3rd

May

The dreaded PE lessons, now it’s official

Posted by Mark Raw in Childcare Industry Harmony Childrens Services

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-17873519

Having read the article by the BBC on how teenage girls or opting out of PE,http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-17873519 I am pleased to see the creative ways in which this is being address by some schools and at the same time unsurprised at the widening gap between boys and girls.

Some interesting points raised was the competitive and somewhat elitist side of PE, and concentrating on only the best pupils, you have to wonder if this is all about the good Ofsted score for their lessons?

The article raised the issues of girls being “body conscious” and therefore not wanting to get changed in to PE outfits as it sets them apart at times. I remember my PE days as great fun, but also recall that the girls stopped playing the same sports as we did in the second year when I was a Boston Spa comprehensive school. We were all allowed to choose what sessions we did for each half term. If I remember the girls had the staples of hockey, trampolineing and net ball, but I don’t remember them opting out. Maybe we had more of an eagerness to be up and moving about, playing games for the sake of playing and more motivations that to be on facebook, twitter and BBM’ing than kids nowadays.

However the issue was highlighted in March 2008, http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/kent/7288175.stm where they were asking the questions to find out what stops girls from joining in. As mentioned earlier I like the innovative approaches taken by some schools using different and more youthful forms of exercising like Zumba and rollerblading to encourage participation.

Great ideas, but I wonder what other sports could be played in the teenage years that would get girls more involved. I’m surprised that there is no sort of “industrial” sized Wii or Kinetix style game system that could be used during the colder months.

That is the type of creative thinking we like to do at Harmony, it finds ways that allow the overall aim to be achieved, that allows everyone to be on board. We make good use of the Wii in group and single player games, involving everyone and find it develops supportive relationships within the home, more self confidence and the thrill of achieving goals, something important to us all.

another creation by white-fire