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Marketing to primary schools: What is the PE and sport premium?

Topics: Education Insights Email Marketing
Michael McVerry
Michael McVerry Managing Director 24 January 2025

There are close correlations between young people’s personal and academic development, and their health and fitness. However, not all pupils have access to opportunities in sport and therefore lose out on the physical and mental benefits of regular exercise.

To support children’s wellbeing, the government encourages all schools to provide two hours of PE and sport per week. And eligible primary schools can use the PE and sport premium to offer 60 minutes of physical activity.

Image of school children on a sports field.

According to the DfE website, the PE and sport premium should be used by schools to;

  • “Make additional and sustainable improvements to the PE, sport and physical activity they provide.”
  • “Provide or improve equal access to sport for boys and girls.”
  • “Ensure teachers have the relevant skills and knowledge to confidently teach PE in a structured way, prioritising continued professional development (CPD) and training where needed”.

Schools teaching primary-age learners receive this money, with the exception of independent schools, studio schools and university technical colleges.

In summary, schools with 16 or fewer learners will receive £1,000 per pupil. Schools with 17 or more will receive £16,000 plus £10 per pupil. So, a school with 200 learners would receive a total of £18,000.

Curious to learn more about school finances? Take a look at our schools finances factsheet.

If you sell to schools, and your services fit in the sports and physical activity category, you’ve got an opportunity to grow your network of primary school customers.

Eligible schools have ringfenced money that can only be spent on items related to physical activity and sport. So where you can demonstrate genuine added value – that supports schools in achieving their target of offering 60 minutes of activity per week – you’ve got the starting point of a conversation.

So, who should you contact? Typically in primary schools, responsibility for the PE and sport premium will lie with the Head Teacher or the PE Coordinator.

In larger schools, Deputy Head Teachers or Assistant Head Teachers may also be involved in the decision making process.

To maximise your reach, send your campaigns to all the relevant job roles, and where you don’t have direct email addresses, simply add ‘FAO: PE Coordinator’ to ensure your message gets passed to the right person.

Children playing football on a green field.

It’s important to note that schools receive their funding in 2 blocks during the year. As of 2024/25, payments are made as follows;

State schools

7/12 of the funding allocation on 31 October 2024

5/12 of the funding allocation on 30 April 2025
Academy Schools

7/12 of the funding allocation on 8 November 2024

5/12 of the funding allocation on 9 May 2025
Special Schools

7/12 of the funding allocation on 18 December 2024

5/12 of the funding allocation on 18 April 2025

There’s clear value in timing your marketing communications around these key dates. Just remember, schools are aware this funding comes in and they’ll prepare for it in advance – especially if they’re considering a change of strategy or supplier. That’s why there’s value in starting conversations at different times throughout the year so teachers can factor in using this funding to purchase your products.

You can find more info about the PE and sport premium on the Government website.

Now that you’ve refreshed your knowledge of the PE and sport premium, take some time to fine-tune your marketing strategy. Are you sending your campaigns at the right times? Are you delivering campaigns to the right contacts? Do you have a long-term education marketing strategy in place?

Whether your answer’s yes or no to the questions above, we’re here to help you get the most out of your education campaigns and help you generate more leads in your chosen schools.