Coronavirus: School PE 'allowed indoors with no cap on pupils'

The U-turn is likely to be broadly welcomed by principals

Schools will be allowed to deliver physical education indoors or outdoors and with no limit on student numbers, the education minister has said.

It comes after schools were told on Monday to hold classes outside with no more than 15 students taking part.

On Tuesday, Education Minister Peter Weir said he had secured a legal change.

However he said the department would still "strongly advise" that schools limit PE to "non-contact sports".

He thanked the Department of Health and Executive Office for their help in resolving the issue "so quickly".

"The benefits of physical and sporting activities in schools are clear," he said.

Mr Weir acknowledged schools had been "concerned about the impact of the regulations on the health and well-being of their pupils".

'Confusing'

The guidance issued on Monday came two weeks after the executive placed restrictions on sport and training below elite level.

The executive measures allowed groups of no more than 15 people to engage in non-contact training outdoors.

The coronavirus restrictions also said only individual training could take place indoors.

The U-turn is likely to be welcomed by principals, some of whom had said the guidance, issued on Monday morning, was confusing and inconsistent.

"What is the difference between children in groups in the playground and being involved in a PE lesson within their class bubble?" said Chris Donnelly, head of St John the Baptist Primary School in Belfast.

"Schools are already being treated as an exception with regard to social distancing because there is a recognition that children need to be in school to learn."

In a circular issued to principals on Tuesday, the updated guidelines included:

• There is a "hierarchy of risk around physical and sporting activity" that schools should follow

• It is strongly advised that PE should be non-contact, and should be held outdoors where weather permits

• Changing rooms are "an area of increased risk" and parents should consider sending their children to school in their PE uniforms

• Schools should avoid activities which involve the sharing of equipment

• Where equipment needs to be shared, it should be sanitised and left for 72-hours before being reused

• Measures should be taken to allow for additional hand washing during PE, and that handshaking should be avoided.