An open letter from England Hockey and the sport sector to the Secretary of State

Along with a number of governing bodies in the sport sector, England Hockey have added their name to the below letter to the Secretary of State for Education.

Dear Secretary of State, 

We are writing today to seek urgent clarity on the continuation of the investment made through the Primary PE and Sport Premium. 

As you will know, this funding has been made available to primary schools to support their PE and school sport offer since 2013. 

The past year has taken an incredible toll on young people’s health and wellbeing. We are sure you will agree that getting young people active again in school has a hugely important role to play in their recovery. As a sector we have been working together to support and encourage schools to offer daily physical activity and weekly PE as core building blocks of the recovery curriculum. 

However, with just a few weeks left of the summer term, schools have not yet received confirmation that the PE and Sport Premium will continue into September. 

We are becoming increasingly alarmed at the impact this uncertainty is having, at a critical time for schools who are planning their provision for the next academic year. This comes at a time of huge demand from schools, families and young people. 

In recent weeks, the lack of confirmed funding has led to a scaling back of initiatives and of jobs among the organisations and individuals who support schools to maximise the impact of their PE and Sport Premium. The delay is leading to a reduction in planned provision and hampering efforts to leverage funding from the private sector to strengthen PE and school sport. We are aware of at least one local authority advising schools to budget on the assumption that this funding will not continue. 

We appreciate the huge number of challenges government is tackling at the moment as we emerge from the pandemic. However, with young people’s recovery of such paramount importance, it would be devastating if the national effort to support the recovery of young people’s health and wellbeing was hampered by an avoidable delay in confirming funding for next year. 

This national effort to support young people’s recovery would be significantly strengthened by an immediate confirmation from your department that this funding will continue into the 2021/22 academic year. 

Thank you for your support. 

Yours sincerely, 

Ali Oliver MBE, CEO, Youth Sport Trust 
Mark Gannon, CEO, UKCoaching 
Huw Edwards, CEO, UKActive 
Steve Peyman, COO, Chance to Shine 
Sarah Mortiboys, CEO, Dallaglio Rugby Works 
Arun Kang, CEO, Sporting Equals 
Beatrice Butsana-Sita, CEO, Greenhouse Sports 
Andy Dalby-Welsh, CEO, London Youth Games 
Richard Norman, CEO, SportsLeadersUK 
Vincent Britten & Alan Watkinson, co-Chairs, Schools Active Movement 
Tom Harrison, CEO England & Wales Cricket Board 
Mark Bullingham, CEO, The Football Association 
Scott Lloyd, CEO, Lawn Tennis Association 
Bill Sweeney OBE, CEO, Rugby Football Union 
Adrian Christy, CEO, Badminton England 
John Boyd, CEO, BaseballSoftballUK 
Stewart Kellett, CEO Basketball England 
Georgina Usher, CEO, British Fencing 
Alastair Marks, CEO (interim), British Gymnastics 
Stephanie Hilborne OBE, CEO, Women in Sport 
Lisa Wainwright, CEO, Sport & Recreation Alliance 
Sue Wilkinson MBE, CEO, Association for Physical Education 
Lee Mason, CEO, Active Partnerships Network 
Andrew Scoular, CEO, British Judo 
Peter Hart, CEO, British Orienteering 
Andy Parkinson, CEO, British Rowing 
Ashley Metcalf, CEO, British Weightlifting 
Lisa Pearce, CEO, British Wheelchair Basketball 
Chris Jones, CEO, England Athletics 
Nick Pink, CEO, England Hockey 
Mark Coups, CEO, England Lacrosse 
Fran Connolly, CEO, England Netball 
Sue Storey, CEO, England Volleyball 
Marcus Capel, CEO The Pony Club 
Natalie Justice-Dearn, CEO, Rounders England 
Ralph Rimmer, CEO, Rugby Football League 
Jane Nickerson, CEO, Swim England 
Sara Sutcliffe, CEO, Table Tennis England 
Simon Hill, CEO, UKUltimate 
Brendon Pyle, CEO, Golf Foundation