Lost focus on school sports in run-up to Olympics

Originally published @ 11:21 pm, Tue 30th Nov 2010, but declared to need a re-write.

Headteachers will launch a national revolt today against plans to cut school sport as Michael Gove comes under intense pressure from inside and outside government to rethink his plans.

Sixty headteachers from across England have expressed their outrage at his decision to end the entire £162m budget for School Sport Partnerships (SSPs) in a hard-hitting letter to the Observer.

Their intervention comes as the head of the Canadian Olympic Committee also raises his concerns in a letter to Gove, arguing that with the 2012 London games approaching, it was vital that the SSPs should be kept in place

On sports generally, Young Nottingham has been developing a “Sheriff’s Challenge” to emphasis aspiration and expectation for physical ability and capability as part of the response to childhood obesity; ties in with the Olympics too. Ironic then to see the ConDems slashing this.

http://www.publicfinance.co.uk/news/2010/11/pupil-premium-will-take-cash-from-schools-in-poorest-areas/ - I can report this in the misc. / forward plan part of the Dec. 15th Young Nottingham meeting. But I will need a bit more to show what the financial impact might actually be rather than rehearse the principle.