Primary schools lose out as Labour slashes sport funding

Funding for primary school sport in England is set to be reduced under Labour plans. The £320m annual PE and sports premium paid directly to primary schools will be scrapped. It will be replaced by a sport partnerships network worth £193m per year covering both primary and secondary schools. The new scheme is planned to be fully operational from spring 2027. School leaders expressed scepticism due to concerns about removing an established funding stream and the complexity and lack of clarity in delivery. The change is described as the third reform of school sport funding in 20 years and could reduce comparable funding by about 40%. The government also plans additional capital funding under £200m for improving school sports.

"Funding for primary school sport in England is to be slashed by Labour, including the abolition of a grant designed to cement the 2012 Olympic legacy, to the dismay of school leaders. The Department for Education said that the 320m fund paid directly to primary schools each year through its PE and sports premium will be scrapped and replaced by a sport partnerships network worth 193m a year to cover both primary and secondary schools."

"The new scheme will be fully up and running from spring 2027, the DfE said, but the announcement made hours before the England men's World Cup football team was named was greeted with scepticism by headteachers and academy leaders. Pepe Di'Iasio, the general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said: We are worried about the removal of an established funding stream to provide PE and sport in primary schools and its replacement with an initiative which to put it mildly is extremely complex and lacks clarity about how it will be delivered."

"It appears to be a funding cut dressed up as an initiative to boost PE and sport in schools when it may actually have the opposite effect, certainly in primaries. Leora Cruddas, the chief executive of the Confederation of School Trusts, said the lack of clarity was unhelpful for many schools that have already made plans for next year. A national programme could help in principle, but we would urge the government to delay implementation until September 2027 so that this can be properly planned for, she said."

"This would also help the sector understand how support can be extended to 3.6 million secondary school pupils at what looks like significantly reduced annual funding. The change would amount to a 40% cut in comparable funding, though the government said it had also earmarked additional capital funding of less than 200m for improving school sports."

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