Our Vision for Physical Education

At Peterhouse Church of England Primary Academy, we believe that Physical Education has an important part to play in supporting children’s academic and spiritual needs; allowing them to flourish. We want all children, regardless of background or ability, to experience a variety of sports and physical skills to support them in their life choices and well-being. We strive to empower children with the sense of belonging to a community and give them the skills they need to become the best version of themselves; aiming to remove some of the social and cultural barriers the children of Peterhouse face within their lives.

Our Aims for Physical Education 

At Peterhouse we recognise the importance of PE within the curriculum and the direct link it has between children’s physical and mental health. We aim to provide experiences that will inspire pupils to not only develop physically but to ensure mental wellbeing and a desire to succeed. By doing this we are aiming to remove some of the emotional and motivational barriers the children of Peterhouse face within their lives.

A high quality PE curriculum will develop physical literacy and will allow pupils to learn about themselves, the importance of a healthy lifestyle, self-expression and concepts, such as fair play and respect, encouraging children to lead active lives. We want to aid our children in obtaining the values and skills to celebrate and respect the success of others, as well as modestly celebrating their own successes.

Physical education at Peterhouse aims to provide children with the opportunity to represent their school and community by being part of a team, and in doing this we hope to remove some of the environmental barriers the children of Peterhouse may have within their lives. We aim to ensure that our delivery of physical education allows all children to have the skills and mind set to leave primary school with the capabilities to be successful in their sporting challenges and active lifestyles at secondary school and beyond.

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 live

How Do We Deliver Physical Education

Physical Education lessons are delivered by class teachers or HLTAs. A variety of teaching and learning styles are used and applied in curriculum lessons. Our principal aim is to develop children’s knowledge, skills and understanding in all aspects of the subject. This is achieved through a balance of individual, paired and group activities. Through our delivery of PE we also aim to support children’s social and motivational skills, allowing them to apply these skills to their everyday lives. Children will have the opportunity to be co-operative, collaborative and competitive. These situations will aim to cater for the preferences, strengths and needs of every child. Children will have the opportunity to adapt and develop in a range of situations and will also be encouraged to continually evaluate their own performance.

Our Intended Coverage in Physical Education 

Our PE lessons are planned using the Get Set 4 PE platform, 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 which ensures our children are increasingly challenged as they move up through the school. 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 leader works this out in conjunction with teaching colleagues and pupils in each year group (Long- term plan attached below). Together we create a broad and balanced curriculum that is exciting for our children to learn through. Our medium-term plans give details of each unit of work for each term. These schemes of work provide an overview of the unit, links to other areas of the National Curriculum and assessment criteria for that unit. The short-term lesson plans provide opportunities for children of all abilities to develop their skills, knowledge and understanding in each activity area.

Physical Education in the Early Years

Through the delivery of a knowledge rich curriculum children in EYFS build a focused and sequenced body of knowledge which students are able to remember. In the EYFS PE comes under the title of ‘Physical Development’. Physical activity is vital in children’s all-round development, enabling them to pursue happy, healthy and active lives. Gross and fine motor experiences develop incrementally throughout early childhood, starting with sensory explorations and the development of a child’s strength, coordination and positional awareness through tummy time, crawling and play movement with both objects and adults. By creating games and providing opportunities for play both indoors and outdoors, we support children to develop their core strength, stability, balance, spatial awareness, coordination and agility. Some activities provided involve games with beanbags, cones, hoops and balls, and parachutes. We plan activities where children can practise moving in different ways and at different speeds, balancing, target throwing, rolling, kicking and catching. As well as this the children are provided with the time and space to enjoy energetic play on a daily basis. Children in Reception follow the schools ‘Get Set 4 PE’ scheme.

By the time children leave Reception they will be expected to;

• Gross Motor Skills
• 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.

Assessment in Physical Education

Our teachers assess the children’s work in PE, both by making informal judgements, as they observe them during lessons, and through assessing against the specific objectives set out in the National Curriculum. Our assessment process is linked to our Marking and Feedback Policy.

We have clear expectations of what the pupils will know, understand and be able to do at the end of each Key Stage. Teachers are supported with resources to know how to prepare children for their next phase of education. These resources include the Get Set 4 PE progression of skills document, progression ladders and knowledge organisers.