within them.

The EU report shows that the 30 to 60 minutes allowed for PE in the Irish primary curriculum is shorter than that in almost every other EU country. But not all schools provide the minimum half hour, and some do not teach PE at all.

This compares to between two and four hours recommended in Hungarian primary schools.

At second level, Ireland fares a little better, with the one to two hours weekly provision near the EU average. The report highlights the key role of PE programmes in countering high cost health-risks and anti-social behaviour and recommends the adoption of a minimum two hours PE per week to be increased to three hours a week in the long term.

Labour Party education spokesperson Jan O’Sullivan said the failure to encourage children to exercise regularly and educate them about the importance of fitness stores up major problems for the future for overall health and well-being.

“PE has become the poor relation in many schools and, in recent years, the department has advised schools to convert sports halls into classrooms. That attitude simply has to end,” she said.

Youngsters urged to get active

Niall Murray

YOUNG people should take as much weight-bearing exercise as they can to help protect their bones from brittleness and disease later in life, experts have advised.

The Irish Society of Chartered Physiotherapists (ISCP) stressed that exercise such as running, dancing and gymnastics, in which your weight is carried through your hands or feet, is essential to strengthening bones early in life “Strengthening our bones at an early age will maximise their potential strength later in life and help in the prevention of osteoporosis,” said physiotherapist Elaine Barker.

The society’s campaign to promote the role of exercise as an essential part of daily living focuses this year on the need for children to take part in weight-bearing exercise every day.

The initiative, Healthy Bones — A Hope, Skip and Jump Away, will involve physiotherapists around the country contacting schools and offering to visit and speak with children about bone health.

“Research shows that active children build stronger and healthier bones than inactive children, so we believe we have a responsibility to highlight this potential health issue,” Ms Barker said.

Ahead of Saturday’s crucial Six National game in which Ireland could win the Triple Crown for a second year running, Irish rugby players Brian O’Driscoll, Shane Horgan, Girvan Dempsey and Keith Gleeson gave their support to launch the campaign.

The initiative is this year’s Move 4 Health campaign by the society, and further information is available on its website — www.iscp.ie.