Olympic legacy: school sports provision patchy across UK, admits Jeremy Hunt
More money need at primary level, says minister after BOA chair calls for reform of school sports policy to increase participation.
School sports provision is patchy in some places at the moment, the culture secretary, Jeremy Hunt, has admitted.
To continue the British successes of the London Olympics, it is important to ensure best practice is followed around the country, and to have more investment at primary school level, he said.
His comments follow Lord Moynihan's call for a major increase in government funding to build on the success of Team GB at the 2012 Games.
The British Olympic Association chairman accused the current and previous governments of "treading water" in terms of increasing participation.
Moynihan, a former sports minister under Margaret Thatcher, claimed school sport policy is "bureaucratic" and needs more money to fund a major expansion.
He said: "There is a need for radical reform and I am calling for more money. There needs to be a total commitment to ensuring a sports participation legacy that has to focus on schools and clubs.
"For seven years successive governments have been treading water.
"We have tens of thousands of kids watching great moments which will live with them for ever. The government should step up to the mark."
Hunt told BBC Breakfast: "I think at the moment school sport provision is patchy in some places, and we need to do what we can to make sure that the very best examples are spread throughout the whole country, and this is absolutely going to be a focus over the next few months and one of the things that we really want to take away from these Games."
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... (The Guardian - 6 August)