Half of primary school children fail to meet basic activity levels
- Screen time replacing play as pupils sitting SATs this month spent 3 hours per day online
- Obesity and mental ill health rise hitting poorest children hardest
- Ofsted urged to intervene by making physical development a key benchmark
Young children are more likely to own a smartphone than be able to throw a ball, according to a new report.
New research from a major think tank, the Centre for Social Justice, reveals that while a range of studies show fewer than half of English 10-year-olds meet a basic level of competence in throwing a ball, over 70 per cent now own a smartphone.
The report, Inactive Nation, warns that England is raising a generation of children where only a small minority of children are mastering the basic movement skills they need to participate confidently in sport and physical activity.
Around half of the pupils in every single primary school classroom today fail to meet basic activity levels for a healthy life, the analysis revealed.
The displacement of outdoor play with screen-based activity is leading to the rise of a generation of so-called “iPad kids”, who are missing out on vital physical development and contributing to ballooning obesity rates.
ByYear 6, pupils are spending 3 hours a day online – the equivalent of over a month each year – according to CSJ analysis of Ofcom data.
The report highlights the “resounding” evidence of the benefits of an active childhood. A range of studies show that physical activity builds resilience, supports good behaviour and physical development.
Yet over half of primary school age pupils, or 2.1. million children, are insufficiently active – averaging less than 60 minutes of at least moderate physical activity a day. For disadvantaged children, this rises to 6 in 10.
Swapping just 15 minutes of daily screen time for outdoors play would see an estimated 300,000 primary school pupils hit the recommended activity level, the report found.
The CSJ says the consequences of this increasing sedentary lifestyle are already visible, childhood obesity is rising with deprived communities once again worst hit. Children are now more than twice as likely to be obese as those in the least deprived areas.
Inactivity is also highly likely to contribute to the growing mental health crisis in the UK. Recent figures showed 1 in 6 children aged 8 to 10 to have a probable mental health disorder, up from 1 in 10 just six years prior.
One teacher giving evidence to Kindred2, a charity that works with the CSJ, said:
“I’ve got two children [in my class] who physically cannot sit on the carpet. They don’t have core strength. And when I went to visit one of the girls in July, she’d never been to a nursery, she’d been sat in a corner sofa on an iPad so she hasn’t developed her core strength and it’s really affecting her whole development.”
Inactive Nation is the first of two reports seeking to improve activity levels, starting with primary school age children. It makes a range of recommendations including:
- A new School Activity Standard – embedding physical activity throughout the school day and inclusive interventions to improve activity levels
- New Ofsted rules establishing “physical development” as a key evaluation area for schools
- New ‘shuttle run’ style fitness assessments to encourage schools to meet ambitious new activity targets, mirroring best practice in Finland and Japan
Andy MacNae MP, Labour MP and Vice-Chair of the Parliamentary Group for Sport and Physical Activity, said:
The findings in this report should concern all politicians. As an MP for a constituency where too many children do not receive the opportunities they deserve, I see every day the consequences of a system that has failed to prioritise children’s physical development.
The solutions proposed in this report are practical, evidence-based, and scalable, and children in our primary schools today cannot wait for another decade of stalled progress. It’s time to get moving.
Dr Roz Savage MBE MP, Liberal Democrat MP and the first woman ever to row the world’s “Big Three” oceans, said:
Embedding physical activity into the primary school day is essential if we are serious about saving the next generation from poor physical health.
We must do more to open up opportunities for children to be active, including through better access to nature. I welcome the important conversation started by the Centre for Social Justice in this report.
Ben Miller, Senior Analyst at the CSJ, said:
Our education system has not kept pace with a world where screens are taking over everyday life.
Politicians must empower teachers to reduce sedentary behaviour and create an active culture within schools. Combined with improving access to outdoor play outside of school hours, we can finally provide children the opportunities they deserve.
