How To Spend Your Primary PE and Sport Premium Effectively

Posted by EYR Team on 13th Oct 2025

child holding football on football pitch

This post was last updated in August 2025.

Update for 2025-2026: PE and Sport Premium

The Department of Education (DfE) has confirmed the PE and Sport Premium for the 2025-26 academic year with the total funding remaining at £320 million. Starting in July 2025, all primary schools receiving this funding are required to complete a new digital report detailing how this funding will be spent and the impact this will have. The Youth Sport Trust offers online webinars and toolkits to help schools undertstand this digital reporting form and prepare for their spending.

As with previous years, the Primary PE and Sport Premium will be delivered in two batches, the first in Autumn 2025 and the second in Spring 2026. These payments will be made using the same formula as previous years to ensure consistency for schools planning their PE activities.

Understanding the Primary PE and Sport Premium

The Primary PE and Sport Premium is designed to help schools to provide additional, sustainable improvements to physical education. This funding is allocated based on student numbers and must be used effectively to improve pupils' activity, skills and engagement.

Key Uses for the Funding

PE and sport provision: purchasing resources that support physical activity
Partnerships: collaborations with sports clubs or other organisations
Extra-curricular activities: such as afterschool clubs
Professional development: training staff to improve the quality of PE teaching

What the funding cannot be used for:

Staffing costs unrelated to PE
Capital expenditure
One-off events that do not contribute to sustained improvements

How to spend your PE Premium effectively.

1. Plan ahead

Before you spend your Primary PE and Sport Premium, you need to decide what the most effective way of using it will be. Create a plan of action, set goals and objectives and plan out a timeline of activities. This will help you decide how you are going to monitor the progress to make sure that you are prepared for the Ofsted assessments.

2. Focus on staff development

Invest in quality CPD, workshops and mentoring. This ensures improvements are sustainable beyond the funded year.

3. Increase opportunities for pupils

Offer a variety of sports and physical activities. Consider inclusive options, lunchtime sessions and afterschool clubs.

4. Track and report impact

Continuous reporting will help when it comes to publishing your overall spend report and outcomes.

5. Invest wisely

Make sure you are purchasing quality resources that will have a long term impact. Consider equipment that support multiple activities and can be used by various age groups.

Key factors to consider when spending your PE Premium:

Will it enhance your current selection of PE and sports activities?
Will it impact the school’s future? Is it sustainable?
Will it broaden your school’s PE and sports range? Does it offer new opportunities to pupils?
How will the children benefit from it?
Will it have a positive impact on the children's physical and mental development?
How will it impact the children’s attainment?
Will it help to children to engage in more physical activity?
Will it promote active learning in your school?
How will it contribute to the curriculum as a whole?
Will this encourage children to participate in competitive sports?
Will it help to raise the profile of PE and sports across the school as a tool for whole-school improvement?

Resources & Support

Useful links for guidance:

For a list of essential resources, take a look at some of our blog: Your essential PE equipment list for primary schools.

Our PE & Sports Equipment has been carefully selected to promote health and fitness and encourage physical activity. This selection includes a wide variety of resources for competitive sports, inclusive sports, sports day games, dance, movement, active play and much more!

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