Physical Education
This is an extract from the PE curriculum policy with information for parents (full policy available on request):
Curriculum Intent:
‘Physical Education gives children the opportunity to be active every single day. It gives children early exposure to team sports, and promotes good physical fitness. Children who participate in PE get a workout, and they also learn the importance of exercise as a lifelong habit’. – Slideshare.net.
At Seely, we believe Physical Education is an essential and integral part of the whole school curriculum. Through PE and Sport our children learn to develop the important qualities of discipline, resilience, communication, team work, and ambition, leading to improved concentration, attitude, and academic achievement.
Our mission is to improve and increase the quality and quantity of high quality PE for pupils, to show how PE can enhance pupils’ attainment and achievement and to create pathways for them to continue to be active beyond school.
Through the study of Physical Education, children are able to develop the fundamental skills and competence to excel in a wide range of physical activities. The children will grow in the knowledge and understanding of how important PE is, which will help to develop links to outside agencies and clubs and generate positive interaction into the community and world in which we live.
Pedagogy and Implementation:
Teaching and Organisation
We aim to embed a secure knowledge and understanding of the learning objectives through fun, engaging practical sessions that all children can be a part of and enjoy. Each PE lesson is motivational for the children to be enthusiastic about their learning with high expectations of outcome. PE lessons will be delivered from a member of staff or the external PE sports coach and supported by the subject leader when required.
Staff and sports coach will follow the NC expectations through schemes of work by Val Sabin or Progressive Sports. We aim for children to have two hours of physical activity each week and every class receives a variety of indoor and outdoor PE sessions. Children have the opportunity to attend PE and sports competitions through School Sports Nottingham.
Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS)
Children will need support to develop gross and fine motor skills, use tools independently, manage their personal care needs and be confident to access challenging physical play.
Gross Motor Skills ELG; 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.
Fine Motor Skills ELG; 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 One (KS1)
Children 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 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 team games, developing simple tactics for attacking and defending.
- Perform dances using simple movement patterns.
Key Stage Two (KS2)
Children should continue to apply and develop a broader range of skills, learning how to use them in different ways and 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 jumping, running, 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.
Children in Years 4 and 5 attend swimming lessons for a full term each year and are taught the fundamentals of swimming and water safety, such as:
- Swim competently, confidently and proficiently over a distance of at least 25 metres.
- Use a range of strokes effectively (for example, front crawl, backstroke and breaststroke).
- Perform safe self-rescue in different water-based situations.
- Y6 children having yet to achieve their 25 metre distance award, receive ‘Top Up’ swimming lessons in the final half term of summer.
Access for all
We make sure that all children access the PE curriculum and achieve success, therefore ensuring that adapted tasks where pertinent allow them to develop and extend their depth of knowledge and understanding so that they can demonstrate successfully what they know, understand and can do.
Wider Curriculum
In addition to weekly PE lessons, children at Seely have the opportunity to participate in wider enrichment opportunities through School Sports Nottingham. These might include: athletics sessions, dance workshops, handball tournaments, football matches, swimming galas, cross country events and other sporting sessions where pupils have the opportunity to complete against themselves and other Nottingham City schools. Additionally, outside providers have worked with pupils on tag rugby sessions, basketball clubs and dance clubs.
At Seely, we are committed to educating about equality in sport and Physical Education and Year 4 children work with Totally Runable to encourage body confidence and a continued commitment to girls being active as they get older. Team GB athletes come to school as positive role models to educate the children on their sport and the perseverance it takes to be an athlete.
PE links are embedded through the curriculum in areas such as history and geography, where children have been taught dances from other cultures and time periods.
Children are encouraged to be active through whole school fundraising events such as the Seely Sponsored Run.
In Olympic years, there is a whole school focus on the history of the Olympics and gender and race equality at Olympic events throughout time. Children are taught about Team GB athletes in the hope that all children can aspire to excelling at a sport in the future if they wish to.
Outdoor education sessions encourage children to be physically active. Children attending Forest School sessions learn to climb, swing and crawl using nature as inspiration. Children attending residential trips in Years 4 and 6 participate in walks, caving, canoeing, raft building, abseiling, climbing and playing in nature,
