Benefits of Physical Education & Physical Literacy

• Australia, Chile, China, Japan, Portugal and Switzerland indicated that improved overall academic performance was an outcome of PE/HE (OECD, 2019).

• Active students were the group who perceived their academic attainment to be the highest (UK Active, 2019).

• Appropriately implemented physical activity interventions can improve academic achievement (Alvarez et al, 2017).

• Participation in formal sporting activities is associated with higher grades in higher education (Munoz-Bullon et al, 2017).

• Physically active academic lessons significantly improved mathematics and spelling performance of elementary school children (Mullender-Wijnsma et al, 2015).

• The amount of moderate to vigorous physical activity pupils engaged in at age 11 had an effect on academic performance across English, maths and science at age 11, 13 and final GCSE exam results (Booth et al, 2014).

• Elementary schools with fitter children achieved better literacy and numeracy results (Telford et al, 2012).

• A positive association exists between academic attainment and physical activity levels of pupils (Public Health England, 2014, Singh et al, 2012).

• Students that received physically active lessons did 6 percent better than their peers who had received the same lessons in a seated, inactive manner (Donnelly & Lambourne, 2010).

• When a substantial proportion of curricular time (up to an extra hour per day) is allocated to physical education, physical activity or sport, learning seems to proceed more rapidly per unit of classroom time (Institute of Youth Sport, 2010).

• International research suggests that academic achievement is maintained or enhanced by increased physical education, physical activity or sport (Institute of Youth Sport, 2010).

• Female students who both enrolled in physical education and participated in vigorous physical activity lessons had significantly higher grades than students who were not engaged in any physical education lessons (Coe et al, 2006).

• A holistic physical literacy approach is a gateway to physical activity (Brown et al, 2020).

• Physical activity behaviours are manifestations of physical literacy (Cairney et al, 2019).

• Physically literate children do twice as much physical activity (Sport England, 2019).

• Physically literate people are more likely to have an improved capacity and commitment to a physical active lifestyle (Holler et al, 2019).

• Important associations between physical literacy and guideline adherence for physical activity and sedentary behaviour (Belanger et al, 2018).

• The most effective physical activity interventions on cognitive development are curriculum physical education programs and those which combine physical effort with emotional and social challenge (physical literacy) (Alvarez-Bueno et al, 2017).

• Physical literacy influences physical activity and sport participation behaviours (Edwards et al, 2017).

• Physical literacy should be viewed as an umbrella concept that captures the knowledge, skills, understandings, and values related to taking responsibility for purposeful physical activity and human movement across the life course (Dudley, 2015).

• There is a positive association between engagement in sport and physical activity and levels of mental wellbeing for young people (Sport England, 2019).

• Active students report higher mental and personal wellbeing, reduced perceptions of loneliness, and stronger perceptions of inclusion, employability, and attainment compared to inactive or fairly active students (UK Active, 2019).

• Physical activity improves concentration, improves self-confidence and reduces feelings of sadness (Department of Health, 2019).

• Regular leisure-time exercise of any intensity provides protection against future depression. Relatively modest changes in population levels of exercise may have important public mental health benefits and prevent a substantial number of new cases of depression (Harvey et al, 2018).

• Physical activity is positively related to academic performance due to its impact on self-esteem and reduction of depression (Kayani et al, 2018).

• Both physical activity and fitness are impacted by depression and stress may contribute to strategies directed towards achieving enhanced physical activity and reductions in obesity (Olive et al, 2016).

• There is a positive association between physical activity and several components of mental health, including self-esteem, emotive well-being, spirituality and future expectations (Institute of Youth Sport, 2010).

• Physical activity has a positive impact on anxiety, depression, mood and wellbeing (Institute of Youth Sport, 2010).

• Physical literacy is important in helping us lead healthy and fulfilling lives (Keegan et al, 2019).

• Physical literacy development can increase motivation to be physically active (Telford et al, 2019).

• Children who have all five elements of physically literacy report higher levels of happiness, are more trusting of other children, and report higher levels of resilience (Sport England, 2019).

• Children’s physical literacy impacts not only the amount of activity they do, but also how much they benefit from this activity (Sport England, 2019).

• Physical activity reduced anti-social behaviour, including aggressive and disruptive actions (Department of Health, 2019).

• Physical activity helps to develop cooperation and teamwork skills (Department of Health, 2019).

• Physical activity is a potential solution to increasing behavioural engagement, and in turn stimulating and enhancing learning (Harvey et al, 2018).

• Classroom-based physical activity had a positive effect on improving on-task and reducing off-task classroom behaviour (Watson et al, 2017).

• The inclusion of cognitively engaging physical activity breaks can enhance school children’s cognitive functions (Egger et al, 2019).

• Brief breaks for physical activity improve student time on task and effects persist for at least 45 min (Maykel et al, 2018).

• Positive effects were found for physical activity on executive functions, attention and academic performance in preadolescent children (de Greeff et al, 2018).

• Regular participation in quality physical education and other forms of physical activity can improve a child’s attention span, enhance their cognitive control and speed up their cognitive processing (UNESCO, 2015).

• Physical activity had a positive effect on the Year Two students’ classroom on-task behaviour (Herman et al, 2013).

• Physically fitter children have different brain structures to less physically fit children; e.g. greater bilateral hippocampal volumes, and larger basal ganglia (Chaddock et al, 2010, 2012).

• Perceptual skills, attention, and concentration are all improved by a bout of physical activity (Institute of Youth Sport, 2010).

• Students who participated in classroom-based physical activities that incorporate academic concepts demonstrate improvements in attention-to-task (Mahar, 2011).

• Children who participated in a weekly after school physical activity program over 9 months showed increases in working memory compared to those who didn’t (Kamijo et al, 2011).

• A positive relationship exists between physical activity and cognition (Institute of Youth Sport, 2010).

• The physical activity portion of a physical education lessons may facilitate immediate and delayed memory (Pesce et al, 2010).

• After physical activity children have a more intense response within the brain than children who had been sitting – they were also able to respond to test questions with more accuracy and complete learning tasks faster and more accurately (Hillman et al, 2009).

• For children and young people (5 to 17 years), being physically active every day for more than 60 minutes can have health benefits such as:

- Promotion of healthy growth and development.

- Strong muscles and bones.

- Improved physical fitness, including coordination and movement skills.

- Reduced risk of disease and unhealthy weight gain.

- Improved flexibility, balance and posture.

- Development of vital brain connections, leading to improved concentration and thinking skills.

- Reduced likelihood to develop chronic diseases, such as heart disease and type 2 diabetes. (Department of Health, 2019; Health Direct 2020).

• Active students (16+) were the most confident that they would be employed within 6 months of graduating and rated themselves higher on employability skills (UK Active, 2019).

• Sport had more of an impact on improving student wellbeing than other extra-curricular activities (such as drama and music) (Clough, 2019).