“I forgot my kit”: Poverty Proofing© school sports

With Summer Term upon us, colourful cones and team vests are being prepared for playgrounds and fields across the country. From Sports Day to team activities, sports are an important part of the school day. However, they can also be a key space for inequality to develop, with kit costs, equipment and travel making participation more difficult for children living in poverty. In this article Craig Watson, Poverty Proofing Co-Ordinator at Children North East, shares best practice guidance on creating inclusive school sports.

School sports are an essential part of pupils’ experience being missed

Physical activity has numerous benefits for children and young people’s physical health, as well as their mental wellbeing, and children who are physically active are happier, more resilient and more trusting of their peers. [1]

For these reasons, amongst others, PE is a statutory part of the National Curriculum for Maintained schools in England, with the DfE recommending at least 90 minutes of physical exercise in Primary and Secondary each week. Yet, despite the many positives, some pupils are missing out on these opportunities due to living in poverty.

PE kits are an extension of uniform with their own challenges

During my own time in school, I enjoyed PE, but even as a child I noticed it seemed to be the same children each week forgetting their kit or having an excuse for why they couldn’t do PE. I assumed they just didn’t like PE, and maybe it was as simple as that, but now looking back at it from the view of a Poverty Proofing Coordinator, I understand there is often a deeper reason.

When we work with schools conducting Poverty Proofing© audits, one of the areas that we look at is uniform and, within that, PE kits. We look to find out what the children feel and experience around the rules of PE kits and the consequences for not having it, from being able to borrow kit to not being able to participate in the lesson.

For some children, yes it may be a case that they can be forgetful and occasionally they forget their kit, but what if it is more than that? When a pattern arises, questions schools can reflect on include:

• What if that child is saying they have forgotten their kit because their family can’t actually afford to buy the PE kit?
• What if that child has a PE kit but it is old and ripped and through fear of embarrassment they would rather say ‘I forgot my kit’ than wear it?
• What if their PE kit is dirty but there isn’t enough money in the house to get the washing machine fixed, and saying ‘I don’t have my PE shirt’ is easier than explaining that?

Taking the Poverty Proofing© approach to PE kits

At Children North East, we suggest that when pupils are not in the correct uniform, including PE kit, it should be taken as an indication that there may be difficulties at home and this should be used as an opportunity to offer support rather than sanction.

There are many ways to support children and their families, and we have seen many examples of fantastic practice in our work across UK schools. Lots of schools are trying to remove the shame and stigma around not having the correct PE kit by changing policies to avoid the need for school-branded equipment or by using it as an opportunity to speak to the child. Feedback from pupils at these schools have included:

• “If it’s repetitive they would just talk to you rather than tell you off.”Pupil
• “They always have spares so you don’t need to worry.”Pupil
• “I love the fact that uniform [and PE kit] doesn’t have to be branded as this can reduce the cost.” Parent

 

 

 

How to implement best practice in your school

Relaxed kit rules

These quotes show that you don’t have to re-invent the wheel to make PE in school more inclusive for all. Having a more relaxed kit can be one of the most supportive ways schools can help families and children partake in PE. Many schools are now doing this; encouraging children to try and wear either the PE kit or plain clothing that, if possible, matches the school colours (i.e if the school kit is a branded blue t-shirt, make it clear that plain blue is equally appropriate).

Communicate with parents

Some schools do this but do not communicate it clearly with families. Updated wording on uniform policies can be helpful and uniform policies on school websites should make it clear that plain clothing is more than suitable. Some parents we have spoken with found that it can be hard to find plain clothes that match the correct shade of school uniform and so to avoid embarrassment they would buy the branded school wear. One method to get around this would be to adjust school PE tops to be white. Plain white t-shirts are readily available and there would then be no concern around finding the correct shade.

Promote a no logo approach

The one caveat to having a policy like this is to re-enforce the idea that clothes with large logos should be avoided, as this is a way of highlighting financial differences and can put the pressure back that the school is trying to remove.

Reduce the stress and stigma of spare kit

Another important practice schools can do is to ensure the quality, range and presentation of spare kit is to a good standard. Although many schools since the pandemic have been more cautious about handing out spares, having a good standard of spare clothing can help reduce the stigma around using these, I remember myself the dread of trying to find a pair of shorts from lost property that hopefully resembled some sort of appropriate size without holes or stains on them!

Some schools choose to have a central location for all spare kit where it can be effectively managed and maintained and some choose to have individual class spares.

Each have their merits and downfalls and it’s all about what works best for your school. A central location can be great as these will often have a larger range of sizes accessible and can be easier to manage but depending on its location within school, it can make it obvious who is regularly accessing them and daunting for children to go there. Alternatively, spares in class can be much subtler but can sometimes lack a range of sizes and finding space to keep a well organised bank of spares is not always possible.

Schools work incredibly hard to support their children and would never intentionally want to highlight or embarrass someone living in poverty, but next time you hear a child say “Teacher, I’ve forgot my kit again,” think; is it just because it’s a rainy Monday morning and they don’t want to do PE, or could it be something more?

[1] PE and sport premium for primary schools, GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)