Primary PE People & Provision 4/7 – Stay In The Driving Seat: Smart Questions To Ask Before You Choose A PE Provider

Before you talk timetables, talk purpose.

Key questions to ask:

• “How do you see your role in our whole school vision for PE, sport and physical activity?”
• “What three things do you want to be able to say we’ve achieved together after one year?”
• “Can you share examples of how you’ve supported other schools beyond just ‘covering PE lessons’?”

What you’re listening for:

• Do they talk about your context and priorities, or only about their products?
• Do they understand Ofsted language, whole child development and your wider improvement plan – or just pitch clubs and provision hours?

A strong partner should be able to articulate how they will help move your school from where you are now to where you want to be.

Many offers look bespoke on the surface – but underneath, it’s the same model in every school.

Questions to ask:

• “How do you assess our current PE provision before recommending a package?”
• “What flexibility do we have to shape the programme around our pupils, staff and priorities?”
• “Can you give an example of how you adapted your offer for two very different schools?”

Red flags:

• Fixed “bronze/silver/gold” packages with little room to manoeuvre.
• Vague promises of “tailoring” with no clear process for listening, planning or review.

You’re looking for a partner who designs with you, not just sells to you.

Hours delivered is not impact. Smiles in a brochure is not impact.

Ask:

• “What outcomes do you track beyond attendance and participation?”
• “How do you gather evidence of impact on children’s physical, mental, social and personal development?”
• “How often will we sit down together to review progress, and what data will we look at?”

Look for:

• Clear, realistic measures (e.g. confidence, engagement, teacher confidence in PE, activity levels) – not just “x hours delivered”.
• A commitment to shared evaluation, not a one off end of year report you can’t influence.

If they can’t tell you how they’ll prove value, you’ll struggle to defend the spend.

A sustainable PE offer leaves your school stronger, not more dependent.

Many schools use external PE provision to provide PPA time, and there’s nothing wrong with that—it’s a legitimate use of the PPA budget that benefits teachers. The key is ensuring that the PPA hour is as high-quality as any other lesson. At ActiveMe 360, we design our sessions to be curriculum-aligned, progressive, and impactful whether they’re providing PPA time, additional specialist provision, or supporting and mentoring teachers in line with national expectations for PE and school sport – both under the current PE and Sport Premium and as the system transitions to the new PE and School Sport Partnerships Network from 2027. The question isn’t “Should we use PE for PPA?” but rather “Is the PE being delivered during PPA time genuinely excellent?”

So ask:

• “How do you build the confidence and competence of our staff alongside delivering sessions?”
• “How will you support teachers to deliver the second hour of PE each week, so both hours meet the national curriculum requirement and work together to build progression?”
• “If our budget reduced in three years’ time, what would we still have gained from working with you?”

You want to hear about:

• Practical models: team teaching, CPD twilights, planning support, shared assessment.
• A clear plan for making sure teacher led PE is high quality, consistent and connected to the coached hour – not an afterthought.
• A mindset of “building your internal capacity”, not just securing next year’s contract.

If the only answer to “What will be different for our staff?” is “They’ll have more time out of class”, that’s a benefit, but it’s not legacy on its own. Real legacy is when teachers feel more confident, the second hour of PE is stronger, and pupils see their progress building week on week.

Great partnerships fall down on poor communication.

Ask:

• “Who will be our named contact, and how often will we speak?”
• “What does your onboarding process look like before your staff start in school?”
• “How do you handle issues or concerns raised mid term?”

Notice:

• Do they offer regular check ins, visits or reviews as standard – or only “if there’s a problem”?
• Is there a clear structure for feedback both ways, or does everything funnel through one busy admin inbox?

You’re looking for a partner who sees honest feedback as a normal part of the relationship, not a threat.

Children need consistency. Schools need stability. Life happens.

Press on:

• “What happens if a coach is off sick or leaves mid year?”
• “How do you ensure continuity of quality when staff change?”
• “Is our curriculum and children’s development tied to individual coaches, or to your organisation’s planning, systems and approach?”

Reassuring signs:

• A clear, written procedure for cover and transition.
• Shared schemes of work, assessment approaches and planning that belong to the company, not to one charismatic coach.
• A willingness to act quickly if something isn’t working, without pupils feeling like they’re starting from scratch every time a face changes.

If the whole offer depends on “that one brilliant coach”, your risk is high. If the curriculum, expectations and culture are owned by the organisation, children’s progress doesn’t hinge on one person.

You’re not being “awkward” – you’re safeguarding your pupils’ experience and your staff’s trust.

Budgets are tight. You’re entitled to clarity – and to think beyond the cheapest quote.

Ask directly:

• “Can you break down what is included – and not included – in this price?”
• “Are there any additional costs for training, festivals, report writing or resources?”
• “If we invest more, what additional impact could we expect – not just more hours?”
• “Where do you see the main risks for schools who choose the lowest cost option?”

Cheaper isn’t automatically better. In fact, in PE provision, “cheap” can mean:

• Higher staff turnover.
• Less training and quality assurance.
• Thinner safeguarding and SEND support.

It’s a bit like buying a car. You can go for the very cheapest option on the forecourt – but you know you’re probably accepting:

• More breakdowns.
• Higher running costs.
• Less safety if something goes wrong.

With PE, the “running costs” are your time firefighting problems, the hidden cost is children’s experience, and the “safety” is safeguarding, inclusion and quality of teaching.

You should walk away knowing:

• Exactly what happens, when, and with whom.
• Where the value sits – not just the volume.
• Why this option represents the best balance of impact and risk for your pupils, not just the lowest line on a spreadsheet.

With the £100m transition fund for 2026/27 and the move from the PE and Sport Premium to the new PE and School Sport Partnerships Network from 2027, the funding labels may change – but these money, value and risk questions don’t. A confident provider will help you make decisions that stand up in this new landscape, not just sell you the cheapest set of hours.

A confident provider won’t hide behind bundles or discounts. They’ll help you make an informed, defensible decision.

Your school will change. Your pupils will change. Your priorities will change.

Explore:

• “How do you adapt your support as schools evolve – new leadership, Ofsted feedback, changing cohorts?”
• “Can you share an example of a long term partnership and how it has shifted over time?”
• “What innovations or developments are you working on that will benefit us in the future?”

You’re looking for signs that they’re not selling a static product, but growing and learning alongside you – particularly as the system moves from the current PE and Sport Premium into the new PE and School Sport Partnerships Network from 2027. The right partner should be able to talk confidently about how they’ll help you use the 2026/27 transition year well, rather than leaving you to react once the new model is in place.

Using These Questions In Practice

You don’t need a three hour interrogation. Pick the questions that:

• Hit your biggest current priorities (e.g. SEND, staff development, impact).
• Expose the areas you feel least confident about right now.

Then, in your next conversation with any provider – including us – use this as your script.

Watch not just what they say, but how they say it:

• Do they welcome the challenge?
• Do they answer with specifics, not slogans?
• Do they ask you good questions back?

Those are the hallmarks of a true partner, not just a supplier.

Our free PE Support Audit is built around exactly these kinds of questions.

In a short, focused conversation, we:

• Help you clarify what you actually need from a PE partner – not just what’s always been done.
• Map your current provision, people and processes against a clear picture of “good” in primary PE.
• Equip you with sharp, confident questions to take into any sales conversation – whether you’re reviewing your current provider or exploring new options.

And as always:

• If your existing partner is the right fit, we will say so.
• If there are risks or gaps, we’ll help you see them clearly – and decide what to do next.

You can download our free PE Audit template here 

Next Up: Turning Insight Into Action

In the next post, we’ll bring everything together – people, process and purpose – into a simple framework you can use to review your PE provision and plan next steps for 2026 and beyond, including how to make the most of the 2026/27 transition year as the new PE and School Sport Partnerships Network comes on stream.

If you’d like to go into those conversations prepared, start by saving these questions – and using them the next time a PE provider walks through your door.