PE in schools

There has been much discussion on related blogs about the value of PE in schools and the subsequent negative effect that lack of PE has on athleticism. With 2 young children I am aware of this problem and how ineffective primary based PE is. I have children in Grade 1 and 4 who love being active and fortunately for them are confident in their athletic ability. The problem is the hate sport or pe at school because as my son says throwing a bean bag into a hoop from a step away is not much fun. Is there any gymnastics or even a forward roll NO is there any extension for the more advanced kids NO are the kids that need help looked after NO so the problem is there are no trained staff. The classroom teacher is in control of PE which lets be honest is a once a week hour of wasted time. My sister who teachers Grade 1 and is sport minded tells me the teachers are happy when it rains etc because they have so much other stuff to get through so if PE is off that extra hour makes it easier. PE needs to be part and a big part of the curriculum not something they can strike off by having an athletics carnival - Why dont we test children and if they dont meet the requirements then they dont progress - Why isnt PE mandatory for Higher School Leaving examinations Not only is the lack of PE in schools effecting our athleticism we have major issues with prevenatble diseases that are related to physical inactivity. THere needs to be some serious intervention into this otherwise our present problems will be nothing in comparison to the future