Schools: get the most from your PE and Sports Premium 

Most primary schools in England are eligible to receive a PE and Sports premium. This is a grant that aims to help schools make improvements to their PE and sports provision. The goal of this grant is to encourage pupils to develop a health, active lifestyle. In total the PE and Sports premium makes up £320 million of government funding that is available to schools. 

For the year 2024 to 2025, the amounts payable will be: 

• schools with 16 or fewer eligible pupils will receive £1,000 per pupil 

• schools with 17 or more eligible pupils will receive £16,000 and an additional payment of £10 per pupil 

Often this funding is used by schools to hire external sports coaches for a short period of time, however, there may be a more efficient way to utilise this funding. While this funding cannot be used to employ a teaching assistant directly, through Inspire ATA’s hosting model, schools are able to secure teaching assistants using their PE and Sports Premium. 

Inspire ATA’s unique model allows schools to host teaching assistant apprentices while Inspire ATA acts as the employer. Not only does this help schools hire without impacting budgets, reduce admin cost and paperwork, but it also means that these teaching assistants now count as external contractors similar to hiring external sports coaches. 

The Inspire ATA model also allows schools to hire apprentices for short term engagements (minimum 3 months) so schools can hire teaching assistants based on their needs whether it’s hiring for term time only or for the full length of the apprenticeship programme. 

This arrangement makes for a more efficient use of the PE and Sports premium by allowing schools to spend this grant on a regular teaching staff addition to their school while adhering to the requirements of the grant. 

Inspire ATA provide a specific Level 3 Teaching Assistant Sports Pathway programme that focuses on PE and Sports education, as well as a Level 4 Sports Coach qualification to support the need for qualified PE professionals. 

Are you interested in learning more about how your organisation can utilise your PE and Sports premium through Inspire ATA?  

Book a discovery call with a member of the team today!