At North Bradley School, we recognise the importance PE plays in the curriculum and are committed to providing all children with opportunities to engage fully in Physical Education. Our PE programme aims to develop children's essential physical competencies, build confidence in their ability and build the foundations for a lifelong love of sport, physical activity and a healthy lifestyle. By the time children leave Year 6, we want them to have had access to a broad range of sports to ensure all children develop confidence, tolerance and the appreciation of their own and others' strengths and weaknesses. Alongside this development of physical skills, we want to build the children's social, emotional and thinking skills, which they can then use in other areas of their learning. We aim to nurture confident, resilient children who will strive for their personal best.
Our objectives in the teaching of PE align with the National Curriculum in that we aim to ensure 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
- Lead healthy, active lives
All pupils in Key Stage One and Two participate in just under two hours of high-quality PE learning each week. Our youngest children (EYFS) are taught a structured PE lesson once a week, with other opportunities for physical development planned across the week and incorporated into their day to day activities. PE lessons are either taught by a teacher or HLTA who have received training and support.
We use the Get Set 4 PE scheme of learning, which aligns with our core values, our whole-child approach to PE and the objectives laid out in the National Curriculum. Get Set 4 PE is planned so that progression is built into the scheme, ensuring our children are increasingly challenged as they move up through the school.
Our long-term plan maps out the PE activities covered in each term during the key stage. The PE subject leader works this out in conjunction with teaching colleagues and pupils in each year group. Together we create a broad and balanced curriculum that is exciting for our children to learn through.
In EYFS, the focus is on fundamental movement skills, negotiating space safely with and around others and learning how to handle and use different equipment. This prepares them for KS1, in which children are taught in line with the National Curriculum requirements in that they further develop fundamental movement skills and begin to understand simple tactics within co-operate and competitive games. By KS2, they further develop these skills by applying them to different situations and activities.
Our long-term plan ensures that children have the opportunity to build upon specific skills across several units to ensure skills are embedded across a year. For example, children will learn about using space during a netball unit and then apply this during another invasion unit, e.g. hockey or tag rugby, allowing children to master skills and apply these across a range of sports. Throughout Key Stage Two, children revisit different sports, building upon their knowledge and skills within this sport, allowing children in Upper Key Stage Two the skills to play inter and intra sporting competitions with success. In Key Stage Two, children participate in a 'non-traditional' sport unit each year, e.g. tri golf, dodgeball, yoga, leadership, to help engage a broader range of children to develop a love of sport and physical activity alongside their physical skills. Our medium-term plans have been sequenced to build on skills lesson by lesson. Within each lesson, the learning is sequenced so that children can explore and develop a skill and then apply it to a game, sequence or choreography.
Weaved through all the units are whole child (social, emotional and thinking) objectives. Each year, children build upon these skills and can apply these not only to PE lessons but all learning.
During their time at North Bradley, children will attend two 10-week blocks of swimming lessons at the local pool. These sessions are led by qualified swimming instructors and develop the children's swimming skills and water confidence. As it is required that all children can confidently swim 25 meters by the time they leave primary school, those who cannot do this by Year Six take part in a Top Up swimming programme.
In Key Stage Two, some children are invited to attend competitive sporting matches and tournaments within the local area. We believe it is important to celebrate children who achieve highly within each sport and provide them with additional opportunities to challenge their skills. Excellence in PE is also celebrated in school newsletters and displays. We also recognise all children benefit from experiencing out of school sporting opportunities regardless of ability. Through the year, children can attend festivals that focus on developing sport-specific skills in a less-competitive environment.
Physical activity and school sport have a high profile within our school. Children enjoy participating in school PE lessons and are eager to participate in wider school sporting opportunities, including competitive sport, festivals and clubs. By the end of Key Stage Two, children have developed secure fundamental movement skills which allow them to participate successfully in a wide range of sports. They can communicate, collaborate and compete with each other and know how to improve in different physical activities and sports. Children's social, emotional and thinking skills on their PE journey are transferred into other areas of the curriculum supporting whole school behaviour and learning. Children understand the importance of keeping physically active, and many children take part in sport outside of school.