THE government wants 75 per cent of schoolchildren to spend a minimum of two hours a week on PE and school sport by 2006. But how can this be achieved in Southampton..?

HIS face tells the story in full - beaming and excited as he sees his shot fly into the goal - picture far right.

His schoolmates, many as young as four, giggle enthusiastically as they charge around the Astroturf, chasing a football.

Earlier in the day they had boogied to the sounds of The Jungle Book while others did battle over an assault course.

As part of their activity week, about 140 youngsters from Harefield Infant School revelled in the joy of a mini-Olympics staged at Woodlands School this week.

It was the kind of scene many feared could disappear from English schools forever.

Pressures from the National Curriculum, literacy and numeracy demands and the controversial selling-off of playing fields have all been cited as reasons for a decline in PE and sport provision in schools over the past 15 years.

But, as experts warn that one in three girls and one in five boys in the UK will be clinically obese by 2020 if child obesity rates continue to rise at the present rate, school sport is once again being placed at the forefront of the battle.

Southampton is leading the charge.

In 2003, the government responded to the fact that fewer and fewer children had access to regular, high-quality physical activity by committing £459m over three years to the first ever comprehensive national PE, school sport and club link strategy.

The aim? To increase the percentage of schoolchildren in England who spend a minimum of two hours a week taking part in PE and school sport by 2006.

That has now been extended to 85 per cent by 2008, with government investment totalling more than £1.5 billion over five years.

At the time of the launch, just a quarter of five-to-seven-year-olds, one in five seven-to-11-year-olds and a third of 14-to-16-year-olds were achieving that target.

Two years on, the figure now stands at 62 per cent across the entire age range.

It is a revolution Southampton's schools have fully embraced.

Scott Bayne, PE adviser to Southampton City Council, says: "Instead of seeing PE as a problem, schools are now beginning to see it as a solution to a lot of other issues."

The 2003 strategy centred delivery of its targets on the creation of 400 specialist sports colleges and 400 School Sport Partnerships - "families" of schools funded to enhance sports opportunities for all pupils by improving co-ordination, links between schools and out-of-hours opportunities, coaching, leadership and community sport.

Southampton currently has 36 schools involved in the Redbridge Community School-based School Sports Partnership, which went live last September.

But with the launch of a second hub at Bitterne Park Comprehensive this September, all 84 schools in the Southampton local education authority will have access to top-quality facilities, diverse activity programmes and experts to maximise PE and sports opportunities through the city partnership a year earlier than planned.

Harefield is one school that is looking forward to being part of the partnership.

Head teacher Shirley Lewis says: "We've always held PE very dear to our hearts and when the National Curriculum was introduced in 1989, many schools said they didn't have time for PE, but we held on to it.

"With so many of our children living in flats or not having the opportunity to join after-school clubs, we felt we owed it to them to give them the broadest experience of physical activity we could.

"There are many challenges we face to enable us to continue meeting the government targets, including getting access to the available funding, but being part of the partnership should help."

The partnership undertook a full-scale audit of all schools, local sports governing bodies and community coaches last year to discover what was already being provided and how they were going to deliver a high-quality programme over the next three years.

It revealed that about 32 per cent of pupils were already meeting the two-hour recommendation, which partnership development manager Pam Noel says "for a start was brilliant".

A secondary questionnaire to pupils also identified the need to address after-school provision and such diverse activities as martial arts, hula hoop and skateboarding, as well as outdoor pursuits, are planned.

Noel also says the partnership would be taking the timing of activities into account to meet the needs of the city's ethnic children, who often have other commitments immediately after school.

Bevois Town Primary is one example of a school that draws on outside coaching and experts to provide quality after-school sport - a £78,000 Astroturf facility opened last week, extending their chance to keep their children active.

Their Year Five and Six pupils already go for 10-to-15-minute jogs before school three times a week, while Hampshire Cricket Association and the Lawn Tennis Association are among those who have conducted after-school coaching.

Head teacher Hattie Atkinson says: "This approach allows us to provide high-quality expertise, which it would be unrealistic to expect all my teachers to have.

"My teachers are very good at delivering curriculum PE, but that's very different from high-quality games expertise."

Related to that, Noel revealed that encouraging teacher confidence, particularly at primary level, was high on the Partnership's agenda.

Traditionally, primary PE co-ordinators have not had formal subject leadership training, but under the government's Continuing Professional Development programme that training is now available.

For the first time the city is witnessing a truly co-ordinated approach to encouraging healthy lifestyles among its future generations.

Noel admits obstacles still remain, but major inroads in getting thousands of children active have already been made.

She believes with a whole community approach involving schools, parents, LEA and other involved groups, the government targets will be met.

She says: "I think they are realistic targets but we have to continue to be creative and innovative in how we deliver our programme in a way that meets our specific needs."

CHILL OUT FOR A HEALTHIER LIFESTYLE

LIVERPOOL'S legendary manager Bill Shankly once said football was not a matter of life and death - it was more than that.

Shankly's comments might seem a little hyperbolic, but with childhood obesity escalating at an alarming rate, football could prove to be the difference between life and death for thousands of youngsters.

Saints' Football In The Community department has teamed up with Southampton City Primary Care Trust, along with several other partners, to use football as a vehicle for hitting home the importance of leading a healthy lifestyle to children all over Hampshire, Dorset and the Isle of Wight.

Saints' 150 community coaches, led by Mark Abrahams, see more than 100,000 kids a year through their various pre-school, curricular, after-school, Saturday and holiday coaching courses and soccer schools.

Last October the team introduced a more health-focused element to its work with the introduction of the Coaching-Health-Involvement-Lifestyle-Learning (CHILL) programme at six primary schools within the Outer Shirley Regeneration district.

Apart from providing sporting activities, the Football Foundation-funded project monitors the health improvement of its participants and aims to give young people the chance to develop a sense of achievement through sport.

For Mark Abrahams it is as much about a healthy mind as it is healthy body while educating the parents is also a priority.

He said: "The healthy lifestyle message is a key message but what constitutes a healthy lifestyle?

"It's not just about nutritional advice, it's just as much about being a good citizen and dealing with issues of bullying, substance abuse, smoking and giving young people the opportunity to make informed decisions.

"There's obviously a key relationship between healthy lifestyle, fitness and footballers and if you've got the endorsement of a Premiership footballer it grabs the children's attention and captures their imagination.

"We can then use partners, like the Primary Care Trust, to endorse the key messages."

Children see pictures of Saints players holding pieces of fruit dotted around the school in a bid to reinforce healthy eating messages.

They are also questioned about their breakfast and lunchtime eating habits to help them make the association between eating well, physical activity and their attention span in lessons.

Mark Abrahams is under no illusions his team is going to change everyone's eating habits overnight.

If they can help plant the seeds, encourage children into an active way of life and provide exit routes to continue their involvement in physical activity he believes they will be doing their job.