PE

Intent

The national curriculum for physical education aims to ensure that 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 lives 

Eastfield Primary School recognises the value of Physical Education and sport. The primary aim of the PE curriculum at Eastfield is to ensure pupils experience taking part in a wide range of physical activities. Pupils are also encouraged to engage in competitive sports with the hope that their interest extends beyond the curriculum and into extra-curricular clubs and competitions. The curriculum aims to invigorate the mind as well as the body; a healthy mind is equally as important as a healthy body. 

Implementation

The teaching of PE sets clear expectations and targets across all year groups. It is taught as an area of learning in its own right, making links to other curriculum areas where suited. Whilst PE is taught as a discreet lesson to pupils in EYFS once a week, physical development, the process by which children develop their strength, balance, coordination and motor skills, permeates throughout the EYFS curriculum. Physical development is strengthened and applied through the 4 specific areas of learning: literacy, mathematics, understanding the world and expressive arts and design.  Pupils in Key Stage 1 experience 2 sessions a week of PE.  Units of work focus on developing the fundamental skills such as balance, running and jumping. We believe that focusing heavily on gaining the foundational knowledge through the regular and repeated practise of the fundamental skills will ensure pupils will be able to accurately and automatically retrieve the knowledge of these skills in preparation for more complex game play in KS2. Also, by heavily focusing on acquiring fluency in the fundamental skills in PE, the cognitive load for pupils is dramatically reduced and further strengthens executive function skills: working memory, cognitive flexibility and impulse control. By the start of KS2, we feel that pupils have developed secure enough executive functioning skills to introduce more complex fundamental skills through explicit sports. Pupils in Key Stage 2 are taught 2 sessions of PE per week. 

Teachers enable pupils to explore and investigate, be creative, plan and select, practise and refine, present their work, observe and evaluate, take on different roles and responsibilities and strive to improve on their individual personal bests.  Teaching also aims to be fun and enable pupils to experience success in sport, develop good sporting attitudes, understand basic rules, experience positive competition and learn in a safe environment. Teaching provides consistent and clear quality feedback to pupils to help them improve and identify the next steps in their learning. Lessons include the use of appropriate and well-chosen, high-quality resources to aid learning and progression of skills and technique. 

Impact

P.E is taught as a basis for lifelong learning, where the children have access to a wide range of activities in the belief that if taught well and the children are allowed to succeed, then they will continue to have a physically active life. A high-quality physical education curriculum inspires all children to succeed and excel in competitive sport and other physically demanding activities. At Eastfield, we provide opportunities for children to become physically confident in a way which supports their health and fitness. Opportunities to compete in sport and other activities build character and help to embed values such as fairness and respect. We strive for: 

• Mentally and physically fit pupils who think strategically as well as critically 
• Pupils equipped with strategies to positively challenge life and the wider world 
• Strong sporting attitude and spirit 
• Equipped with positive character 

Further Information

PE Progression in Complete PE

PE Progression Fundamental Skills