Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to ensure that all school-aged girls have access to a range of team sports within the PE curriculum.

The government is committed to supporting all boys and girls to access sports and physical activities at school. Schools can organise and deliver a diverse and challenging PE and school sport offer which best suits the needs of their pupils. Factors influencing that decision include the spaces available for sports, along with available equipment.

On 8 March 2023, the department announced over £600 million in the 2023/24 and 2024/25 academic years for the primary PE and sport premium, and £57 million up to March 2025 for the Opening School Facilities programme. Schools can use this funding to increase their sport provision, raise overall quality of PE, and improve the opportunities for all boys and girls to access team sports.

In July 2023, the department published the School Sport and Activity Action Plan, which set out the expectation for schools to provide girls and boys with the same access and opportunity to play sports in PE and wider school sport. To encourage this, the government has overseen a change to the School Games Mark, which is delivered by the Youth Sport Trust. From September 2023, schools must demonstrate how they are overcoming gender barriers faced by girls and boys in PE and wider school sport as part of their planning and delivery.

To tackle the specific barriers faced by girls in accessing PE and sport, the department has invested almost £980,000 in the 'Your Time' programme. The programme has provided girls with opportunities to access competitive team sports during PE and extracurricular time.

Additionally, the department plans to publish non-statutory guidance to exemplify how schools already offer equal access to PE and wider school sport. Departmental officials are currently working closely with a wide range of stakeholders, such as subject associations and other sporting bodies like the Football Association (FA) and Women in Sport, to finalise this non-statutory guidance for publication in early 2024.