Physical Education (PE)
As we are a small school at Treales with mixed year group classes, we have a two-year rolling program with the exception of Reception who are taught separately on a one year curriculum. This ensures that every child has the opportunity to experience a broad and varied curriculum over their time in each class. So, whilst some units or topics remain the same each year there are others that will alternate to ensure full curriculum coverage.
This curriculum has been developed alongside the Lancashire Physical Education Scheme of Work Progression Document 2020 and adaptations have been made where necessary. For the majority of our units, we use the PE Passport App for lesson planning and pupil assessment. We also look at how we can incorporate our school values of Love, Courage, Truth, Justice, Peace and Community into each unit.
In designing this curriculum, we have also had to take into account the available PE space, seasons and weather conditions that can impact upon teaching. As a very small school, our hall space is currently very limited. Our Fab Fridays curriculum allows for all children to be taught gymnastics and dance safely in smaller groups. Therefore, whilst dance and gymnastics appear on the summer term on our curriculum map, they are taught at different times throughout the year on a Friday.
The curriculum units are flexible and open to change particularly in Key Stage 1 (KS1) where the focus on Fundamental Movement Skills (FMS) means that the units selected reflect those recognised as needing improvement on the baseline assessment carried out each September. Units such as dance may be selected or written to fit in with topics in other subjects such as English, geography or science, making learning cross-curricular.
When reviewing the curriculum for each class you may notice that some units are given a longer focus, particularly for the children in KS2 whereas the younger children may cover two unit topics. As a school we have taken this approach for several reasons. Firstly, we believe in exposing our younger children to a wide variety of sports and activities to help them develop their all-round physical health and sports skills whilst giving them the opportunity to find something they are passionate about. Also, this helps us to ensure that we have full curriculum coverage despite being in mixed year group classes. However, for the older children we have decided to spend time really focussing on a single unit to help ensure a depth to their learning and real skills mastery whilst also giving them time to work on their tactical and communication skills.
Physical Education: Our Intent
At Treales, we aim to engage, motivate and inspire children to develop a love of physical activity, games and promote long term healthy lifestyles. We recognise the benefits of a strong Physical Education curriculum and extra-curricular activity on raising children’s aspirations and self-esteem. P.E. teaching at Treales follows all requirements of the National Curriculum for Physical Education; providing opportunities for all pupils to become physically confident in a way which supports their health and fitness long term.
We hope to develop the children into confident and competent learners across a broad range of physical activities, by providing them with a wide range of opportunities to participate in physical exercise, both in a competitive and non-competitive environment. We provide opportunities to compete in a range of sports and other activities that build character, and help to embed values such as fairness and respect.
Through external partnerships, our children are invited to attend festivals and tournaments throughout the year at both inter and intra school levels. We continue to build a love of sport and physical activity amongst our pupils, by offering a broad range of lunchtime activities and self-assessed play through our OPAL partnership. We hope that through all the sporting opportunities, we can support the children in demonstrating sportsmanship, resilience, respect and leadership values throughout their school life.
In addition, our curriculum aims:
- To develop competence in a broad range of physical activities
- To encourage healthy and active lives
- To encourage children to work and play with others in a range of group situations;
- To develop the way children, perform skills and apply rules and conventions for different activities;
- To increase children’s ability to use what they have learnt to improve the quality and control of their performance;
- To teach children to recognise and describe how their bodies feel during exercise;
- To develop the children’s enjoyment of physical activity through creativity and imagination;
- To develop an understanding in children of how to succeed in a range of physical activities and how to evaluate their own success.
Our Physical Education curriculum supports pupils to meet the National curriculum end of Key stage 1 and 2 attainment targets.
EYFS
Physical Development
ELG: Gross Motor Skills Children at the expected level of development will:
• Negotiate space and obstacles safely, with consideration for themselves and others.
• Demonstrate strength, balance and coordination when playing.
• Move energetically, such as running, jumping, dancing, hopping, skipping and climbing.
ELG: Fine Motor Skills Children at the expected level of development will:
• Hold a pencil effectively in preparation for fluent writing – using the tripod grip in almost all cases.
• Use a range of small tools, including scissors, paint brushes and cutlery.
• Begin to show accuracy and care when drawing.
Key Stage 1
Pupils should develop fundamental movement skills, become increasingly competent and confident and access a broad range of opportunities to extend their agility, balance and coordination, individually and with others. They should be able to engage in competitive (both against self and against others) and co-operative physical activities, in a range of increasingly challenging situations.
Pupils should be taught to:
- master basic movements including running, jumping, throwing and catching, as well as developing balance, agility and co-ordination, and begin to apply these in a range of activities
- participate in team games, developing simple tactics for attacking and defending
- perform dances using simple movement patterns.
Key Stage 2
Pupils should continue to apply and develop a broader range of skills, learning how to use them in different ways and to link them to make actions and sequences of movement. They should enjoy communicating, collaborating and competing with each other. They should develop an understanding of how to improve in different physical activities and sports and learn how to evaluate and recognise their own success.
Pupils should be taught to:
- use running, jumping, throwing and catching in isolation and in combination
- play competitive games, modified where appropriate [for example, badminton, basketball, cricket, football, hockey, netball, rounders and tennis], and apply basic principles suitable for attacking and defending
- develop flexibility, strength, technique, control and balance [for example, through athletics and gymnastics]
- perform dances using a range of movement patterns
- take part in outdoor and adventurous activity challenges both individually and within a team
- compare their performances with previous ones and demonstrate improvement to achieve their personal best.
Implementation
To successfully embed our Physical Education values at Treales, the staff and children are involved with the following:
- We provide each class with at least 2 hours of exciting, fun and active P.E. lessons each week.
- Teachers at Treales follow the Lancashire P.E. scheme of work. This offers well planned sequences of learning, fulfilling every aspect of the National Curriculum, offering regular assessment opportunities and building in core sporting values such as resilience and respect. EYFS focus on the fundamental movement skills and develop the fine and gross motor skills of the children, so they are ready to begin accessing the different parts of the P.E. curriculum from Year 1. The fundamental movements remain embedded in Key Stage 1 practice to allow for repetition and continued physical development.
- The P.E. Passport App is used to support the planning, assessment and delivery of curriculum P.E.
- Teaching sequences or chosen topics within lessons across year groups have been carefully considered and mapped out. This ensures the children all gain a wide coverage of skills, access a wide variety of physical activities and allows for clear progression throughout school.
- Children in KS2 attend Gartang YMCA for their swimming lessons for one term per year, in order to reach the required level of competency for swimming and water safety by the end of Key Stage 2.
- Curriculum resources are selected with the intent of supplying teachers with the means of delivering high quality lessons and introducing the children to a wide range of games, sports and physical activities within their lessons.
- At lunchtimes, the children on school meals have a well-balanced menu to choose from. We only allow healthy snacks to be eaten during break times.
- Teachers are encouraged to use active brain breaks during school time involving short vigorous aerobic activity.
- A broader experience of a range of sports and activities are offered to all pupils through the Carr Hill Rural Fylde School’s Partnership and the Fylde and Wyre Partnership.
- House Captains sportsmanship qualities in their role throughout the year.
- In KS2, the children are given the opportunity to develop their leadership skills by leading activities at lunchtime and in PE lessons.
- Introducing OPAL at play times for children to use their imagination and creativity to participate in physical activity
- Yearly off site OAA trips for all children provide opprtuunities to develop resilience and be challenged in a different way to school lessons.
- Small schools partnerships allow children to compete with children from similar school settings.
Children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities
At Treales we ensure participation of all pupils in PE lessons so that all children can enjoy physical education and achieve well. Planning will identify how we adapt learning appropriately so that pupils can access all aspects of PE, including extra-curricular opportunities. Furthermore, we utilise adapted equipment in lessons to allow children to participate and it can provide equitable competition. We wourk with different agencies and outside providers to ensure timely intervention and support for children for whom fundamental movement skills have not been fully mastered.
More Able Children
We aim to ensure more able children are well equipped with a variety of skills during physical education. This may see them taking on a leadership role, official role (umpire) and competitive role. More able children are encouraged to join local sports clubs where they can further develop their talent within a particular sport.
Impact
We aspire for all our children to be engaged, motivated and happy when it comes to Physical Education. We aim for all our children to have secured age-related skills and knowledge before they leave our school. This equips them with the ability to successfully prepare for a long term healthy and physical life ahead in which they can make informed choices about physical activity. In addition to this, we strive for our children to be knowledgeable about healthy competition, team building and resilience in the wider world.
The impact of our Physical Education curriculum can be measured and monitored in a variety of different ways including; learning walks, PE Passport scrutiny, data analysis and tracking and pupil interviews. It is the responsibility of the subject leader to triangulate this evidence to ensure consistency across the whole school. Teachers use the P.E Passport App as well as the P.E progression of skills document (Years 1 to 6) or the EYFS Early Learning Goals to deliver high quality P.E lessons and assess the children as they progress through school. These documents ensure every objective of the National Curriculum is met and that teachers have the tools with which to deliver outstanding P.E and sport provision. Throughout PE lessons, children are actively involved in their target making and progress, teachers provide verbal (in the moment) feedback and support.
We endeavour to raise the profile of Physical Education in school by ensuring that we offer a wide range of opportunities for all of our children and allow the children to engage in competition as often as possible. As skills improve and high-quality P.E. teaching is embedded across school, we should see improved participation levels in school competitions. These competitions provide a perfect stage for the sporting and character values that are integral to our P.E. lessons to be reinforced, ensuring our children leave primary school knowing the importance of etiquette, team-work, perseverance, respect, acceptance and sportsmanship.
We will review and develop the curriculum on an annual basis