The orders will be reinstated for September 2000, but then PE will have lost valuable ground and many schools will be ill prepared to deliver the new PE curriculum. PE is the only subject to support children's physical development, but research also shows that it is positively correlated with improved cognitive and social development. Children of this age need PE and research shows their academic work improves when they get it regularly. But a spokesman for the Education Department denied that PE in primary schools was collapsing. That was a national scandal and it had to be addressed by making sure schools were devoting the necessary time to literacy and numeracy.
PE remains compulsory in primary schools.
But they have to be trusted to ensure that they provide a balanced timetable. From September 2000, primary schools would be expected to ensure that children had two hours of PE a week, either during the school day or in after-school clubs. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.