Physical Education
“Exercise is the key not only to physical health but to peace of mind.”
Nelson Mandela
Introduction
Physical Education (PE) at Pentland Primary School aims to develop and celebrate the knowledge, skills and capabilities of our children, so they can perform with increasing competence in a range of physical activities. We aim to promote key skills in physical development, social and emotional development, cognitive development and spiritual, moral and cultural development through an accessible PE curriculum for all children.
Intent
At Pentland Primary School, we want all children to participate in, enjoy and excel in competitive and recreational sport. All children will be provided with the opportunities to learn, improve and compete in a range of sports and activities to improve their health and fitness and self-confidence. Through a high-quality physical education programme, the school aims to enable pupils to become successful learners, confident individuals and responsible citizens who develop as independent enquirers, creative thinkers, reflective learners, term workers, self-managers and competitive participators.
Implementation
Our school’s long term plan for PE follows County Durham Core Tasks as a teaching and assessment tool allowing teachers to execute high quality PE lessons. Children have access to all components of the National Curriculum programmes of study, which include dance, gymnastics, athletics and games in Key Stage 1 and with the addition of swimming and OAA at Key Stage 2.
EYFS follow the Move with Max programme which teaches fundamental movement skills through story books. Pupils in both Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 engage in two hours of high-quality PE during the course of each week. A realistic attempt is made for all children to achieve the expected levels of performance as set out in the National Curriculum descriptors. In PE, teachers try to develop the recall and recognition schema to develop knowledge and performance in sport and exercise.
The planning and the delivery of each unit of work will ensure that each pupil will have the opportunity to:
- Acquire and develop new skills
- Select and apply appropriate skills, tactics and compositional ideas
- Evaluate their own and others’ performance in order to improve
- Gain knowledge and understanding of how PE and sport contributes to staying physically, mentally and emotionally healthy
- Experience a range of roles such as performer and leader in an activity
- Planning will provide opportunities to link with other areas of the curriculum e.g. English, Maths and PSHCE
Curriculum Enrichment
This year, we will be working with a Sports Apprentice (Mr Littlefair) to continue to increase the quality and quantity of sport and sporting opportunities. Children also participate in Fit 4 Life exercise and movement breaks with their classes to help them meet the 30 minutes of physical activity at school.
All children also have access to sporting extra-curricular clubs throughout the year and are encouraged to develop their sports skills by attending these. Alongside after school clubs, we also have a designated Sports Crew who work alongside Mr Littlefair to plan sports events both inside and outside of the school.
Impact
The intended impact of our curriculum is to provide children with positive experiences in sport to promote a healthy and physical life for now and the future. We ensure our curriculum is progressive and allows children to develop fundamental skills and apply them to a range of sports and activities, continually building on their schema. They are provided with the skills to plan, perform and evaluate their performances, often in pairs and small groups helping develop their communication skills and develop the quality and effectiveness of their work. Children are provided with opportunities to participate in a wide range of sport and exercise to enhance their experiences in physical activity. Children develop an in-depth subject specific vocabulary through high-quality teaching and experiences.