Physical Education at Birchfield

"Positive experiences at an early age help build the foundations for an active life. If children and young people have experiences that feel fun, positive and give them a sense of confidence, they’re more likely to want to be active in the future." Sport England

Intent:
At Birchfield Primary School, Physical Education (PE) is an integral part of our Curriculum that is inclusive and engages all pupils in a supportive and challenging environment. We aspire for pupils to acquire, develop and refine their practical skills and techniques; to further their knowledge and understanding of PE concepts and principles and develop their overall competence, to enjoy and achieve in a broad range of sports and physical activities. We aim to deliver high- quality teaching and learning opportunities which enable children to succeed; to enjoy their learning; to be resilient and consistently strive to give their best efforts at all times.

We aim to teach pupils how to cooperate and collaborate effectively as part of a team and compete appropriately against others, adhering to the principles of fairness, sportsmanship and respect - values we hope to embed for future life. We understand the importance PE, School Sport and Physical Activity has on children’s health, fitness and mental wellbeing. We provide opportunities for children to be physically active for sustained periods of time and we teach children the importance of leading healthy, active lives and making informed and appropriate lifestyle choices. Swimming is an important life skill and we aspire for pupils to leave primary school being able to swim at least 25 metres.

Implementation:
At Birchfield Primary School, PE provides a challenging and enjoyable offer of learning through a broad and balanced curriculum including the following units of work; fundamental movement skills, athletics, invasion games, net & wall games, strike and field games, gymnastics, fitness, dance, swimming and outdoor & adventure.

Our sequence of learning is taught through the Complete PE scheme of work. This sets out the PE units, including short term planning, which are to be taught annually and ensures that the requirements of the National Curriculum are fully met. Teaching staff should utilise the Physical Education curriculum map to inform the unit of work being taught each half term. The resources support teaching staff in delivering high quality physical education and ensure that progressive curriculum content is being taught. Teachers use this scheme to support their planning whilst also adapting the lessons to support the needs of their class and ensure that PE is inclusive for all.

Children in Nursery and Reception are allocated two hours of physical development time in addition to the physical development continuous provision offered within the EYFS environment. Pupils in both KS1 and KS2 should engage in two hours of PE each week covering two different disciplines every half term.
Swimming is taught as a unit of work at school. Swimming is recognised as an imperative part of the pupil’s development and further opportunities to swim will always be sought where possible. Water safety is also taught as part of the swimming curriculum.

Assessment in PE is completed by teaching staff throughout a unit of learning. Teaching staff use assessment criteria and record their judgements using the assessment sheets in place. Staff have exemplification videos on the Complete PE platform to inform their assessments.

To provide pupils with access to sport and physical activity above and beyond their school day we run a wide variety of extra-curricular clubs before school on an open-access basis. Pupils are encouraged to participate in a varied range of extra-curricular activities throughout lunchtime, before and after school. Daily opportunities are provided for children to attend extra- curricular sports clubs with the aim of providing pupils with 60 minutes of physical activity every day. During lunchtimes children have access to a wide range of activities and clubs led by our play workers, sports apprentices and sports coaches. We actively encourage all pupils to take advantage of these free daily opportunities.

Details of the forthcoming club activities are sent out at the beginning of each term; this enables pupils to select the clubs that they wish to attend. The take up for enrichment clubs is monitored regularly to ensure a broad and balanced approach. There may be occasions whereby clubs are organised to positively discriminate if any particular group is found to be misrepresented e.g. girls’ football.

Pupils are encouraged to participate in a range of competitive. Schools play regular sporting fixtures against other schools  within the local area and regionally. This introduces a competitive element to sports and allows the children to put into practice the skills that they have developed in their curriculum lessons and after school clubs. These competitions facilitate the opportunity for our pupils to foster core values such as resilience, teamwork, self-belief, perseverance, and respect. All pupils will have the opportunity to compete in level 1 sports competitions within teams at their respective school’s sports days. School also engages with level 2 games for Key Stage 2 with other schools across the Prince Albert Community Trust.

Impact:
The impact of the curriculum is measured through learning walks, pupil voice and assessment data. Pupil voice is an excellent resource that subject leaders use to determine the enjoyment and enthusiasm for learning in their subject.

The following outcomes are a result of our Physical Education curriculum:

• Pupils develop secure knowledge and understanding through a wide range of PE, school sport and physical activity opportunities
• Pupils understand how to succeed in a range of physical activities, and how to evaluate their own success
• Pupils develop an understanding of lifelong healthy living which includes personal, social, emotional, and mental health well-being
• Pupils develop an understanding of how they feel during exercise
• Our pupils develop their fitness and they are able to remain physically active for sustained periods of time
• Pupils develop a knowledge of a range of professional sports in the wider world
• Before the end of Year 6, pupils know how to remain safe in and around water and they have had the opportunity to learn how to ride a bike and the principles of road safety.