Without funding for elite sport and a coherent plan for PE in primary schools, Britain's recent success could vanish
1. Restore funding for School Sport Partnerships and establish cross-party consensus on school sport
Under the previous network – which had the rug pulled from under it when Michael Gove scrapped the £162m ringfenced funding in 2010 – the number of children playing at least two hours of sport a week went from one in four to almost nine in 10 in eight years. Gove, forced into a partial U-turn when he guaranteed £65m but only until 2013, made the decision on ideological grounds but he should be made to swallow his pride.
2. Guarantee funding for elite sport to Rio 2016
The funding that produced the gold rush in Beijing is only confirmed until the next comprehensive spending review in 2014. To continue the trajectory of success, the government should commit for the next four years now.
3. Improve the status of coaches
In the wake of almost every Team GB victory, there has been tribute to the coaches, volunteers or teachers who first lit the spark. But they are still hopelessly undervalued. In the US and continental Europe, being a sports coach to children confers a wage and a social status commensurate with its importance. We need more practical measures to make that the case here, with more specialists in primary schools.
4. Recognise the importance of sport in primary schools and improve links between clubs and schools
The focus of the government's plan to refocus 60% of Sport England's £1bn spend over the next five years on 14- 25-year-olds is laudable. But if there is no coherent plan for PE in primary schools then it will be too late by then. It is in primary school that children develop physical literacy and learn to love exercise and games for their own sake. Dame Kelly Holmes has led calls for PE specialists in primary schools and sport as a mandatory subject. Also high on the agenda should be a drive to end the false choice between competitive sport and non-competitive exercise – both have their place — and a long overdue drive to turbocharge attempts to build better links between schools and community clubs.
5. Overhaul sports administration
It is far from a new problem, but sports administration in this country remains an alphabet soup of acronyms, overlapping responsibilities and petty emnity. They have put aside funding squabbles and personality clashes for the Games, but the danger is they will return at double the volume afterwards. Sir Keith Mills, who has just completed a review for the Department for Culture Media and Sport, will recommend starting from scratch with a single national plan across elite, grassroots and school sport. It will require genuine commitment from the prime minister and long-term promise to place sport at the heart of education, health and social policy in a way that can't be unpicked in future.