PE, School Sport & Physical Activity

We are committed to supporting Schools, Headteachers and Physical Education coordinators across Hertfordshire to work towards developing happy, healthy, physically literate and active young people through high-quality physical education, physical activity and school sport.

By developing an environment where activity, sport and inclusion are embedded into the daily lives of our children and young people (CYP), activity levels can increase and sport and physical activity can become a habit to foster healthy adult lives.

Hertfordshire School Games

The School Games aims to provide every child in year 3 to 13 across all educational settings with a positive experience in an environment where their motivation, competence and confidence are at the centre of the competition, removing barriers and improving access for those in greatest need. The School Games programme has evolved, concentrating on Tackling inequalities, Physical Literacy and Youth Engagement.

The School Games is a fun and enjoyable way of engaging all young people through school sport and physical activity - either as a competitor, participant, young leader, official, or as part of a media team.

Hertfordshire School Games events take place under one of the 3 categories – Compete. Aspire & Develop. Inspire & Engage to ensure all young people are able to access competitions and events at the right level to ensure maximum enjoyment and a positive experience.

The School Games are overseen by our team of School Games Organisers.

Annual PE Conference and CPD

Sport England's Strategy: 'Uniting the Movement' identifies the need to create positive experiences for children and young people to be active, specifically at an early age - helping to build the foundations of a healthy and more active lifestyle and the development of physically literate children.

Our annual PE Conference is aimed at:

• Headteachers
• Teachers, Teaching assistants, coaches and instructors involved in the teaching of Physical Education, School Sport and Physical activity   

The conference has been developed to focus specifically on how we can support schools to ensure children and young people have safe, enjoyable opportunities to be active as well as learn and develop.

The full day comprises of keynote addresses followed by a choice of practical and theoretical workshops to learn more about the focus areas that are most relevant to their professional and school needs. There is also a marketplace and opportunities to network with colleagues

Follow the link to check out Hertfordshire's Primary PE Conference 2025

Headteacher Advocates

Our Headteacher Advocate group was established in 2015 and currently consists of 12 Primary Headteachers from across the county. The Advocates influence and inform the future direction and strategy for Physical Education and School Sport within the Herts Sport & Physical Activity Partnership and Youth Sport Trust. The three key objectives pf the Headteacher advocates are :

• To champion the importance of Physical Education, physical activity and sport in their own school
• To advocate and influence, locally and nationally, with school leaders and policy makers, for the impact that high quality Physical Education and sport can have on young people and on whole school outcomes
• To attend meetings (max 4 a year) and advise the Hertfordshire Sport and Physical Activity Partnership and Youth Sport Trust  on the challenges facing schools and to help us ensure that our work remains at the cutting edge

Active Lives

Sport England launched the school-based  Active lives survey in September 2017 to measure engagement in, and attitudes to, sport and physical activity among children and young people in school Years 1-11. The Survey is run by Sport England in partnership with the Department for Education (DfE), the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) and the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS).

The Herts Sport & Physical Activity Partnership has been tasked with administering the Active Lives Children and Young People survey within Hertfordshire. Schools are chosen to participate at random, and within that school there will be three different year groups selected.  We provide each school with all the information needed to complete the survey

Once pupils have completed the surveys, the school is awarded credits which can be used to purchase sports equipment. This year's offer includes well-being resources to support schools' COVID recovery phase.

Inclusion support within the Educational Sector

The Active Sports Partnership continues to work collaboratively with the Youth Sport Trust’s Inclusion 2024/25 Leads for Hertfordshire based out of Pinewood School in Ware.

One of the key outcomes of the YST Inclusion 2024/25 Lead Schools is to network with several partners across their County to tackle inequalities that exist for children and young people; by ensuring they have access to inspiring and meaningful play, Physical Education and school sport opportunities.

Funded by the DfE and Sport England this Network acts as Enablers, Advocates, Advisors and provides CPD-training, advice and guidance. Works with the Herts SGO’s to ensure the School Games provides inclusive opportunities for all young people. Champions Youth Voice and supports the development of leadership via the Herts Inclusion Champions programme

Useful Resources: YST Lead Inclusion School Poster

Leadership and Volunteering

Over many years HSP has worked closely with Educational and Sporting Futures Sports Apprentices programme, and also supported the Youth Sport Trust’s Leadership, Coaching & Volunteering (LCV) lead’s Herts Schools Coaching Academy and the School Games organisers  

Our aim is to support and develop young leaders through upskilling and by providing a pathway to future volunteering roles, either in school or in the community.

The SGO’s deliver leadership opportunities across their areas and deploy the young leaders for their local School Games events. Following some additional specific training some of the leaders are also able to support the County School Games events.

HSP promotes additional training opportunities to the young leaders including Coach education week encouraging the young people to access relevant courses