PE

Intent

Gosbecks Primary School’s aims for all children to:

• develop competence with the intent to excel in a broad range of physical activities
• showing an understanding of strategic play, fairness and respect
• be physically active for sustained periods of time
• engage in competitive sports and activities
• lead healthy, active lives

Our aims are in line with the national curriculum for Physical Education (P.E.) and at Gosbecks Primary School we have high expectations for every child. We want to develop a culture where children recognise the importance of physical activity and therefore continue this into adult life. We believe that PE can make significant contributions to children’s personal development, including wellbeing and character. Gosbecks’ P.E. curriculum aims to excite and engage pupils as well as provide opportunities for them to excel.

Implementation

At our school, P.E. is mainly taught in isolation, as it is an area of learning in its own right. As a minimum, the children are taught two sessions per week however physical activity is also integrated where possible into other areas of the curriculum such as: forest school, the golden mile and OPAL.

A carefully sequenced curriculum provides a two-year coverage of activities for P.E. which ensures children experience a variety of sports with some activities repeated yearly in order for children to have a deeper understanding, increased knowledge and competence. The topics which we have prioritised to be taught yearly include: gymnastics, dance, football, netball, athletics, fitness and cross country. These topics have been prioritised as they are popular amongst the children and we feel they are sustainable for them to continue into adult life and to give them the necessary skills and knowledge to be successful in secondary school. They also include the sports which we compete in; Gosbecks have a netball and football team which competes in a local school’s league. We also compete annually in cross country and athletics events. Other physical activities which the children experience as part of the P.E. curriculum include outdoor and adventurous activities and other racket and ball sports such as: cricket, rounders, badminton, tennis, golf, hockey, rugby, volleyball, basketball and table tennis. All of these sports have been selected to ensure children gain a broad range of competences. By the end of KS2 it is a requirement that pupils can swim 25m therefore swimming is taught to children in year 5 that cannot yet achieve this distance; they will be taught to swim competently using a range of strokes.

Gosbecks has a clear progression document which outlines the key knowledge and skills within each topic for each year group. This ensures that children develop progressively in all topics including: dance, gymnastics, games, athletics and outdoor and adventurous activities, as well as ensuring consistency throughout the whole school. Within these topics, progression of discrete skills is planned and assessed so that teachers can track motor competence, fundamental movement skills etc.

We aim for all pupils to achieve what is expected of their age group, with regards to the key knowledge and skills which are outlined in the progression document. We do appreciate, however, that for some pupils this is not always possible and therefore all lessons are adapted where necessary, in order to meet the needs of all individuals. This includes the use of both competitive and non-competitive activities in order to ensure positive engagement from all pupils.

 Within P.E. lessons children will develop their knowledge of a range of games and strategies whilst also developing a good sporting attitude. The progression document also ensures children consider their health and fitness. In P.E. the children have opportunities to reflect on physical activity and how it makes their body feel, encouraging an understanding of why it is good for their well-being. As children progress through Gosbecks, they become more responsible for organising their warm-ups and cool-downs in order encourage them to take responsibility for their own health and well-being.

Children are taught two separate topics per half term; one by the class teacher and the other by the specialist coach. P.E. topics are taught in half-termly blocks, this enables pupils to develop their skills over-time, often before applying them to game situations where appropriate.  This varied curriculum allows them to experience a wide variety of sports and therefore provides more of an opportunity for them to find a topic within P.E. which they enjoy and can experience success.

Lessons improve children’s knowledge through clear instruction, explicit vocabulary, modelling, practise and feedback, helping children to build on prior learning and progress to their next stage in learning. Lessons maximise the time spent moving over instruction to ensure children are active for sustained periods of time. Children are expected to self-assess their performance to enhance their understanding of their skills and knowledge. In addition, this helps to develop their problem-solving skills within the context of sport. Sequences of lessons are carefully planned, using the progression documents, to build on the children’s prior skills and knowledge. This ensures they have secured prerequisite knowledge before moving on to more complex knowledge.

Progression documents enable teachers to understand what they should be assessing in P.E within each year group. This document allows teachers to assess what the children know at the end of each lesson in order to plan accordingly. At the end of each term, summative assessment is completed. This means children would have been given a range of opportunities to demonstrate their skills and knowledge.  This assessment information is monitored and analysed by the subject lead in order to identify strengths and areas for development in curriculum planning or CPD.

Gosbecks recognises the correlation of high-quality teaching in P.E. and the competence of our pupils, therefore sports funding is used to support teacher’s practice and encourage high expectations in P.E. The subject leader monitors the standards in PE and support is given where required. Sometimes teachers attend courses to improve their subject knowledge.

In addition to the teaching of P.E. within the school day, we offer a range of extra-curricular sports clubs before and after school, which provide an opportunity for the children to further develop their skills and passion. Clubs also encourage pupils to work in teams and build relationships with pupils across the school. Competitions are strategically planned to provide appropriate challenge. For example; some Year 2 children will attend ‘friendly’ competitions whereas Year 5 and 6 will attend competitive games within leagues.

Our school culture champions sport. We celebrate the children’s successes in many ways, including recognising personal achievements within P.E lessons through our star of the session medals, end of year awards and certificates for local competitive sports. Where children excel in an area of P.E, successes are shared in assembly and with our community in the newsletter.

Gosbecks Primary School also encourages physical activity outside of school by implementing schemes such as Wow Travel Tracker and Street Tag, these are recognised schemes in the area which encourage pupils to be active.

Impact

Children are aware that physical activity links to good mental health and well-being and therefore understand it’s importance in achieving a heathy active lifestyle, in turn this supports them to go on to lead healthy active lives themselves. Gosbecks' high quality P.E. curriculum inspires all children to participate and succeed in competitive sport and other physical activities. Opportunities to compete in sport and other activities embed values such as respect- one of Gosbecks golden goals- as well as building character. Through our P.E. lessons our children are supportive of one another and celebrate each other successes.