According to the UK Green Party website the Green Party will try to achieve the following if they gain power at the 2010 general election:

CMS840 Participation in physical activities such as sport is a very important part of children’s development. Because many sports require special facilities, equipment, or the participation of large teams, they can be things which children or parents will be unable to properly organise for themselves. Schools therefore have an important role in first introducing children to a wide range of sporting activities.

CMS841 Sport in school should not be treated in the same way as other lessons. Since it can involve setting up equipment and getting to and from playing locations, all of which take time, sports are likely to suffer if they are timetabled into a school day just like any other lesson. Instead, they should be given sufficient time to make them meaningful. This may be achieved by extending the school day and increasing resources specifically to enable sporting and physical activities.

CMS842 Schools should be aiming to provide a full, unbroken half day per week of sport for every child, in addition to daily opportunities for physical exercise. All sports should be open to all children and all children should be expected to participate in some sporting activity appropriate to their needs.

CMS843 Schools should seek to form ties with local sporting clubs (either amateur or professional) in order to share facilities, gain coaching assistance and provide pupils with an easier route to taking up these sports outside school.

CMS844 School playing fields should be protected from development through rigourous planning controls. All new schools should include sufficient indoor and outdoor facilities to ensure that all pupils can be accommodated.

CMS845 School sports facilities should be open for access by local clubs and teams outside teaching hours to ensure maximum use of a valuable resource. This would apply to all types of school however funded. In addition, as noted in ED320, community resources should be fully integrated into the educational system.

I would be interested to hear both positive and negative views on UK Green Party’s Sport in School policies in the comments below?