Whilst we have made great strides forward in pushing for all children to be able to access PE in their school, we also have a great responsibility to ensure that they are stretched and to let them know that we have high expectations for them.

This is the story of Sam, a boy in Year 8 with cerebral palsy/hemiplegia which restricts the use of his limbs down one side of his body. He loved sport at mainstream school but had always been on the outside looking in when new school teams were picked. His self-esteem took a knock and his belief in his ability was greatly affected too.

Sam's school put him through a ‘playground to podium’ talent ID event  in Essex where he was ‘discovered’ five years ago. He went on to break regional and national records for his age group, in disability sport and also had England trials for football. His self-esteem is well and truly boosted. He has medals galore and now his walk is more of a swagger than part of his disability.

It’s not about your child becoming the next star. It’s being aware that unless you put them in an environment where they are properly stretched in sport, and have the opportunity to measure themselves against other children with disabilities, they are missing out in a big way. What they gain from that disability sport is vital. 

So here we have two possible scenarios: one concerns the child in a mainstream school, where they are sometimes included but not stretched, and one concerns the child in a special school, where they are almost always included and often stretched.

Whatever the scenario, it’s very important to understand what makes a child tick in sport. What is their experience of sport (good or bad)? Have they ever been asked what sports they would like to try or what clubs they attend outside school? Would they like try something different?

There are some marvellous new sports for children in special schools. We have seen a huge rise in sports such as boccia (a game in which you throw or kick a ball at a target), new age kurling, sports hall athletics, poly bat (similar to table tennis), goalball (a game played predominantly by blind people) and many more.

The majority of mainstream sports have disability versions. There are numerous wheelchair versions of different sports – for example wheelchair basketball. A good place that will signpost you to various disability sports and outline how you can get involved is the Scope website.

When I was a leader in disability sport, we surveyed large numbers of children with a range of disabilities in mainstream schools in Essex and the East to find out exactly what their experience of sport was. The survey showed that only a few accessed clubs after school, most felt included in PE lessons but only a handful felt they were stretched in those PE lessons. We were able to identify the sports that our children were keen on, and actively put in place opportunities for them to access our clubs and competitions at the level they wanted.

Children with impairments need the opportunity to test themselves out against children who are of similar ability to them. Only when children like Sam are the shooting stars of sport, will they be included in wider society.

Joel Shaljean is deputy head teacher at a special school.

See also BBC Disability Sport page. 

If you think that just sending your child off to school with their PE kit packed and pressed nicely in their bag is enough, then please think again. Brian Glover's magnificent performance as an unforgiving, hard-nosed PE teacher in the 1969 film Kes might press buttons for what we experienced in school ourselves. The fact is that PE lessons have evolved hugely since then.

Children are now offered an infinitely broader and higher quality, range of activities to experience compared to the 'jumpers for goalposts' mentality, which seemed prevalent when I was in primary school (erm 30-ish years ago). In the last decade, there has been massive investment in PE and School Sport .  A fierce debate has raged for some time as to whether there would be equally massive cuts to funding. Whilst there have been cuts, the existing, hugely successful, framework has been retained by the Coalition Government after a public outcry.

If you haven't already heard your children talking about doing rocketball, high five netball, quicksticks, speedstacks, multi-skills, futsal, SAQ, tag rugby or even the popular essentially dance, then you may well do sometime soon. More children are taking part in sport within school than ever before – this is progress. With sport being seen as a more attractive proposition to our children, due to the breadth of opportunity available, all should be rosy...surely? Well, yes it should but let me sound a note of caution for parents...

In making PE lessons high quality learning experiences we also need to ensure that there is (oddly enough) sufficient physical activity taking place. There is the possibility that a 50-60 minute PE lesson results in maybe only 5-10 minutes of actual physical exercise. Let me explain: there are health and safety issues, kit checks, not to mention demonstrations and stretching exercises that all have to be gone through, before the lesson itself can kick off.

So how do we get them more active? Well, you can check a number of things. If your school has a Healthy Schools status, they should have a physical activity policy. This policy should outline what is in place, outside of PE lessons, to help children live an active, healthy lifestyle.

Daily Physical Activity (DPA)  is something that lots of schools do well. A variety of approaches are out there: Take Ten, Wake and Shake, Huff and Puff, Skip 2b Fit and Activate, to name a few. The benefits of DPA are clear for all to see. Obviously, if you are doing 10-15 minutes every day of aerobic exercise in the classroom, assembly hall, playing field, playground or anywhere else, then really that's a guaranteed extra hour of actual physical activity, to complement the learning and skill acquisition they are getting through their PE lessons.

The brain works better in the classroom when it has been activated through exercise. There is plenty of research to suggest that classroom performance is improved when there has been increased exercising.

DPA releases natural anti-depressants into our blood stream. When you think that 10% of children will have experienced a mental health disorder by the time they reach 16, then DPA becomes ever more significant. It makes it easier for both children and adults who suffer from mood, anxiety, or attention disorders to concentrate and absorb new material, which aids the learning process (as reported by the US Sport Information Resource Center 2009).

So whether they are skipping, dancing, doing aerobics, action rhyming, or going for a brisk walk/jog, make sure they are doing something additional to their PE lessons in school.

So there we go and I didn’t even mention combating obesity once! Oh alright then, consider this: In a programme in the US, Phil Lawler reduced the obesity levels in Naperville, Illinois to 3% from the national average of a massive 33% by introducing a new approach to regular DPA. 

Let us know your thoughts.

Joel Shaljean is deputy head teacher at a secondary school.