P.E. Policy

Westleigh St Paul’s CE Primary School

Physical Education (PE) Policy

Mission Statement

Westleigh St Paul’s CE primary school is committed to the provision of high quality education for all its pupils designed to ensure that they can realise their individual potential within a Christian framework.

Introduction

At St Paul’s we are fortunate to be part of the LLG and the Westleigh cluster for school sport.  The school believes that physical education, experienced in a safe and supportive environment, is vital and unique in its contribution to a pupil’s physical and emotional development and health. The physical education curriculum aims to provide for pupils’ increasing self- confidence through an ability to manage themselves successfully in a variety of situations.  A balance of individual, team, co-operative and competitive activities aims to cater for individual pupil’s needs and abilities. The scheme of work is based on progressive learning objectives which, combined with varied and flexible teaching styles, endeavour to provide appropriate, stimulating, challenging and enjoyable learning situations for all pupils.  The scheme aims to promote an understanding of the many benefits of exercise, through a balanced range of relevant activities.  Physical education is considered as a vehicle to facilitate access to cross-curricular themes, skills and dimensions, rather than a subject concerned exclusively with the acquisition of motor skills and techniques.

P.E. and the new National Curriculum (2014)

P.E. is a foundation subject within the National Curriculum. The National Curriculum sets out our programmes of study stating what children should learn and experience during Key Stage One and Two.

By the end of each key stage, pupils are expected to know, apply and understand the matters, skills and processes specified in the relevant programme of study in order to be a sports person.

Key Stage 1 (KS1)

Pupils should develop fundamental movement skills (FMS), 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.

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 in team games, developing simple tactics for attacking and defending

*Perform dances using simple movement patterns.

Key Stage 2 (KS2)

Pupils should 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 and 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 running, jumping, throwing, and catching in isolation and in combination

*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 dance using a range of movement patters – 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.

Swimming and water safety

All school must provide swimming instructions either in Key Stage 1 or Key Stage 2, In particular, pupils should be taught to: – swim competently, confidently, proficiently over a distance of at least 25 metres – use a range of strokes effectively (For example: front crawl, back stroke and breaststroke) – perform safe self-rescue in different water-based situations.

At Westleigh St. Paul’s CE we now provide weekly swimming for both the Year 3 and Year 4 class for the entire academic year and the Year 2 class has a half term block (6 weeks) of swimming during the summer term before they move into KS2 in order for them to be confident in entering the water ready for more formal swimming sessions in Y3.

Aim

PE develops the children’s knowledge, skills and understanding, so that they can perform with increasing competence and confidence in a range of physical activities. These include dance, games, gymnastics, swimming and water safety, athletics and outdoor adventure activities. PE promotes an understanding in children of their bodies in action. It involves thinking, selecting and applying skills, and it promotes positive attitudes towards a healthy lifestyle. Thus, we enable the children to make informed choices about physical activity throughout their lives.

Our objectives in the teaching of PE are:

• To enable children to develop and explore physical skills with increasing control and   coordination.
• To encourage children to work and play with others in a range of group situations.
• To develop the way in which children perform skills, and apply rules and conventions, for different activities.
• To provide the children with opportunities on how to improve the quality and control of their performance.
• To teach children to recognise and describe how their bodies feel during exercise.
• To develop the children’s enjoyment of physical activity through creativity and imagination.
• To develop an understanding in children of how to succeed in a range of physical activities, and how to evaluate their own success.
• To foster an appreciation of safe practice.
• To develop communication skills, encouraging the correct use of PE vocabulary.
• To understand health and lead active healthy life styles.

Organisation & Teaching methods

The curriculum in this subject has been organised to ensure that children in both key stages have access to all areas specified in the national curriculum.  Each year group is given two hours per week of hall sessions.  PE sessions can also take place on the school field or in the marked courts on the playground.  All lessons throughout the school are taught as class groups following the scheme of work from Lancashire. Lessons are normally taught by the class teacher, each class also receives a PE lesson from an outside agency (Mr Willock) for 3 half terms a year. This is for CPD purposes or in preparation for a festival/ competition. Swimming lessons are taught off site and always taught by a specialist swimming teacher along with the class teacher and support staff (Howebridge Leisure Centre).

Teaching and learning style

We use a variety of teaching and learning styles in PE lessons. Our principal aim is to develop the children’s knowledge, skills and understanding, and we do this through a mixture of whole-class teaching and individual or group activities. Teachers draw attention to good examples of individual performance as models for the other children, and we encourage the children to evaluate their own work as well as the work of other children. Within lessons, we give the children the opportunity both to collaborate and to compete with each other, and they have the opportunity to use a wide range of resources.

In all classes, children have a wide range of physical ability. Whilst recognising this fact, we provide suitable learning opportunities for all children by matching the challenge of the task to the ability of the child. We achieve this through a range of strategies:

• Setting common tasks that are open-ended and can have a variety of results (e.g. timed events, such as an 80 m sprint).
• Setting tasks of increasing difficulty, where not all children complete all tasks (e.g. the long jump).
• Grouping children by ability, and setting different tasks for each group (e.g. different games).
• Providing a range of challenge through the provision of different resources (e.g. different gymnastics equipment).

Our school now uses the Lancashire Scheme of Work as the basis for its curriculum planning.  We have adapted the scheme to our setting and staff can supplement this with planning from LCP and Val Sabin. Three members of staff have attended training off site regarding the scheme and a representative from Lancashire has been into school to assist in mapping PE across the school and modelled a lesson for each year group.

As required, we teach

• Dance
• Games – Striking and fielding (e.g. cricket and rounders), Invasion (e.g. football, netball, handball and tag rugby) and Net/wall games (e.g. tennis, badminton and football).
• Gymnastics
• Athletics
• Outdoor and Adventurous Activities
• Swimming and Water Safety
• Fundamental Movement Skills (KS1)

The curriculum planning in PE is carried out in three phases (long-term, medium-term and short-term). The long-term plan maps out the PE activities covered in each term during the key stage. The PE subject leaders devise this plan in conjunction with teaching colleagues in each year group. All PE planning can be accessed via the school’s shared drive or by using the Lancashire CD-Rom. We use the schemes of work as the basis for our medium-term plans. This gives details of each unit of work for each term. These plans define what we teach, and ensure an appropriate balance and distribution of work across each term.

Class teachers select a session plan for each PE lesson. This lists the specific learning objectives and expected outcomes, and gives details of how the lesson is to be taught. The class teacher keeps these individual plans, and the class teacher and subject leader often discuss them on an informal basis. We plan the PE activities so that they build upon the prior learning of the children. While there are opportunities for children of all abilities to develop their skills, knowledge and understanding in each activity area, there is progression planned into the scheme of work, so that the children are increasingly challenged as they move up through the school.

PE activities are sometimes led by approved instructors / trainee teachers / students and not directly by a member of teaching staff. However the class teacher will always be present during the PE session.  We also foster links with the local high school and college.

The Foundation Stage

We encourage the physical development of our children in the reception class as an integral part of their work. As the reception class is part of the Foundation Stage of the National Curriculum, we relate the physical development of the children to the objectives set out in the Early Learning Goals, which underpin the curriculum planning for children aged three to five years of age. We encourage the children to develop confidence, control of the way they move, and care in the handling of tools and equipment. 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 support specific skills.  The Reception class has two hours of PE follow the objectives set out in the Lancashire scheme of work for Nursery/ Reception.

The reception children are taught all subjects that make up PE and often practise their skills in their outdoor area too. A lot of emphasis is focused on the teaching and improvement to FMS.

PE and inclusion

We teach PE to all children, whatever their ability or individual needs. PE forms part of the school curriculum policy to provide a broad and balanced education to all children. Through our PE teaching, we provide learning opportunities that enable all pupils to make good progress. We strive hard to meet the needs of those pupils with special educational needs, those with disabilities, those with special gifts and talents, and those learning English as an additional language, and we take all reasonable steps to achieve this.

When progress falls significantly outside the expected range, the child may have special educational needs. Our assessment process looks at a range of factors – equipment, teaching style, differentiation – so that we can take some additional or different action to enable the child to learn more effectively. Assessment against the National Curriculum allows us to consider each child’s attainment and progress against expected levels. This helps to ensure that our teaching is matched to the child’s needs.

Intervention through School Action and School Action Plus will lead to the creation of an Individual Education Plan (IEP) for children with special educational needs. The IEP may include, as appropriate, specific targets relating to PE or pupils are offered the COOL project to improve their fine and gross motor skills.

Assessment for learning

Teachers assess children’s work in PE by making assessments as they observe them working during lessons. Pupils are encouraged to evaluate their own work and to suggest ways in which to improve. Teachers record the progress made by children against the learning objectives for their lessons. At the end of a unit of work, teachers make a judgement against curriculum levels of attainment using the LLG curriculum descriptors taken from Curriculum 2014.  These records also enable the teacher to make an annual assessment of progress for each child, as part of the school’s annual report to parents and carers. The teacher passes this information on to the next teacher at the end of each year.

Resources

There is a wide range of resources to support the teaching of PE across the school. We keep most of our small equipment in the PE store, and this is accessible to adults only. The hall contains a range of large apparatus, and we expect the children to help to set up and put away this equipment as part of their work. By so doing, the children learn to handle equipment safely. The children use the school field for games and athletics activities; and the local swimming pool for swimming lessons.

Health and safety

It is the general teaching requirement for health and safety that applies to this subject. We encourage the children to consider their own safety and the safety of others at all times. We expect them to change for PE into the agreed clothing for each activity area. The governing body expects the teachers to set a good example by wearing appropriate clothing when teaching PE. Each child is required to have a full PE kit, which consists of:

• Black pumps
• Black shorts
• Red t-shirt.
• No jewellery
• Swimming kit: trunks for boys and one-piece bathing suit for girls. (Y2, Y3 and Y4).

During Mr Willock’s lessons the children come into school in full outdoor kit. This clothing must be appropriate and warm e.g.

• Joggers/ jumper
• Trainers

Extra-curricular activities

The school provides a range of PE-related activities for children at the end of the school day. These encourage children to further develop their skills in a range of the activity areas. The school sends details of the current club activities to parents and carers at the beginning of each term. The school also plays regular fixtures / festivals and mini games competitions against other local schools.

This introduces a competitive element to team games, and allows the children to put into practice the skills that they have developed in their lessons and at afterschool clubs. These opportunities foster a sense of team spirit and cooperation amongst our children as well as developing their physical skills further.

Regular clubs include:

• Dance
• Fun & Fitness
• Handball
• Hockey
• Football
• Cheerleading
• Tag Rugby
• Athletics
• Badminton
• Cross Country

Role of the Co-ordinator

The coordination, monitoring and planning of the PE curriculum are the responsibility of the subject leaders, who also:

• Ensure implementation of the agreed scheme of work.
• Support colleagues in their teaching, by keeping them informed about current developments in PE and provide a strategic lead and direction for this subject;

• Give the Headteacher a summary report/ analysis of the results for the governors following the school reporting to governor’s cycle.
• Maintain and replace equipment.
• Attend meetings and courses and ensure that colleagues do so when applicable.
• Assist in record keeping and assessment.
• Ensure that pupils have opportunities to become involved in extra curricular activities to further develop skills and talents.
• Ensure standards remain high through effective monitoring (lesson observations / record keeping) of the subject.
• Work with the East PE/ Sports Co-ordinator (Lesley McGreevy)
• Support CPD/ work on cohort development arrears
• Allocate Sports Funding wisely
• Create links with sports clubs/ community
• Ensure children have the opportunities to attend competitions/ festivals
• Monitor after-school club attendance and ensure variety
• Arrange CPD

This policy will be reviewed at least every two years.