Physical Education

What is Physical Education?

Physical Education (PE) is an important part of the curriculum that should enable all pupils to work towards becoming independently active within the school and the community. PE helps pupils to be the best they can be for themselves and enables pupils to apply skills to a range of sports. Through engagement with PE, pupils will establish the knowledge, skills and understanding that will equip them to maintain an active and healthy lifestyle.

Aims of Physical Education

At Appleton C of E Primary School, we believe that our high-quality PE provision:

Promotes physical development, physical activity, and school sport and teaches children the benefits of maintaining an active, healthy lifestyle.
Enables children to flourish by developing and exploring physical skills with increasing control, co-ordination, and competence.
Increases children’s ability to use what they have learnt to improve the quality and control of their performance.
Develops the children’s enjoyment of physical activity.
Develops in children an understanding of how to succeed in a range of physical activities and how to evaluate their own successes.
Provides opportunities for all children to take part in competitive sports and activities.
Provides children with extra-curricular sporting opportunities which draw upon the skills taught in the curriculum.
Promotes our school and British values through sporting activity.
Improve engagement in learning across the curriculum.

How is Physical Education taught?

Reception

We encourage the physical development of our children in the Reception class to be an integral part of their work. We relate the physical development of the children to the objectives set out in the EYFS. We encourage children to develop confidence and control in the way that they move, and teach them to negotiate space safely. We give all children the opportunity to undertake activities that offer appropriate physical challenge, both indoors and outdoors, using a wide range of resources to promote specific skills including running, jumping, dancing, and hopping.

Key Stage 1

The National Curriculum (2014) requirements for PE in KS1 state that pupils should be able to master basic movements including running, throwing, and catching, and that pupils should be developing balance, agility and co-ordination and beginning to apply these in a range of activities.

Children will participate in team games, develop simple tactics for attacking and defending, practise simple scoring techniques, and perform dances using simple movement patterns. This is taught using a range of schemes and equipment to enable the children to receive the highest quality provision.

Key Stage 2

The National Curriculum (2014) requirements for PE in KS2 state that pupils should be able to use running, jumping, throwing and catching in isolation and combination. They should apply these skills when playing competitive games and apply basic principles suitable for attacking and defending. Children should develop flexibility, strength, technique, control, and balance to enable them to perform dances using a range of movement patterns. They will take part in outdoor and adventurous activity challenges both individually and within a team and be able to compare their performances with previous ones to demonstrate an improvement and work towards achieving personal best performances. This is taught by using a range of schemes to suit learners needs and allow them to access a high-quality experience of physical education.

Swimming

Swimming instruction must be provided either in Key Stage 1 or Key Stage 2. We follow the guidance in the Oxfordshire County Council Safe Practice in School Swimming Policy June 2018. School swimming lessons are provided by qualified swimming teachers at St Hugh’s School. At Appleton C of E Primary we focus on Swimming in Key Stage 2.

Pupils should be taught to:

Swim competently, confidently, and proficiently over a distance of at least 25 metres.
Use a range of strokes effectively.
Perform safe self-rescue in different water-based situations.

Intent

At Appleton C of E Primary School, PE is an integral part of our curriculum, and we strive to create a culture which aims to inspire an active generation to enjoy PE, encourage each other and achieve. We provide a safe and supportive environment for children to flourish in a range of different physical activities, and believe that our PE provision holds an important place in supporting physical, emotional, spiritual, social, and moral development. We aspire for children to adopt a growth Mindset and believe that anything can be achieved with determination and resilience.

We offer a dynamic and varied program of activity to ensure that all children progress physically through a unique and fully inclusive PE curriculum. Our curriculum aims to improve the well-being and fitness of all children, not only through the sporting skills taught, but also through the discipline and values that PE promotes.

We aim to deliver high quality teaching and learning opportunities that enable all children to achieve their personal best. All children participate in competitive sport which can be against self and/ or others. We encourage children to transfer the school values and promises to sporting and physical activity, ensuring that they aim to be the very best that they can be whilst demonstrating the school vision of ‘Building Wisely for Life’.

We aim for all children to be physically active for sustained periods of time and to be able to make informed decisions to lead healthy and active lives. Thus, our PE teaching aims to embed life-long values. Swimming is an important life skill, and we aspire for all children to leave primary school having met at least the minimum requirements of the National Curriculum.

Implementation

PE at Appleton C of E School provides challenging and enjoyable learning through a range of sporting activities including invasion games, net and wall games, striking and fielding games, gymnastics, dance, health and fitness, outdoor adventure, and swimming.
The whole Year 4 class has swimming in the Autumn Terms then booster sessions are held in the Spring and Summer Terms for children in Years 3-6 who have not yet met the curriculum requirements.
Pupils participate in at least 2 hours of high-quality PE lessons each week, covering one or two different sports/ skills focuses each half term.
The Long-Term planning for each class sets out the PE units which are to be taught throughout the year and ensures that the requirements of the National Curriculum are fully met. This is tracked by the PE Co-ordinator and used as handover for transition at the end of the academic year so that the new class teacher is aware of what the class has already been taught and able to identify areas that need further development.
All staff can access the Medium-Term planning and half-termly assessments for each class throughout the academic year.
Teachers use and adapt planning and resources to ensure lessons show progression across year groups.
Children are encouraged to participate in the varied range of extra-curricular activities. We provide inclusive and enjoyable clubs which increase opportunities for physical activity. Clubs are offered to both KS1 and KS2 children, occasionally Foundation Stage too.
Physical activity is embedded throughout the school day through initiatives such as The Daily Mile, Teach Active, Just Dance and I moves active blasts.
Active travel is encouraged, and we take part in the annual Big Pedal and Walk to School Week events.
Children are encouraged to stay active at break times and can access a variety of equipment to use.
All Year 6 children can become Play Leaders for the school. Training for this is provided by our School Sports Co-ordinator. The Play Leaders develop into sporting role models for the younger children, assisting with and organising games at break times.
Every year, two representatives from each class are nominated to be part of Sport Crew. Meetings take place each half term and Sport Crew work with the PE Co-ordinator to develop our work as an active school, along with helping to make decisions about whole school events such as choosing the interhouse competitions each year.
Children are invited to attend competitive sporting events and festivals within the local area and beyond. This is an inclusive approach which endeavours to encourage not only physical development but also mental well-being. These events also develop teamwork and leadership skills and are very much enjoyed by children.

Impact

At Appleton C of E Primary School, we ensure that our PE curriculum is progressive and allows children to develop fundamental skills and apply them to a variety of sports and activities. All children are provided with the necessary skills and given opportunities to demonstrate improvement to achieve their personal best. Our pupils are physically active, and this has a positive impact on their learning in the classroom. Children understand how to lead a healthy lifestyle and understand the importance of regular exercise.

We aspire for children to enjoy PE and develop a love of sport and physical activity which becomes part of their future life outside of primary school. Children can represent the school at sporting events from local to county level. Alongside this, in Celebration Assembly we share sporting/active achievements that have occurred both in and out of school, so that we are consistently promoting sports and activities, and celebrating all levels of success. We aim for all Year 6 pupils to leave school with the (key life) skills to competently swim at least 25m and self-rescue in the water.