Meeting of the Parliament 06 March 2024 [Draft]
I want to take a bit of a different tack and look at the issue through a wider lens.
On Sunday, I had the great privilege of being at the world championship coaches club, where I got to speak to and listen to some of the best coaches in the world. We got on to the topic of the impact of sport on our society and the common issues that we face. Sometimes, we look at such problems as though we are the only ones who are facing them. They talked about the reduction in access to facilities, the ever-increasing screen time that our kids have and the influence of social media, all of which are impacting behaviour.
One of the top coaches sent me the following email from a parent who encourages her daughter to participate. I will read it out, because it encapsulates far better than I could the part that sport plays in our children’s development. She said:
“People always asked ‘Why do you pay so much money for your kid to do sports?’ Well I have a confession to make; I don’t pay for my kid to do sports. Personally, I couldn’t care less about what sport she does.
So, if I am not paying for sports what am I paying for?
I pay for those moments when my kid becomes so tired she wants to quit but doesn’t.
I pay for those days when my kid comes home from school and is ‘too tired’ to go to her training but she goes anyway.
I pay for my kid to learn to be disciplined, focused and dedicated.
I pay for my kid to learn to take care of her body and learn how to correctly fuel her body for success.
I pay for my kid to learn to work with others and to be a good team mate, gracious in defeat and humble in success.
I pay for my kid to learn to deal with disappointment, when they don’t get that placing or title they’d hoped for, but still they go back week after week giving it their best shot.
I pay for my kid to learn to make and accomplish goals.
I pay for my kid to respect, not only themselves, but others, officials, judges and coaches.
I pay for my kid to learn that it takes hours and hours, years and years of hard work and practice to create a champion and that success does not happen overnight.
I pay for my kid to be proud of small achievements, and to work towards long term goals.
I pay for the opportunity my child has and will have to make life-long friendships, create lifelong memories, to be as proud of her achievements as I am.
I pay so that my child can be in the gym instead of in front of a screen ...
I pay for those rides home where we make precious memories talking about practice, both good and bad.
I pay so that my child can learn the importance of time management and balancing what is important like school and keeping grades up ... I could go on but, to be short, I don’t pay for sports; I pay for the opportunities that sports provides my kid with to develop attributes that will serve her well throughout her life and give her the opportunity to bless the lives of others. From what I have seen so far I think it is a great investment!”
When we consider solutions to escalating school violence, we have to stop talking about it as if it is an issue in isolation. Our education cluster—which is led by my colleague Liam Kerr—has been discussing how we can tackle a combination of issues at school, such as poor behaviour, poor physical and mental health, lack of attainment, hunger and malnutrition. Malnutrition can be a very different issue from hunger. All of those issues are linked. I put forward the idea that we should offer activity prior to the traditional start of the school day. It does not matter what that activity is. It could be physical activity, music, art, drama or even software writing for video games—anything that captures pupils’ imaginations. While pupils are participating, we could tell them, “By the way, there’s breakfast over there.”
I ran that idea past the NASUWT union on Saturday, at a fringe event that was hosted by my colleague Liam Kerr, and it agreed that it would be a significant intervention. Would it cost money? Of course, it would cost money. Would doing it prevent many of the issues that we currently have to foot the bill for? Absolutely. It is time to get out of the silos and start thinking about long-term strategic solutions. I am afraid that, without appropriate nutrition, activity and interest, it will not matter what we do in the classroom—issues such as school violence will prevail. It is the school environment that needs to change, not the curriculum.
15:17