Is P.E. Failing – by Maggie Ayre personal trainer for youth

Last weekend the Scottish Government was heavily criticised for not meeting its pledge to deliver two hours of physical education to school children, but are both the Scottish Government and its critics rather missing the point?

Hands up if you enjoyed PE at school.

Hands up if school PE lessons led to you living an active life after you left school.

Not many hands are being raised and although my career is dominated by physical activity I have to agree with you – school PE lessons left me cold too.

Research has consistently shown that active children are more likely to do well at school so more activity throughout the day, and particularly in the morning, is likely to produce educational benefits.

But, the current approach that you will do 2 (or ideally 7!) hours of physical activity a week whether you like it or not seems unlikely to have a very real impact on the activity levels of the wider population.

So what are the alternatives? I am firmly of the belief that there is an activity we can all enjoy and if physical activity can be geared more towards the needs of the individual we may be able to make a difference. Yes, activity has an impact on educational achievement, it also has an impact on confidence and self-esteem, as well as medium and long term health benefits.

Somehow we need to deliver an effective yet fun programme that keeps youngsters engaged. How did you feel about exercise when you were a child? By asking children, youth workers and teachers we will be able to find out how best to structure sessions, what time of day, location, activities suit young people best.

In my experience many teenage girls don’t like to exercise with boys around, many overweight youngsters don’t want to get changed into workout clothes, many find competitive activities a definite turn off. Many simply don’t know the enormous range of activities that are available and therefore assume they “don’t like exercise” because they haven’t found the right activity yet.

Schools, youth clubs, sports clubs, parents and other groups should be looking to set up pre-, during and post- school sessions offering a wide range of activities such as running, cycling, karate, volleyball, bench ball, swimming, dance, rugby, netball, aerobics etc etc Individual activities, team activities, girl only sessions…… the list is endless.

The physical education of our youngsters requires an integrated approach. Blaming the schools for providing insufficient PE sessions during the school day just isn’t good enough any more.

Gen Y Guide Podcast – Teens and Exercise

How one school has incorporated exercise into its routine and increase their grades. What affect does exercise have on the brain and how can you encourage your teenagers to get moving.

with Gen Y Guide Sarah Newton

Gen Y Guide Podcast – Education and Exercise

How one school has incorporated exercise into its routine and increase their grades. What affect does exercise have on the brain and how can you encourage your teenagers to get moving.

with Gen Y Guide Sarah Newton