PE
At Neville’s Cross, we believe that a high-quality physical education curriculum inspires all our pupils to succeed and excel in competitive sport and other physical activities. Our aim at Neville’s Cross is to ensure all children enjoy and are engaged in Physical Education and Sport. Our curriculum is designed to develop our children’s knowledge, skills and understanding, so they can perform with increasing confidence and competence in a range of physical activities. PE sessions are delivered predominantly using Core Tasks and ‘Complete P.E. ’which enable teachers to plan progressive sessions acknowledging children’s starting points and then measure progress. In addition to our curriculum offer, school sport is an important part of our school community.
Our Physical Education curriculum is designed with our key curriculum drivers in mind:
Creativity – We provide opportunities within lessons for children to explore their own creativity, for example creating dance routines, gymnastic sequences and developing body expression. We encourage sharing of ideas and experiences to motivate and stimulate ideas.
Well-being – We provide opportunities for our pupils to become physically confident to support their health, fitness and well-being. We promote active participation and lifelong learning for every child to achieve their full potential by ensuring that every child’s experience of Physical Education is positive and motivating and that their attitudes to a healthy lifestyle are firmly embedded in our curriculum.
Our Communities – We provide every child from EYFS to Y6 with the opportunity to participate in competition, both in school and at external venues within the community. These opportunities allow children to represent our school within the community, build character and help embed values of fairness and respect.
PE in the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS)
Our children across the Early Years phase have an abundance of play opportunities and experiences which support the development of Fundamental movement skills (FMS). These are the skills which support children’s co-ordination and movement and the building blocks for movement. Our EYFS environment enables the children to develop in Physical Development and includes opportunities such as: dough disco sessions, squiggle while you wiggle activities, daily access to a safe outdoor classroom area which is well equipped to develop their gross motor skills and gives them space for energetic activity along with weekly timetabled forest school sessions. They also have timetabled hall sessions which are used to access large space for running safely, adjusting speed, basic gym and dance and movement sessions.
P.E. in Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2
Children receive two hours of PE timetabled per week as set out in the National Curriculum. Children are given the opportunity to swim during KS2 and we aim for all children leaving the school to be able to swim at least 25m. Staff plan and deliver lessons focusing on these key areas across the year:
- Athletics
- Dance
- Games – net/wall, striking and fielding, invasion games
- Gymnastics
- OAA
- Swimming
Staff use the Durham Core Tasks along with ‘Complete P.E.’ to assess and plan learning in PE. Tasks are used at the beginning and end of a unit of work to support the assessment process and provide evidence progression.
Athletics – All children take part in an athletics unit each year, focusing on the three key areas: running, jumping and throwing. Correct techniques for all areas are taught and a focus is placed on both team and personal competition within lessons.
Dance – Within dance, focus is placed on composition, performance and appreciation. Children respond to a range of stimuli to explore different movement patterns, performing with increasing confidence and developing their choreography skills.
Games – Children regularly focus on games units within PE lessons. Games encompass net, wall and court games; striking and fielding games; and invasion games. Within these units, we focus on a progression of key skills required such as throwing, catching, hand-eye coordination, batting and developing an understanding of tactics in game situations. Ball control, spatial awareness, shooting, marking and team work are also developed. A key focus within games is also on developing the cooperation and leadership skills needed to be part of a team.
Gymnastics – All children take part in regular gymnastics lessons. Focus is placed on flexibility, strength, technique, control, balance and sequencing. They work as individuals and pairs in lower school, progressing to group work by year 6.
Outdoor Adventurous Activities (OAA) – children work both individually and as a team within OAA lessons. They cover three areas of physical activity: orientation, communication and problem solving. Children have to use logical thinking skills to complete tasks. Our Y4, 5, 6 residentials also contribute to the OAA curriculum.
Swimming – Children in Y3 and 4 swim at Freemans Quay Leisure Pool. Children in Y5 and Y6 then receive top up lessons at the end of the academic year as required.
Example PE Unit plans
Please see the links below to view example PE unit plans for KS1, LKS2 and UKS2
Learning Links
Throughout school children will have the opportunity to make links with learning in other subject areas. For example, exploring genres of music and how this makes us feel and respond through movement and simple work in Geography which supports OAA and orienteering. Additional opportunities are provided in P.E. such as trying new sports including archery, judo and climbing as well as the vast array of opportunities provided through our residential visits.
Impact
Through high quality teaching and learning in P.E. our children will develop a foundation for lifelong physical activity, leave primary school being physically active and understand the importance of this for future well-being.
