What is Physical Education?

“Physical Education teaches us to be a team player and how to look after our bodies and our brains. It’s fun and includes everybody.”

“PE is important because it gives us energy, and strength and helps us feel better.”

“Physical Education is activities that raise your heartbeat and get you moving. It keeps us healthy and fit.”

Intent

At Alphington, we want children to develop enjoyment in physical education and gain an understanding of the value and importance it has on our physical and mental wellbeing.

The national curriculum for physical education states we must ensure that all pupils: develop competence to excel in a broad range of physical activities, are physically active for sustained periods of time, engage in competitive sports and activities, and lead healthy, active lives.

At Alphington, we are creating our future athletes by ensuring children:

• Find PE and being active an enjoyable challenge through which they develop physically and personally.
• Be enthused by sport and fitness as an individual or as part of a team.
• Have further opportunities to develop their skills and understanding through clubs and community sports teams.
• Understand the link between positive physical education and positive mental wellbeing.
• Develop vital skills such as sportsmanship, communication and respect through competitive and performance opportunities.

Implementation

At Alphington, children are taught PE for a minimum 2 hours per week, by class teachers and qualified sports coaches. Children have equal opportunities to participate in a variety of sports and physical activities in a supportive setting that rewards both effort as well as success.

Children are encouraged to participate in exercise throughout the school day during PE lessons, brain breaks, lunchtime provision, clubs, outdoor learning and special events that are held over the course of the academic year. The key knowledge and skills of each topic are mapped across each year group, which ensures that children develop their knowledge and understanding of games, dance, gymnastics, net & wall, striking & fielding and athletics progressively.

Knowledge and skills are informed and linked to enable the achievement of Key Stage endpoints, as informed by the 2014 National curriculum. Skills are taught at an age-appropriate level, revisiting and building on previous learning, and preparing for subsequent years.

At Alphington, we follow both the PEDPASS and Real PE schemes of work to support planning and assessment. Through Real PE, children gain experience of a variety of fundamental skills including; agility, balance, coordination, fitness, and cooperative learning. Each unit of work has a different focus to help develop the key abilities necessary for success in PE and sport across the curriculum:

Our curriculum is further enhanced by participation in numerous sporting events and tournaments with other schools in the local area and after-school clubs run by PE specialists/qualified coaches. Recently, some of our year 5 pupils have successfully qualified to be Play Leaders, whereby they offer a range of sporting activities for younger children to participate in at lunchtimes.

Teachers have high expectations of pupils and offer appropriate levels of support and challenge to ensure that every pupil is able to succeed and that every pupil is stretched in each PE session.

Impact

Every child will:

• Enjoy PE lessons and physical activity.
• Be able to combine physical skills with fluency and apply them consistently to a broad range of physical activities & sports.
• Have opportunities to participate in competitive sports within and outside of school.
• Be able to communicate and work collaboratively with others.
• Be able to achieve and succeed.
• Understand and articulate how they have made progress in individual PE lessons and overtime.
• Be aware of the link between physical activity and good mental health.
• Understand how to evaluate and recognise their own success.
• Understand and articulate the importance of leading a healthy and active lifestyle.

Teachers will use PEDPASS and REAL PE assessment resources to help them assess children’s knowledge and acquisition of skills in PE lessons. Teachers will use their ongoing assessment to help them make summative judgments at the end of each term and this will be uploaded onto O Track three times a year.