ParalympicsGB Demand Access to Sport in Schools with Equal Play Campaign

Call for Grassroots Parity after Record-Breaking Success in Paris

It’s been quite a summer for ParalympicsGB and the 215 British athletes who proved their skills on the global stage at the Paris 2024 Paralympics. But the organisation are calling for change as it’s revealed that just one in four disabled children have access to sport at school.

Collectively, ParalympicsGB won 124 medals across 18 of the 19 sports they competed in: 49 gold, 44 silver and 31 bronze. Within those numbers are reflected historic-best results in rowing, triathlon and taekwondo. For the third consecutive Paralympics, Great Britain finish second on the medal table, behind the huge talent pool of China.

Surely such impressive breadth and depth of sports performance stands as solid proof that Great Britain must be doing something right when it comes to disability sport. Right? Well - sort of.

Great Britain boasts a robust performance system which provides competitive pathways for disabled athletes and fosters potential Paralympic talent. But it’s a different story on the participation side of disability sport in schools.

Ahead of the Games’ commencement, Channel 4 released their ‘Equal Play’ documentary on 26th August, produced by the Emmy-winning Harder Than You Think. It follows school-children Marley and Tammy as they navigate various barriers in their pursuit of boxing and wheelchair racing respectively.

Equestrian Paralympians Natasha Baker and Georgia Wilson sign the = symbol of the Equal Play campaign with their bronze medals in Paris. Photo: imagecomms.

As the medals came rolling in on every day of the Games, which ran from 28th August to 8th September, ParalympicsGB launched its ‘Equal Play’ campaign on 5th of September, calling for equal access to P.E. and school sport for disabled children.

Following its launch, British Paralympians took to striking a pose resembling an equal sign to show their support for the campaign both on and off the podium. Before disabled athletes’ feet, prosthetics or wheels had even touched back down on British soil, ParalympicsGB penned an open letter to Sir Kier Starmer, demanding action to address the inequality in school sport.

Why? Because just one in four disabled children say they regularly take part in sport at school.

One in four. Disabled children make up 15% of the school population. That means 1.5 million disabled children being sidelined in their day-to-day lives. Research conducted by ParalympicsGB found that some of the main reasons for sports exclusion in schools are a lack of teacher training or resources to deliver inclusive P.E. lessons, a poor perception of the importance of P.E. in the school curriculum, and a lack of disabled representation within the teaching profession.

Paralympic swimmers Grace Harvey and Callie-Ann Warrington make the Equal Play sign at the Paris Paralympics. Photo: ParalympicsGB.

ParalympicsGB are calling on the British government to change the story. Chief Executive Dave Clarke said:

“Sport and P.E. at school needs to be a statutory right for all children and the people delivering it need to have the support, education and training to deliver it inclusively. Play is fundamental to children’s happiness, allowing them to have fun whilst they develop motor skills, build confidence, and improve physical and mental health.”

“The launch of Equal Play, following the incredible film which highlights the issue so well, is a critical step in creating the necessary change that delivers on our mission for equal access to school sport for all disabled children.”

“As a sports team with a social purpose, ParalympicsGB will continue to celebrate our talented athletes competing at Paris 2024, while encouraging the UK Government to seize this unique opportunity to shift the dial so that by the LA 2028 Paralympic Games, no disabled child is left on the sidelines.”