The annual Girls Active research undertaken by the Youth Sport Trust has raised concerns at what it terms the growing “enjoyment gap” in school sport.
The study involved responses from 18,500 girls aged from 7 to 18 and finds that across all ages 64% of girls say they enjoy PE lessons compared to 86% of boys.
However, it is at secondary level where the gap becomes more pronounced. The survey finds:
- At key stage 2: 90% of boys enjoy PE compared to 83% of girls.
- At key stage 3: 84% of boys enjoy PE compared to 60% of girls.
- At key stage 4: 80% of boys enjoy PE compared to 53% of girls.
This is despite two-thirds of the girls telling researchers that they would like to be more active in school.
Furthermore, the Youth Sport Trust says that the level of girls' enjoyment of PE has dropped steadily over the past six years, whereas the enjoyment level of boys has remained “broadly consistent”. Back in 2016, 74% of girls said they enjoyed PE.
As part of its research, the Youth Sport Trust has suggested six key principles that it says underpin effective practice in engaging girls in PE, sport and physical activity (see below).
The study asked participants what the biggest barriers to PE enjoyment were and the most common among the female respondents at secondary level was having to do PE while on their period (38% cited this as a concern).
Indeed, 51% said that they had to do PE when on their period and of these 68% said they were often in pain as a result – but only 8% said they felt confident talking to their PE teacher about their period.
When asked what schools might do when students have their periods, 40% of respondents simply asked for “greater understanding and empathy” from teachers, 39% wanted to see “flexibility to participate to their ability”, while 36% wanted more comfortable PE kit options.
Other barriers for secondary girls included a lack of confidence (33%), not liking other people watching them (30%), and being worried about how they looked (29% – this compared to 9% of boys who worried about their look).
In terms of motivators, the secondary female respondents said that being with friends (62%) and having fun (61%) were by far the biggest reasons they wanted to be active at school.
In terms of activities, girls of all ages in the survey said that the top three sports of choice were trampolining, swimming and netball (see below).
Barriers and motivators: The Girls Active research highlights the 10 biggest barriers to PE and physical activity for girls as well as the 10 biggest motivators – useful information for schools (source: Youth Sport Trust)
Your choice: The survey asked girls which sport or activities they prefer to do during PE lessons (source: Youth Sport Trust)
A further area where schools might make a difference in terms of girls’ enjoyment is the kit. The study finds that 56% of the responding secondary girls would like more options of sportswear, and more comfortable kit was identified as a potential solution for girls who do PE while on their period.
Six key principles
The Youth Sport Trust says that there are six key principles that underpin effective practice in engaging girls in PE, sport and physical activity.
These have positive relationships at their core and should be supported by whole-school policies and practice. They are:
- A long-term approach to engaging girls.
- Placing developing self-confidence at the heart of PE.
- Making PE and sport relevant to girls’ lives.
- Recognising the power of friends to drive progress.
- Developing role models for the future.
- Empowering girls to design and deliver PE and sport.
The Youth Sport Trust’s Girls Active programme is intended to help schools understand what motivates girls to take part, enabling teachers to work with girls through consultation and leadership to make changes to their PE, sport and physical activity provision.
In response to the findings, Olympic pole vault bronze medallist Holly Bradshaw, who has worked on the Girls Active programme, said: “It’s not surprising but it is disappointing to see that so many girls still lack confidence to really enjoy PE and physical activity at school.
“I can really empathise with their worries about being watched and judged by others. I too have struggled with body confidence issues while competing for Team GB, particularly after facing online abuse in relation to my body shape.
“I would appeal to anyone responsible for working with young girls in sport, whether within or outside of school, to really listen to their concerns and be flexible in looking for solutions together. My particular passion is campaigning for more choice around kit, and the survey data suggests girls would like more choice too, so that they can wear something which feels most comfortable to them, allowing them to focus on the activity, and not what their body looks like.”
Ali Oliver, Youth Sport Trust chief executive, added: “We must be absolutely committed to understanding the experiences of young women and girls, how these are constantly changing in a complicated world, and be better at working with them to address the barriers they face.”
- Read the research findings and find out more about the Youth Sport Trust Girls Active programme via www.youthsporttrust.org/girls-active-national-reports-unlocked