School PE specialist talks to Westminster

A Loughborough lecturer has presented her research on physical education in schools at two Westminster events this month.

Dr Jo Harris from the School of Sport, Exercise and Health Sciences spoke at the Westminster Education Forum on the future for sport in schools today (Tuesday 26 November) and was the only university academic on the panel.

The forum was chaired by Rt Hon Dame Tessa Jowell MP and featured high profile speakers including Loughborough alumna Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson.

It was designed to cover key issues around sport in England's schools, including the new PE Curriculum and the impact of the youth sport strategy on securing an Olympic legacy.

Today’s event follows just two weeks after school PE specialist Dr Harris spoke at the “Improving Children's Health Outcomes: Addressing Childhood Obesity” Westminster briefing.

Dr Harris said:

“These events are a great opportunity to talk direct to policy makers and try to influence national policy. These sessions enable us to bridge the gap between research and what’s happening on the ground, and to encourage a more informed debate amongst decision makers.”

Earlier this year Dr Harris was Specialist Adviser to the Education Select Committee on School Sport following London 2012 which produced the report School sport following London 2012: No more political football this summer.

Dr Harris is Director of Teacher Education at Loughborough University. Under her leadership the University has received three consecutive ‘outstanding’ ratings from Ofsted and is a Category A provider of teacher education. The University is consistently in the top 10 of HEI providers of teacher education.

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