Physical activity and PE

Physical education (PE) is a compulsory part of the curriculum for all pupils at every Key Stage.

Young People’s Health and Wellbeing 2022 survey gathered views on aspects of Healthy lifestyles, including physical activity and provided essential evidence to understand the physical activity level of children and young people in Richmond borough.

National guidelines and resources

A number of national bodies and organisations provide information about the teaching of PE.

Department for Education (DfE)

The Department for Education (DfE) recommends that all pupils should receive a minimum of two hours of curricular PE per week for all Key Stages. DfE provides physical education programmes of study on its website: 

• Key Stage 1 and 2 
• Key Stage 3 and 4

Also see School sport and activity action plan.

Guidelines for physical activity

According to the UK Chief Medical Officer’s physical activity guidelines, children under five years old should achieve 180 minutes of physical activity. Children aged five to 18 years old should do 60 minutes of daily moderate physical activity - 30 minutes should be delivered within the school day and the remaining 30 minutes outside of school.

World Health Organisation (WHO)

WHO's Promoting physical activity through schools briefing highlights the importance of embedding physical activity throughout the school day. This will help meet the recommendations of achieving a daily 60 minutes of moderate physical activity for 5 to 18 year olds.

Whole-school approach to physical activity

Schools wishing to apply for the bronze healthy school status are required to have in place a physical activity policy that outlines the school’s shared vision of the value and role of all physical activity within and beyond the school. This should include:

• Active travel 
• Extracurricular provision
• Opportunities during break times to encourage physical activity
• Active classrooms
• Inclusiveness of PE
• Encouragement of staff activity and their professional development

Download the Physical Activity Policy template.

Active Mile

Active Mile is a government initiative that supports pupils to be active during the school day by providing regular opportunities for them to move around a marked route for a dedicated period - for example, 15 minutes. There are many Active Mile providers, including:

• The Daily Mile: a free initiative helping schools to rebuild their children’s fitness and improve their emotional and mental health, all outdoors in the fresh air. This includes an annual London Mini Marathon initiative. Register with the Daily Mile to receive information.
• Raceways Revolution: encourages pupils to walk, run, skip and hop their way to four marathons through regular increments in an academic year. Pupils record the distances using the Digital Tracking System, which tracks pupils’ progress and acts as the perfect motivator.

Other useful documents

Resources from GOV.UK:

• Physical activity guidelines: disabled children and young people 
• What works in schools and colleges to increase physical activity : a briefing providing an overview of the evidence 
• School Sport and Activity Action Plan outlines government support for senior leadership and teachers to deliver high-quality PE and sport
• PE and Sports Premium for primary schools: all children should have equal access to high-quality PE and opportunities to participate in a wide range of sports and physical activities

TfL Travel for Life and school travel plan

Transport for London (TfL) has brought together all TfL education programmes, formerly known as Road Safety Club, STARS, Safety and Citizenship and TravelSmart, under one exciting new umbrella programme called TfL Travel for Life.

Early Years, primary schools and secondary schools can get involved in free year-round educational programmes that inspire children and young people to travel actively, responsibly and safely around London. Find out more about what’s on offer in Richmond.

School travel planning promotes healthy, safe and sustainable travel to school. Schools can also get involved in the STARS accreditation programme. For more information, email stp@richmond.gov.uk.

Living Streets host Walk to School Week each year in the second half of May. Schools can use their PE and Sport Premium funding to cover the cost of the pack.

Other bodies and organisations

• Youth Sport Trust has a wide-range of free or paid-for support options for schools
• Cosmic Kids offers free online fun yoga for children and promotes mindfulness through fun stories
• The Association for Physical Education provides quality-assured services and resources, and professional support for members
• Better Health - Healthier Families offers information about active hobbies and sports, to fun 10-minute-shake-up games for children to play at home with their families. Also see activities for toddlers, baby moves
• A-life provide healthy living workshops, fun fitness and other personal, social, health and economic education (PSHE) curricular sessions for primary schools
• Tagtive8 joins up physical activity with learning maths and English in fun, engaging and active way

Local assets in Richmond

The borough offers a range of spaces, activities and opportunities that can promote good physical health.

The FUEL holiday activities and food programme is for young people and families in receipt of benefit related free school meals from school years reception to Year 11. The programme provides access to activities and services during the winter, Easter and summer school holidays, including a nutritious meal and a fun physical activity every day. For more information contact fuel@achievingforchildren.org.uk.

London Youth Games is a sporting event where every London Brough competes against each other in over 30 different sports. To sign up, email londonyouthgames@richmond.gov.uk.

Sports, leisure venues and outdoor spaces 

Find out more about all the sports and fitness centres and pools in the borough.

Our parks and open spaces are also great places to be active.

To ensure all families can benefit from local leisure opportunities the council offers a range of concessions through the Fairer Access scheme.

Cycling and other activities

Check our cycling page for a range of ways you can be active on your bike. We offer training to help children and adults learn how to cycle, and to cycle safely. 

The borough also offers a variety of opportunities for:

• Walking
• Swimming
• Outdoor gyms

Also, visit our physical activity pages for more information and tips on how to be active with children.