Abstract for MA research: Reconceptualising Physical Education; post humanist critique of the Out-Of-School-Hours programme of a key stage 2 junior school in Brighton.
James Gardiner
This research is the culmination of my life’s work, in trying to shine a light upon unethical and inequitable practices enabled by the out-sourcing of PE and Out- of-School- Hours (OOSH) activities operating in primary schools.
The research considers the context and political environment that has enabled this outsourcing to become so prevalent and examines the outcomes that have resulted from this approach. It considers the All Party Parliamentary Group’s, For a fit and healthy childhood, report in November 2020, titled, ‘The Primary PE and School Sport Premium’, and builds upon the questions asked around the lack of governance, due diligence and oversight of the spending of the Physical Education and School Sport funding that is allocated directly to primary schools.
My research focuses particularly upon a blind stop that has previously not been looked into: the profit generation and lack of regulation from the use of public facilities during the OOSH period.
The research focuses upon a case study of a school in Brighton, providing account of how this school is now able to generate £250,000 per year from directly providing OOSH services. One of the outcomes of their service is wrap- around childcare, but it is not the main or ultimate outcome. The school is able to implement services that enable and afford children opportunity to take part in a range of activities; ‘Play’, ‘Active’ or ‘Adventure’. In addition, the school are able to enact additional support within their wider curriculum, due to their ability to harness the income generated from OOSH, rather than it disappearing into an external organisation’s profits.
The conclusion of the research has been to set up SEWN: A Sustainable Environmental Wellbeing Network. SEWN looks to ask further questions around the use of the school’s facility, questioning how this public asset could and should be used to enable greater community focussed activities. SEWN is working to pull together academics, leaders in education, environmental experts, organisations and institutions to implement a change process that will support schools to enact the United Nations Sustainability Development Goals through community outreach and support programmes.
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MA Education – Sussex University
September 2021