Intent

At Shortbrook Primary School, we value the impact Physical Education can have on children’s physical and mental health. We see Physical Education as an important tool to help develop and integrate our school values that we hold so high, into the lives of our students- beyond the sports hall and playing fields. We intend to give our students the fundamental motor skills at the earliest foundation stages so they are well equipped for PE in KS1 and KS2. Beyond the early years, our aim is to ensure students have developed their flexibility, strength, technique and balance so they can become successful in sport and PE. Although competition isn’t the be all and end all for our students, we value the importance of increasing a child’s confidence in the participation of competitive games and sport; ultimately helping Shortbrook students to build confidence, thinking and decision making. We see the impact PE can have on life skills, including swimming. We aim for all children to leave Shortbrook Primary School with confidence in the water and understanding the importance of water safety.

As a result of our Physical Education curriculum, we intend to create students who have: developed the confidence and interest to get involved in exercise and sport outside of school, become effective leaders in and out of education, and have a desire to commit themselves to improve both physically, mentally and socially.

Implementation

Here at Shortbrook, we believe in the benefit of a well planned and sequenced curriculum. Although we don’t follow a set scheme, we draw upon the most beneficial and applicable resources for our children, avoiding a one size fits all model. It is important to note that we don’t see Physical Education as an isolated subject, rather we ensure we use our time and resources available to build a school ethos of taking care of ourselves, mind and body. With this in mind, we will achieve this through:

• Giving every pupil 2 hours a week of high-quality PE lessons.
• A well-organized curriculum, which emphasizes on the fundamental motor skills early on in the Autumn term of each year group and progresses through to the application of these skills.
• A well sequenced long-term plan, which allows for progression of skills whilst meeting the needs of the National Curriculum.
• Giving Year 3/4 children the opportunity to take part in two full swimming blocks in the Autumn term then using the Spring and Summer term to provide booster lessons for those children yet to meet the national standard of 25m.
• Having strong links with Points Learning Network and Westfield School- providing children with opportunities to take part in competitive sport and games as well as broadening their exposure to Physical Education and Sport.
• The use of sports development coaches where necessary in order to support staff in delivering high-quality PE lessons.
• Embedding physical exercise through the use of: Daily Active Challenges, the Daily Mile, iMoves dance blasts, active playtimes.
• The involvement of national initiatives, which will be coordinated by our PE lead.
• The use of formative and summative assessments, through PITA scales. We use assessments as a way of informing staff on progress, as well as identifying those pupils needing additional time and support.

Impact

PE, exercise and sport are always enjoyed by the pupils at Shortbrook Primary School. We aim for all pupils to leave Shortbrook feeling confident in accessing PE at secondary school. We build healthy habits as a result of our curriculum and children leave Year 6 with an understanding of the importance of leading a healthy and active lifestyle.

As a result of consistent involvement in competitive games and festivals throughout their time at Shortbrook, our children leave primary school with valuable experiences across a wide variety of games and sports.