Primary school sport in Northamptonshire is to get a £2.2 million in each of the next two years to improve coaching for pupils.
The new Government sports funding, announced today, aims to improve the quality of provision in every state primary school in England.
Each school will get a lump sum, with a per-pupil top-up. A typical primary school with 250 primary aged pupils would receive £9,250 per year for the next two years.
The Government said that is the equivalent of about two days a week of a primary teacher or a coach’s time and therefore “enoughto make sure every pupil in the school can do sport with a specialist.”
Double Olympic Champion, Mo Farah CBE said of the national scheme: “It is great to see a commitment to funding schoolsport and that it is something I passionately believe in.
“I am very excited to know that lots of children will be able to get involved in sport while at school and get more help from teachers and coaches. It really is very important.”
The money is strictly for use on sport and will be the only school funding to be ring-fenced.
It will go directly into the hands of heads and teachers who will decide what is best for their pupils.
This could vary from specialist coaching and teacher training to dedicated sports programmes, Change4Life sport clubs and support for after-school or weekend competitions.
There will also be a tougher assessment of sport provision via Ofsted to ensure the funding is bringing the maximum benefit for all pupils, with schools held to account for how they spend the money.
Money will also be spent on new provision as part of initial teacher training to produce a cadre of primary teachers with a particular specialism in PE.
Prime Minister David Cameron said: “With this new approach to sport, we can create a culture in our schools that encourages all children to be active and enjoy sport, and helps foster the aspirations of future Olympians and Paralympians.”