As part of the government's commitment to sport, they have provided schools with a grant which is to be spent to increase children's participation in sport and consolidate the legacy left by the London 2012 Olympics.
The Government gives this money to schools to make additional and sustainable improvements to the quality of the PE, physical activity and sport offered in school. We use the money in a variety of way to support the personal development of pupils, such as the opportunities they have to learn about eating healthily and maintaining an active lifestyle, including opportunities to be active during the school day and through extra-curricular activities.
Guidance from the DfE makes clear that:
All young people should have the opportunity to live healthy and active lives. A positive experience of sport and physical activity at a young age can build a lifetime habit of participation, and is central to meeting the government’s ambitions for a world-class education system.
Physical activity has numerous benefits for children and young people’s physical health, as well as their mental wellbeing (increasing self-esteem and emotional wellbeing and lowering anxiety and depression), and children who are physically active are happier, more resilient and more trusting of their peers. Ensuring that pupils have access to sufficient daily activity can also have wider benefits for pupils and schools, improving behaviour as well as enhancing academic achievement.
The School Sport and Activity Action Plan set out government’s commitment to ensuring that children and young people have access to at least 60 minutes of sport and physical activity per day, with a recommendation of 30 minutes of this delivered during the school day (in line with the Chief Medical Officer guidelines which recommend an average of at least 60 minutes per day across the week).
DfE guidance can be found here:
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/pe-and-sport-premium-for-primary-schools