The new Studio You video platform is freely available to all schools across England and features over 100 video-based, curriculum-linked PE lessons. Co-created with teenage girls and PE teachers the Studio You video platform is powered by Sport England’s This Girl Can campaign, which has inspired nearly four million women to become active since its launch in 2015.
Speaking about the need for the new platform, Kate Dale, campaign lead for This Girl Can at Sport England, commented: “Engaging teenage girls with sport and activity is notoriously challenging. But we cannot allow millions of girls to disengage at such a young age when the physical, mental and social rewards of an active lifestyle are so important. For many girls, PE at school is the only chance they have to get active – so it’s important to get the experience right for them.”
Insights from Sport England’s Secondary Teacher Training programme reveal that only 50% of teenage girls feel confident in PE compared with 72% of boys, with girls using words like ‘stressy’ and ‘repetitive’ to describe their PE lessons.
Studio You has been created to challenge these ingrained perceptions of the school PE experience by giving teachers a fresh style of resource to use, with the platform opening girls’ eyes to a wide range of sports disciplines from Combat and Fitness to Barre and Yoga. Its launch comes as new research from the Youth Sports Trust (Class of 2035), reveals that almost half (45%) of young people would like to see more use of technology in PE lessons.
Kate Dale from This Girl Can explains why it was felt that a new approach was needed: “We want Studio You to help teachers increase the confidence of the girls who might otherwise disconnect by enabling them to inject fun, choice and ownership into the PE experience. Studio You’s message is clear: getting active should be an enjoyable part of everyday life for all teenage girls and young women – not just those who excel at sport.”
As a result of insights gained from teenage girls, the Studio You platform focuses on non-traditional, non-competitive activities led by relatable young coaches. Teachers and students can select classes by duration, discipline and even by mood with four themes to choose from including Energise, Relax, Party and Focus.
Stewart Orton, director of sport from Fortismere School, one of a select group of schools trialling the new Studio You content, said: “Studio You has totally rejuvenated PE for girls at Fortismere. We have found that the lessons and wide ranging activities featured on the platform have been a significant factor in retaining our girls’ motivation for PE and keeping active. Importantly it’s given girls in our school a real sense of pride in what they’ve achieved.”
The www.studio-you.co.uk platform is freely available to all schools across England from this week.