Policy Statement
Streatham Wells recognises that physical education, experienced in a safe and supportive environment, is a unique and vital contributor to a pupil’s physical development, well-being and overall education. It can teach the pupils, through purposeful experiences, to understand and value the benefits of participation in physical activity whilst at school and throughout life. A broad and balanced physical education curriculum is intended to facilitate the development of the pupil’s body awareness, self-confidence and enjoyment of the activity. It is intended that pupils, irrespective of their innate ability, will enjoy success and achieve their full potential in P.E.
Aims
Physical education offers opportunities for children to:
- Become skilful and intelligent performers
- Acquire and develop skills, performing with increasing physical competence and confidence, in a range of physical contexts
- Learn how to select and apply skills, tactics and compositional ideas to suit activities that need different approaches and ways of thinking
- Develop their ideas in a creative way
- Set targets for themselves and compete against others, individually and as team members
- Understand what it takes to persevere, succeed and acknowledge others’ success
- Respond to a variety of challenges in a range of physical contexts and environments
- Take the initiative, lead activities and focus on improving aspects of their own performance
- Discover their own aptitudes and preferences for different activities
- Make informed decisions about the importance of exercise in their lives
- Develop positive attitudes to participation in physical activity
(Physical Education – Teachers’ Guide QCA Schemes of Work 2000)
Staffing/staff development
Teachers take their own classes for P.E. When an external coach is leading the session the class teacher or other member of the school staff do not need to be present in order to oversee the teaching unless they want to develop their own knowledge. However, a member of staff would not be present if the external coach was covering PPA time.
Staff development needs may be identified by the P.E. coordinator or personally by a member of the teaching staff. The P.E. coordinator will make teaching staff aware of any opportunities for professional development.
Staff demonstrate the enjoyment and benefits that can be gained from sport by participating in annual events, such as the teachers’ race on sports day and Year 6 versus teachers rounders match. Parents of children in Year 6 are also invited to participate in the rounders match. Teachers regularly attend sporting events that our children participate in, again demonstrating the value placed on sport by the school. We try to raise awareness of sporting events and opportunities in our wider community for both children and parents through newsletters and notices.
Provision and Entitlement
The content of P.E. in primary schools as established by the National Curriculum at Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 and the Early Learning Goals for the Foundation Stage is as follows:
Foundation Stage: Physical development
Key Stage 1: Games, Dance, Gymnastics
Key Stage 2: Games, Dance, Gymnastics, Athletics, Swimming, Outdoor and adventurous activities
During Key Stage 1, pupils should be taught the knowledge, skills and understanding through all three areas. During Key Stage 2, pupils should be taught the knowledge, skills and understanding through five areas of activity: games, dance and gymnastics and two other areas selected from athletics, swimming and outdoor and adventurous activities. The specific content of each area is outlined in the folowing curriculum map. In years 3, 4 and 5 one term will be dedicated to swimming (year 5 in the autumn, year 3 in the spring and year 4 in the summer). The outdoor and adventurous activities requirements are covered during the year 6 school journey.
The children should be enabled to develop a balance of skills across games activities.
Curriculum Map – for full curriculum map, please ask to see a copy of the full PE Policy
Opportunities for high quality exercise are also provided outside of P.E. lessons. During lunchtimes our midday meal supervisors help the children to participate in games and provide equipment to support these activities. Older children assume leadership roles organising and overseeing games for younger children.
Teachers may choose to use aerobic activities, such as the Take 10 scheme, in the classroom to enable the children to partake in physical activity that is beneficial to their learning and eases the transition from one session to the next. The Take 10 resource is also now available in Spanish, providing a cross-curricular opportunity to improve children’s learning potential.
Extra-curricular activities and other initiatives
Out of hours clubs are provided to extend children’s participation, development and enjoyment of specific activities.
- The Year 1 & 2 football club is run throughout the year and is open to all children.
- The Year 3 & 4 football club is run throughout the year and is open to all children.
- The Year 5 & 6 football club (for the school team squad) is run throughout the year. Selection for this club is dependent on ability as the team selected from this squad plays league fixtures against other schools on Saturday mornings.
- The Year 5 & 6 netball club is run throughout the year and is open to all children.
When the clubs that are open to all children within the designated year groups are oversubscribed a random draw of names is taken and the children that miss out will be invited to join at the start of the next term.
Children are encouraged to participate in events and inter-school competitions for football, cricket, rounders, netball, rugby, athletics and multi-skills. These competitions take place during school time but often extend beyond the normal close of the school day.
In Years 5 & 6 the children are invited to participate in cycling proficiency training. Children in Key Stage 2 are welcome to cycle to school, with bike sheds provided for safe storage.
The school actively promotes the Walk to School initiative, demonstrating both the environmental and health benefits of this choice. The School hosts two Walk to School weeks each year.
Adults other than teachers
TAs and LSAs will be suitably briefed before each session in order to help meet the needs of the children they are supporting.
Students teaching P.E. on teaching practice will be supervised by the class teacher.
External coaches, parents and college students that help with clubs will be appropriately inducted by the P.E. coordinator in order to understand the health and safety procedures relevant to their activities. Class teachers must also ensure that such visitors understand the needs of the children they are working with.
Safe practice
To ensure safe practice pupils are taught to:
- Be concerned with their own and others’ safety in all activities undertaken
- Understand the importance of warming up and recovery exercise, thus preventing injury
- Lift, carry and place equipment safely
- Observe the rules of good hygiene
- Understand why particular clothing, footwear and protection are worn for different activities
- Understand the safety risks of wearing inappropriate clothing, footwear and jewellery
- Respond readily to instructions and signals within established routines and follow relevant rules and codes
All adults must report any defects in any equipment that needs attention.
All equipment must be tested before the children use it. Equipment is checked for health and safety by a qualified outside agency.
In all activities that involve children working above floor level the cushioned mats must be used.
Although children are trained to carry, lift and place apparatus safely, it is the individual teacher’s responsibility to supervise them and check that equipment is stored safely and tidily.
Clothing
All children must wear appropriate clothing for P.E. for safety reasons. Appropriate footwear is essential. Feet should be bare for gymnastics sessions.
Hair should be tied up if long. No watches or jewellery should be worn. If children lose any personal property during P.E. the school cannot take responsibility, but will do all they can to help look for their property.
Teachers will dress appropriately for P.E. sessions.
The school provides swimming hats.
Non-participants
If pupils are not participating in P.E. it should only be for health or medical reasons and a letter should be sent into the school explaining the reason. Teachers should contact individual parents if a child consistently fails to dress appropriately.
Where possible, children who are not participating in P.E. for reasons of health or an inappropriate kit should be given a role so that they feel included and have an awareness of the learning objective for the session. Such a role could be as a scorer, referee, commentator or a responsibility for equipment.
Cross curricular issues
Our PSHCE units and events promote the importance and benefits of physical activity and health related fitness.
Opportunities should be identified to reinforce links between P.E. and literacy (e.g. instructions/rules, match reviews, performance poetry), numeracy (e.g. counting/scoring, measuring, direction and movement, data handling), science (e.g. healthy eating, moving and growing, forces in action), ICT (e.g. data handling and presentation) and other areas of the curriculum.
ICT can also be used to support the teaching of P.E. through the use of video clips to explain rules, skills and strategies. Digital cameras can also be used to enable to the children to evaluate and improve their work.
Equal Opportunities and inclusion
The teaching is generally intended to be suitable for a mixed ability, whole class approach. However, when appropriate, ability groups will be set so that particular skills can be developed and all children are working on suitably differentiated tasks.
The school aims to provide full access to the P.E. curriculum for children with special needs, whilst taking into consideration any relevant safety issues in accordance with the special needs policy.
We shall endeavour to ensure an equal interest in the subject for both boys and girls. The cultural diversity of our children will be recognised and respected. All children are encouraged to take part in and are taught all areas of the P.E. curriculum.
Equipment and resources
Resources are stored in two sheds in the main playground and in the stock cupboard in the hall. Laminated cards, positioned in these ares, list the types of equipment and quantities.
Monitoring and evaluating
The P.E. coordinator checks that a broad and balanced curriculum is carried out by monitoring the end of unit assessments. Teachers evaluate each session on their weekly curriculum plan, handed to the head teacher.
Assessing and recording
Teachers should be aware of the pupils’ progress over the year and appropriate comments recorded on the end of term report. A general assessment of the objectives is recorded on the weekly curriculum plan, handed to the head teacher. Assessment of the pupils’ progress is made through the continuous process of observation and questioning. Observations can be supported with photographs. The parents of children who have been identified as gifted and talented are informed and supported, where possible, in finding clubs and events that will nurture their futher development.
Policy rewritten: Summer 2011
Review date: Summer 2013