The landscape of PE, school sport and physical activity in primary schools is changing.
For school leaders, the priority is not simply to respond to individual funding changes. It is to build a model that can continue to deliver high-quality PE while supporting teachers, pupils and the wider school.
Our PE & PPA Sustainability Guide has been created to help you do exactly that.
Inside, you’ll find practical planning questions, workforce considerations, financial planning guidance, a self-assessment framework and actions to help you prepare for the next 90 days, 12 months and three years.
Planning for the Future of PE & PPA Provision
For more than a decade, the PE & Sport Premium has helped schools invest in high-quality PE, increase participation, develop teacher confidence and bring specialist expertise into schools.
As the funding landscape evolves, school leaders are now having to think about what comes next.
For many schools, this isn’t simply a question of how PE is funded. Changes to funding can have wider implications for curriculum delivery, PPA, staffing, teacher workload and long-term workforce planning.
That’s why we’ve created “The Primary School Leader’s Guide to PE Premium Transition Planning“. A practical resource designed to help primary school leaders understand the challenges ahead and start planning with greater clarity.
What Do The PE & Sports Premium Changes Mean For Primary Schools?
The PE & Sport Premium has supported a wide range of provision, from specialist PE and PPA cover to teacher CPD, equipment and additional sporting opportunities.
For many schools, these investments have become part of their wider staffing and curriculum model.
That means changes to funding could have implications far beyond the PE budget, from curriculum delivery and PPA to staffing, workload and workforce planning.
While the full picture continues to develop, school leaders can start reviewing their current position now and consider where their biggest risks and opportunities lie.
How Will Changes to PE Funding Affect Schools?
The impact will look different from school to school, but there are some key areas every school leader should consider:
Curriculum: Will pupils continue to receive a consistent, progressive PE experience?
Workforce: Does your school have the confidence, competence and capacity to deliver high-quality PE?
PPA: What role does specialist PE currently play in protecting teacher release time?
Workload: Could changes to delivery create additional planning, assessment or preparation?
Finances: How exposed is your current model to changes in funding?
Quality: How will you continue to monitor consistency, progression and outcomes?
Looking at these areas together can give school leaders a much clearer picture of what their current model really costs — and what it delivers.
What Should Primary Schools Consider When Planning for Changes to PE Funding?
Before making changes, schools need to understand where they are starting from.
Consider:
How is PE currently delivered?
Who teaches it, where are specialists involved and which year groups are supported?
How confident is your workforce?
Where are the strengths and where might additional support be needed?
How dependent is your provision on external funding or expertise?
Which elements would be most affected by a change?
How closely is PE linked to PPA?
Would changing your PE model affect teacher release time or staffing?
What needs protecting?
Which aspects of your current provision are essential to curriculum quality, pupil outcomes and teacher workload?
The aim isn’t to predict exactly what will happen.
It’s to make sure your school is in a stronger position to respond when it does.
How Should Schools Plan for Future PE Funding Changes?
You don’t need to have all the answers today.
Our guide sets out a practical framework to help school leaders think about their PE and PPA provision across the next 90 days, 12 months and three years.
It will help you consider where you are now, where the risks may lie and what you could do next to build a more sustainable model.
