Following a series of evidence sessions, which heard from leaders including Youth Sport Trust CEO Ali Oliver MBE, and Youth Sport Trust Athlete Mentors Montell Douglas and Alistair Patrick-Heselton and Olympic swimming champion Anna Hopkin MBE, the cross-party Committee’s report puts forward proposals for the future of school and community sport.

The Committee is calling on the Government to take action by:

• Making PE a core subject within the national curriculum, including a mandatory two hours of broader and more inclusive high-quality PE each week and setting clear expectations for activity to be woven into the school day through short movement breaks, active travel and wrap-around provision.
• Issuing guidance making clear schools are expected to adopt PE kit and uniform policies that prioritise comfort, inclusivity and dignity – particularly for girls and pupils with protected characteristics - and promoting more practical, activity-friendly school uniforms.
• Publishing a plan to strengthen initial teacher training in physical education and physical activity, and ongoing professional development for all teachers, particularly at primary level.
• Strengthening accountability for the PE and Sport Premium by introducing clearer national reporting requirements, consistent benchmarking, and more robust scrutiny through Ofsted.
• Building on the success of the School Games Organisers Network through the future PE and School Sport Partnership Network, to deliver increased capacity and consistent national coverage, including setting out how the new Network will work in practice and be funded.
• Meeting the Committee’s expectation for the Department for Health and Social Care to put its share of funding into the school sport system, along with funding from the Department for Education and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.
• Reinstating support for opening school sports facilities to communities through a long-term, place-based funding model.
• Increasing the share of government expenditure on sport and recreation from 0.3% to 0.6% over the next ten years and publishing a cross-government ‘Movement for Health’ strategy by the end of 2026.
• Retaining Sport England as a Statutory Planning Consultee and ensuring planning reforms include a robust and enforceable mechanism to protect playing fields and sports facilities.

You can read the report in full here.

Responding to the report, Youth Sport Trust CEO Ali Oliver MBE said:

“The Game On Inquiry report sets out an ambitious vision of what a new era of school and community sport could deliver. Through an increased role for PE and physical activity in schools, to more inclusive approaches and greater access to school sport, many of the ideas proposed advance our ambition for every child to have an active start in life. However, we know these positive words must be met with action. We sincerely hope this report can be the impetus for the Government to bring much-needed clarity about future policy and funding for PE and school sport.

“The Committee’s call for PE to become a core subject on the national curriculum, with all schools delivering two-hours of inclusive PE and improved teacher training, will be music to the ears of a sector which has championed this ambition for some time. As the report suggests, PE should be a component of an active culture in schools, helping more children achieve 60 active minutes each day as recommended by the UK’s Chief Medical Officers. For many children, particularly those from under-served backgrounds, enriching experiences including enjoyment of a range of sports and participation in a sports club cannot be accessed elsewhere, making school-based provision even more essential.

“In addition, the Committee’s report shines an important light on the barriers some children people face to participation, including girls and young people with special educational needs and disabilities. Adopting inclusive PE kit or an active uniform, and providing access to a range of activities in PE and school sport can help every child be active and enjoy their school sport experience.

“Physical activity including PE, sport and play, is essential to deliver on the Government’s ambition to develop the happiest and healthiest generation of young people. Earlier this month, we welcomed the Government’s confirmation of a funding extension for the School Games Organisers Network, whose work is rightly championed in this report. However, as the Committee notes, uncertainty about future funding for PE and school sport persists.

“Teachers, School Games Organisers and leaders across the country work to enable children to be active every day and will continue to do so, but we know there is significant and growing concern about the lack of clarity on the Primary PE and Sport Premium, and planned new national PE and School Sport Partnership Network. Each week without a resolution risks progress and momentum being lost. We hope the Committee’s recommendations and publication of this report provide the perfect moment to announce plans for 2026-27 so much-needed opportunities for children to be active are not lost, and as a nation we harness the power of play and sport to change lives.

“Finally, the Committee’s acknowledgement of the power of spending on sport echoes our own findings, with research released by Youth Sport Trust showing the provision of free-to-access school sport and physical activity is worth at least £4.5bn each year in improved life satisfaction, happiness and wellbeing. As the report notes, investment has the potential to deliver long-term savings for the health and welfare budgets not to mention the contribution sport can make to school engagement and belonging, helping tackle some of the other major societal challenges persisting today. The Game On Inquiry report sets out how we can harness the many benefits of daily physical activity, play and sport in the lives of children and young people and makes the case we simply cannot afford the consequences of not acting.”