Commenting on the press comments by Damian Hinds MP which seek to blame the NASUWT’s action short of strike action for the decline in school sporting activities, Chris Keates, General Secretary of the NASUWT, the largest teachers’ union, said:

“These comments only serve to demonstrate how desperate the Government is now that the detrimental impact its education policies and funding cuts are having on school sport has been exposed.

“Selectively quoting from the NASUWT action instructions is just clutching at straws in an attempt to divert attention from the fact that one of the first acts of this Government was to slash the funding for the School Sport Trust networks as part of the Chancellor’s first tranche of cuts.

“This was followed by the unilateral decision to include the English Baccalaureate subjects in school performance tables which, virtually overnight, drove schools to reduce staff and teaching time in non-EBacc subjects, including PE.

“Add…