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PE at Firs

Ready For Learning and Ready For Life.

Firs Primary School is committed to ensuring all children are able to access a knowledge-rich, broad and balanced curriculum with teaching and learning being at the heart of the delivery of the curriculum. It aims to be bold, free thinking and rigorous; underpinned by a commitment to the school values, ensuring equity, learner empowerment and encouraging social mobility.  An essential element of our knowledge rich curriculum is the development of a broad and rich vocabulary, and the ambitious and explicit teaching of this.  A renewed focus on speech and language is a key driver of the revised curriculum and this is supported by the Voice21 scheme to develop Oracy in the classroom.

Physical Education

Live:  Children will have the knowledge and understanding to go into their next stage of life appreciating the important role being physically active plays in leading a healthy lifestyle.

Love:  Children will develop a love and passion for PE and sport that will last a lifetime.

Learn: Children will ask questions to understand the importance of physical activity; seek to discover sports of their choice; cooperate & collaborate with others as part of an effective team and find ways to improve their own and others’ performance.

Aims of the Physical Education curriculum:

All children will have access to at least two hours of physical activity per week.  Physical Education will be experienced in a safe and supportive environment which inspires all children to achieve their personal best and attain optimum physical and emotional development and good health.  There will be a wide variety of extra-curricular clubs to cover all year groups and increase participation rates.  Opportunities for competition, at an intra and inter school level, will be offered in numerous sports, and ensure all pupils experience this across the year.

Progression in the Physical Education curriculum:

The main Early Years Outcomes covered in Physical Education focuses on; increasing control over an object in pushing, patting, throwing, catching or kicking.  Children demonstrating good control and co-ordination in large and small movements.  Children negotiating space successfully when playing racing and chasing games with other children, adjusting speed or changing direction to avoid obstacles.  Children experimenting with different ways of moving and they move confidently in a range of ways, safely negotiating space. 

Throughout Key Stage 1 children will 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 against others) and co-operative physical activities, in a range of increasingly challenging situations.

During Key Stage 2 children will continue to apply and develop a broader range of skills, learning how to use them in different ways and to 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.

Explicit knowledge in the Physical Education curriculum:

Children will be taught to use a range of tactics and strategies to overcome opponents in direct competition through team and individual games.  They will develop their technique and improve their performance in other competitive sports. Children will perform dances using advanced dance techniques within a range of dance styles and forms take part in outdoor and adventurous activities which present intellectual and physical challenges and be encouraged to work in a team, building on trust and developing skills to solve problems, either individually or as a group.  Finally, children will analyse their performances compared to previous ones and demonstrate improvement to achieve their personal best.

Curriculum organisation of the Physical Education curriculum:

All children will have access to at least two hours of physical activity per week. Children will be provided with the opportunities to participate in competition at an intra and inter school level, this will be offered in numerous sports and will ensure all pupils experience this across the year.  After school clubs will provide children with the opportunity to participate in Physical Education through the wider curriculum.  Pupils will have the opportunity to take part in structured and active during social time. 

Reading, writing and talking in the Physical Education curriculum:

Early Years and Key Stage 1 will focus on threading phonics explicit teaching through all PE lessons.  Key Stage 1 pupils are encouraged to build a bank of transferable language (-ing words e.g. catching, kicking, throwing) that can be used in a range of sports. Key Stage 2 pupils undertake sport specific units of work where their prior knowledge and language development is based on leadership roles and team work communication.  Overviews ensures planning and resources across year groups support language development, in particular speaking and listening skills.   

Delivery of the Physical Education curriculum:

At Firs our vision for Teaching and Learning is rooted in high expectations and an unconditional belief that every child can achieve and succeed according to their unique abilities. We believe in challenge, engagement and deep learning (mastery). This is promoted through careful curriculum planning, modelled examples of practice and the use of responsive teaching through planned and purposeful checking for understanding. A positive and stimulating learning environment ensure behaviour for learning is central to our vision, as we strive for a warm and productive classroom climate. We carefully plan assessment to ensure we develop retrieval and schema to build on learning and make connections between subjects.  Finally, we explicitly plan for the delivery of Reading, Talking and Vocabulary in all subjects and this underpins our approach to teaching and learning at Firs.

Firs Foundation of Effective Practice ensures we have a whole school approach to delivering our curriculum vision.  The six Foundations provide staff with a learning model to ensure we deliver lessons based on research evidence, the six Foundations we model our Teaching and Learning on:

Foundation 1: Culture and Climate.

Foundation 2: Checking For Understanding.

Foundation 3: Explaining and Modelling.

Foundation 4: Reading, Talking and Vocabulary.

Foundation 5: Curriculum Planning.

Foundation 6: Retrieval and Schema building. 

In summary the impact of a powerful knowledge Physical Education curriculum at Firs will have the following features:

  • Subject driven.
  • Knowledge-rich.
  • Systematic.
  • Progressive.
  • Increased physical fitness.
  • Develops both fine and gross motor skills.
  • It can encourage children to be more active and spend more time outdoors in the fresh air.
  • Developing skills for working in teams and leadership skills.
  • Reduced stress, tension and anxiety.
  • Improved peer relationships.
  • Increase self-confidence and self-esteem in children.
  • Ensure children are Ready For Learning and Ready For Life.

 

Physical Education in the Curriculum

Central Coaching

The school employees Central Coaching to deliver PE lessons and extra curricular activities.  Central Coaching are a team of professional, qualified and enthusiastic sports coaches who provide high-quality, progressive and inclusive programmes of sport, dance and gymnastics to schools and communities across the UK. The ultimate mission is to improve children’s and young adult’s lives through sport and physical activity.

Central Coaching Website

Role of Central Coaches in delivering PE

  • With the Deputy Headteacher, to share a role in the monitoring and evaluation of the PE curriculum throughout the school.
  • To keep up to date with current good practice and with national changes within the PE curriculum.
  • To assist the Headteacher and Governors in the development of the School Improvement Plan.
  • To support members of staff in the use of effective planning, assessment and recording systems.
  • To maintain a high standard of PE teaching and ensure that PE keeps a high profile within the school, through sports activities, external support.

Entitlement

Children are entitled to high-quality PE lessons. Children at Firs Primary School will participate in 2 hours of PE per week.  Children in year 3 attend additional swimming practice.

Curriculum

The areas of physical activity (games, gymnastics, dance, athletics, swimming and outdoor activities) are set out in the Foundation Stage Curriculum and National Curriculum 2014. The PE curriculum at Firs Primary School is based on these requirements.

Each year group will learn PE in accordance with the long term planning. This will ensure continuity and progression through school in order to continue to improve standards in PE.


Areas of activity

Early Years

Pupils should be taught:

Games

  • Spatial awareness
  • Basic motor skills
  • Co-ordination and control
  • Aiming, predicting and estimating

Dance

  • Using their imagination in art, design, music, dance, imaginative role-play and stories

Gymnastics

  • Travel around, under, over and through balancing and climbing apparatus

Games (KS1 and KS2)

Pupils should be taught:

  • Simple competitive games
  • A variety of ways to send, receive, strike and travel with/without a ball
  • Games which include running, chasing, dodging, avoiding and awareness of space and other players
  • To develop core skills in attacking, defending, invasion, striking and fielding
  • To play small-sided and simplified versions of net/wall and target games

Gymnastics (KS1 and KS2)

Pupils should be taught:

  • To use technical vocabulary
  • To perform basic actions of travelling (turning, rolling, jumping, balancing, climbing)
  • To link movements on the floor and apparatus
  • To repeat movements / develop sequences
  • To develop complex movements

Dance (KS1 and KS2)

Pupils should be taught:

  • To compose and control movements by varying shape, size, direction, level, speed, tension and continuity
  • Investigate different genres of dance
  • To express feelings moods and ideas
  • o respond to various stimuli including music

Athletics (KS1 and KS2)

Pupils should be taught:

  • To develop and refine basic running, jumping and throwing techniques using a variety of equipment
  • To measure, compare and improve their own performance

Swimming (Year 3)

Pupils should be taught:

  • To swim unaided, competently and safely for at least 25m
  • To develop confidence in water and
  • To develop floating skills and support positions
  • To develop an effective and efficient swimming strokes on the front and back
  • To understand and follow basic water safety and survival skills

Outdoor Activities (KS2)

Pupils should be taught:

  • To perform outdoor and adventurous activities in a variety of environments
  • To face physical and problem solving challenges individually and collaboratively

At Firs Primary School PE will be taught through;

  • Exposition (demonstration, explanation and instruction) by the teacher to the class, groups or individuals
  • Practical activity and related discussion
  • Co-operative group work
  • Consolidation and practice of fundamental skills
  • Opportunity to discuss and reflect on their work through a plenary
  • Use of professional/qualified coaching to enhance current provision within school
  • Links made to Every Child Matters and Healthy Schools
  • Extended high-quality provision through after school activities making use of professional / qualified coaches
  • Use of community facilities – local swimming baths.

Central Education Celebrates

Autumn Term 2023 - Impact document

Curriculum Overview 2021 to 2022 – please click below:

PE Curriculum

Physical Education Progression Grids – please click below:

Athletics Progression Grid

Dance Progression Grid

Games Progression Grid

Gymnastics Progression Grid

OAA Progression Grid

After-school clubs – Please click below:

PLEASE CLICK HERE FOR AUTUMN TERM AFTER SCHOOL CLUBS