With the average Primary School in England receiving over £9000 per year as part of a £750million Government drive to increase the number of children participating in sport, it certainly seems that the London 2012 "legacy" is in place with a healthy future beckoning for our next generation.

However, behind the political headlines, issues persist in the sector:

Baroness Sue Campbell, chairman of the Youth Sport Trust and former head of UK Sport, recently criticized the delivery of PE lessons in UK state primaries, claiming that sessions often end up as little more than "playtime".

In addition, Ofsted, the organization responsible for inspecting and regulating schools and services which care for children, has come under increased pressure over recent months as a result of the Trojan Horse scandal and repeated U-turns over inspection criteria.

As any teacher will testify, the entire educational system in the UK is going through major change – not just within Physical Education - so it is perhaps unfair to label these matters as anything other than 'teething problems'.

Indeed, many of the reforms that were instigated by Michael Gove are within the first year of implementation (i.e. the new PE Curriculum which began in September 2014).

However, it does appear that a disconnect is emerging between what is expected from school teachers and the resource and support provided via the "system".

The new PE Curriculum, for example, cleverly empowers teachers to choose the type of Physical Education lessons which best inspire and motivate their pupils. Gone is the prescriptive stance of teaching Football and Hockey during the winter months if Dodgeball and Kabaddi will get better results.

Also removed is the structured way of assessing pupil learning using 'levels' – now it is down to each school to choose the best means of assessing child development and progression.

Yet with the average Primary school teacher receiving only 6-10 hours of PE training, surely these responsibilities cannot be met and teaching standards improved?

It is too early to accurately assess whether the revised strategy for school sport in the UK is working. Even if standards do drop initially any conclusion must not be that we have poor quality teachers.

Most teachers have welcomed the Sports Premium but many schools and teachers simply do not have the knowledge or confidence to implement the changes effectively. They need the experience and capacity to understand what good quality PE looks like and how to achieve this.

What does seem apparent in these early days, is that the sector desperately needs greater support, training and direction from government. In clearly establishing a definition of 'minimum standards' we will be able to capitalize on this post Olympic "golden era" and create a life-long sporting legacy in our schools.

Neil Cameron is Managing Director of Sport Works, an award-winning provider of sports based educational programmes throughout the UK. A former Long Jumper and Sport Science lecturer, Neil works with teachers and professionals to improve the quality of sport and Physical Education delivered by schools, universities and local authorities.

For more information or to get in touch:

neil@sportworksltd.co.uk