This week there was some great news for school sport and physical activity, the PE & Sport Premium funding has been renewed for the 2022/23 academic year. As a sports coaching provider, we have seen first hand the impact which this funding has on local primary schools and the children within these settings. We love sport, of course, but seeing more and more young people having opportunities to get involved and to have a positive experience with sport and physical exercise is exactly what our philosophy is about!
uSports exists to provide as many children as possible the opportunity to have a positive experience with a variety of sports at a young age. - The uSports Philosophy
We have been privileged to be a part of this push to elevate the importance of sport in primary schools for the last four years since uSports was established, so we like to think we know a thing or two about the funding so read on to find out more about how much you will receive and how you can spend it!
How Much Funding Will My School Receive?
Funding is allocated according to the number of children in your setting from Year 1 to Year 6. If you have 17 or more eligible pupils (we work in some small schools but none quite this small, so for most this will apply!) you will receive £16,000 and an additional payment of £10 per pupil.
Due to the impact of COVID, recently funding has been able to roll over into the subsequent year if it has not been spent. BUT, if you have any funding from the 2019/20, 2020/21 or 2021/22 academic years remember that funding from previous years must be spent by the 31st of July 2022 as unspent funds can no longer be carried forwards.
With this in mind, while it is important that you look to the future to see what the new round of funding will be used for - don't miss out on any unspent funding which you have accrued!
How Can I Use The PE & Sport Premium Funding?
The Department for Education summarises the purpose of the PE & Sport Premium funding as below:
Schools must use the funding to make additional and sustainable improvements to the quality of the PE, physical activity and sport they provide.
If you visit the DfE website you will be able to see a full breakdown of exactly what this means, but our summary of the guidelines for the funding is that whatever it is that you spend your funding on it should be something which creates a legacy of a raised importance of sport in your school.
This is our practical list of what you might use your funding on:
Active Lunch Clubs - encouraging more children to be active in breaktimes
Introducing new sports through extra-curricular clubs - providing children with new experiences
Funding spaces for vulnerable children or those who do not actively engage in school sports to attend extra-curricular activities
Targeted interventions in the school day for those who are not actively engaging in school sports or those who are considered to be vulnerable
Hiring specialist sports coaches to enhance your current provision
Upskilling teachers through CPD programmes or twilight sessions
Working alongside an external provider to run a sports tournament to get children in your school and other schools active
Provide additional swimming lessons above those which are statutory
Active mile
How Can uSports Help?
uSports has worked with over 70 schools and nurseries over this past academic year, aside from our nurseries who are not eligible for the funding, in almost every case we have been helping schools to utilise their PE & Sport Premium funding.
We can help you to work towards all of the suggested activities and provisions which we have listed above and are happy to chat to you to find out exactly how your setting would benefit the most from your funding!
Visit our website below to find out more about what we can offer or if you already know how you would like us to help your school, then please fill in our enquiry form on the website or send us an email on info@u-sports.co.uk and we will get back to you soon!
https://www.u-sports.co.uk/school-coaching