Sport policy and English primary physical education: the role of professional football clubs in outsourcing

Parnell, Daniel; Cope, Ed; Bailey, Richard; Widdop, Paul

Abstract

Sports policy in England has led to considerable recent investment in Primary Physical Education (PE) via the ‘PE and Sport Premium’. An outcome of this has been growth in the outsourcing - handing over control of services to external agencies - of PE, including sport coaches from professional football clubs’ community programmes. Despite the growing research on healthy stadia, we know very little about the work the done by community arms of professional clubs in relation to delivering Primary PE. This article discusses the challenges of outsourcing PE to coaches who work for professional football clubs, whilst offering some evidence related to the employment and development of sports coaches. Given that the evidence of sport coaches’ involvement in Primary PE is limited and that funding and outsourcing it likely to continue In England until (at least) 2020, it is important and timely to discuss critically the role of professional football clubs within the current sport policy.

Citation

Parnell, D., Cope, E., Bailey, R., & Widdop, P. (2017). Sport policy and English primary physical education: the role of professional football clubs in outsourcing. Sport in Society, 20(2), 292-302. https://doi.org/10.1080/17430437.2016.1173911

• Acceptance Date: Apr 1, 2016
• Online Publication Date: Apr 18, 2016
• Publication Date: Feb 1, 2017
• Deposit Date: Apr 4, 2016
• Publicly Available Date: Apr 18, 2016
• Journal: Sport in society : cultures, commerce, media, politics
• Print ISSN: 1743-0437
• Electronic ISSN: 1743-0445
• Publisher: Routledge
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 20
• Issue: 2
• Pages: 292-302
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/17430437.2016.1173911
• Keywords: Sport policy, Primary, PE, Outsourcing, Coaches
• Public URL: https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/434867
• Publisher URL: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17430437.2016.1173911
• Additional Information: This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Sport in society : cultures, commerce, media, politics on 18/04/2016, available online: http://wwww.tandfonline.com/10.1080/17430437.2016.1173911