Many children do not get enough exercise, and there are also concerns about children's motor development. In 2020, a law was passed to get children moving more at school, at the very least. This law stipulates that, starting in the 2023/2024 school year, primary schools must provide at least 90 minutes of physical education per week, taught by a qualified specialist or class teacher.

Not much better

Research in 2020/2021 showed that just under half of schools still did not meet the statutory requirement. Three years later, the situation is still not much better, as shown by the report presented by the Mulier Institute, ‘From law to reality – Physical education in primary schools’, by Sofie Vreeswijk, Marthe Westerbroek, Lisa Wilderink and Amika Singh. Schools find it particularly difficult to meet the statutory standards in groups 1 and 2.

Physical education in good hands

The good news is that schools are now doing very well at having qualified class teachers or specialist teachers teach physical education. This went well at 92 percent of the schools surveyed by the researchers during the past school year. Around one in four school leaders and specialist teachers indicate that the statutory standard is not being met because no gymnasium is available. Almost one-third complain about an overly full lesson timetable.

Little urgency to comply with the law

It is also striking that many of the school leaders and specialist teachers who do not yet meet the requirements indicate that they have few intentions of addressing the obstacles. One-third of school leaders and one-quarter of specialist teachers say that their school management is not actively working on this.

Recommendations

The report concludes with recommendations that can serve as guidance for schools and policymakers to ensure that more primary schools in the Netherlands comply with the recent legislative amendment.

Schools

  • Make room in the lesson timetable.
  • Ensure more qualified specialist or class teachers in groups 1–2.
  • Work together and share knowledge with other schools.
  • Monitor and evaluate progress.

Policymakers

  • Focus policy on providing sufficient facilities for physical education.
  • Gain insight into opportunities for more specialist physical education teachers.
  • Provide support to schools that cannot meet the statutory requirement.