NOF welcomes the Prime Minister’s announcement that all schoolchildren should be given the chance to do five hours of sport each week but ensuring that the “ chance “ becomes a reality is vital if the childhood obesity epidemic is to be halted.  Linking his measure to the 2012 Olympics obviously catches the headlines but the provision of 1hr of sport per day within an extended school curriculum will be pretty hollow if the initiative fades once the gold medals have been packed away.  The £600 already invested in school sport together with this addition £100m is a good beginning but more must be found if the failure to establish school sport in the long-term is not to render the announcement as just another sound-byte for the media.

Currently, schools are required to offer children under 16 just two hours of sporting activity each week.  Some schools have admitted that this amounts to just an hour on the playing field because of the time it takes to organise classes.  NOF knows that this low level of school sports activity, combined with the fact that many schools have sold their playing fields to raise scarce cash, is a contributing factor in Britain’s fast-rising childhood obesity epidemic.