The Telegraph launches ‘Girls, Inspired’, a new campaign to close the gender sports gap in schools and encourage girls to keep active through sport.
The campaign puts equality and participation in school sport on the agenda with the following aims:
- To enshrine equality of opportunity in sport in the government’s School Sports Action Plan
- Campaign for new government guidelines, enforced by Ofsted, to put the benefits of PE on par with core subjects
- Encourage schools to empower girls and offer wider choice through ‘Girls Active’ and ‘This Girl Can’ schemes
Launch activity includes a range of case studies from first-person experiences of pupils at schools, as well as research and opinion from across the sports and education sector – from grassroots to elite and government.
The campaign is part of The Telegraph’s Women’s Sport, a new editorial initiative which aims to champion women’s sport and encourage female participation.
Anna Kessel, The Telegraph’s Women’s Sports editor, said: “According to the United Nations, sport has the power to change the world for women and girls. And yet in schools it is all too often treated as a second class subject on the curriculum, aimed at the “sporty” kids, and ignoring the evidence that shows girls who play sport are more likely to be high achievers in the workplace, as well as benefit from better health and wellbeing. As the newly launched Telegraph Women’s Sport initiative pledges to showcase elite sporting talent, we hope also to make an impact on grassroots sport. Generations of women and girls have been lost to sport and physical activity, it is imperative that we turn the tide and make PE a priority right now.”
Adam Sills, head of sport at The Telegraph, added: “The benefits of school sports are far reaching from mental and physical wellbeing to the positive impact it can have on academic performance. It is therefore imperative that our children and particularly our girls, are met with the support, encouragement and sufficient funding they need when it comes to school sports. We believe this campaign has the power to universally increase participation in sports, while shining a light on the systemic inequalities holding back our girls from uncovering their true sporting potential.”
Find out more about the campaign here.
Source: The Telegraph
