Chief Executive, Sarah Powell explains the vital importance of us all becoming players in what could be Wales’ biggest game changer; for sport, the prosperity of the nation and the health of every child. It’s time for us all to get to grips with physical literacy….
We have clear ambitions in Wales; ambitions that seek to give every single child the best opportunity at having a long, healthy and prosperous life; full of opportunity and the realising of their potential.
Whilst being ambitious for our children is important, these ambitions alone will not create the step change in levels of physical activity that we want to see. However in Wales we have a life changing opportunity that if we all bought into, could just make these ambitions a reality.
Physical Literacy is nothing new, we’ve been talking about it for some time, but I still hear those in the sport sector and beyond saying that they don’t really understand the term. Put simply, it means that a child is able to develop a toolkit of basic movement skills which allows them to build the confidence & motivation (with the help of a little fun and reassurance) to seek out the physical activities and sports they want to take part in – for life.
It recognises that a child must master how to run, jump, catch and throw effectively before they are able to string together more complex movements, be it performing the triple jump or racing across the football pitch.
Let’s make something absolutely clear, far from being a theoretical buzz term, physical literacy offers us a real chance of getting every child hooked on sport and with this it opens up the potential of creating many more gold medals and trophy winning champions.
As with our ambitions, simply speaking about physical literacy won’t change anything. We need to understand and identify how we can all make an impact on this agenda. It’s up to us to put in place the steps that will help all children develop the ability and confidence to get active from the earliest ages.
We need to be providing lots of opportunities to practice and develop a full range of physical skills, not just sport specific, in many different enjoyable and safe environments. We need to focus our efforts on understanding the big picture and then the part we need to play as individuals in achieving this. Our roles will all be different, ranging from advocating to providing sessions, and they will also require change in the way we do and think about our core actions.
The prize of a more physically literate population is there for the taking, for all of us. In sport, physical literacy offers a swelling in the numbers of participants at every age and level, and ultimately the creation of more top level athletes to represent us on an international stage.
In health, a more physically literate and therefore more active and health-aware population reduces the burden of inactivity and its related illnesses on the NHS.
In education, physically literate, active children are more engaged and more likely to achieve better academically.
And for parents, physical literacy offers an advantageous start for their child, presenting a fun way of learning many important life skills not just those aligned to physical competence. It also offers a fun way of being active as a family, with everyone taking part.
Let’s not forget that for children and young people themselves being able to be active, whether competitively or recreationally, brings a wealth of benefits that can help create opportunities throughout their lives. Just ask our Young Ambassadors if you don’t believe me!
We have rightly been focussing on how the school experience can provide every child with these basic skills, but if we think of physical literacy as just an issue for colleagues in education then we will be limiting the potential benefits of this approach. This is not just a passing phase; something for others to deal with; a nice to have.
Providing positive experiences that ignite a lifelong passion for being active should be central to the sport sectors offer to our children and young people. When we think about it, physical literacy should sit at the heart of good sport development, ability; confidence, enjoyment, motivation. Who wouldn’t want to run sessions on this basis? All of this requires action and challenging some of the ways we currently deliver.
In sport we will need to concentrate on delivering sessions that are fit for purpose for every child, not just those who seem ‘naturally’ talented - we need to be creating environments for the ‘non-sporty’ youngsters to start enjoying and achieving in sport.
In education and leisure we will need to use the tools now available, such as the School Sport Survey results, to offer sport sessions that are enjoyable and fun for our children, which respond to what they want in a way that excites and interests them. We need Head teachers to be championing PE and placing being physically active as a central part of their school ethos.
In sectors such as health we will need to look at ways of advocating and prescribing physical activity and sport based sessions as a condition of good health. Driving up levels of physical activity should be central to future public health messaging, recognising the need for all children and young people to develop the basics confidently.
We will also need parents to be encouraging their children to be active, as they encourage them with their school work. Being physically prepared for life is as important as being academically prepared.
These things aren’t quick fixes; they will take time and effort to achieve and in reality there is much more that we will need to action and change than these few examples. is committed to taking a lead in supporting others to understand and play their role and over the coming months we will be talking with different stakeholder groups, providing advice and guidance where needed, signposting in the right direction and offering tools for achieving these goals.
We all need to be proactive and as a starter we have a dedicated physical literacy section on our website, which explains the concept in full – www.sportwales.org.uk/physicalliteracy. I would advise everybody to take a look and develop their own understanding. Remember this is for our own gain.
On the flip side, the consequence of not getting to grips with physical literacy poses huge risks and is to the detriment of us all. In fact, without creating a nation full of physically literate children, we will never get every child hooked on sport, we limit the potential of creating future champions, we will ultimately have less people participating in sport and we risk greater burdens on our already struggling NHS. It is very much in all of our interests to grasp this opportunity and start acting now.
So let’s get behind this; coaches, volunteers, teachers, decision makers, parents and health workers; we all have the chance to play a part in a life changing approach for the next generation of children. Let’s turn this ambition in to a reality….
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