physical education
Intent
At The Meadows Primary School and Resource Base, we believe that a high-quality Physical Education (PE) curriculum inspires all pupils to succeed and excel in competitive sport and other physically-demanding activities. It should provide opportunities for pupils 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.
Our aim is to ensure all children enjoy and are engaged in PE and sport.
Through PE, we aim to develop the children’s knowledge, skills and understanding, so that they can perform with increasing confidence and competence in a range of physical activities.
We aim to improve health and well-being, promote active participation and lifelong learning, and for each child to fulfil their potential. We aim to ensure that the children’s experience of PE is positive and motivating and that children’s attitudes to a healthy lifestyle are firmly embedded in our curriculum.
Implementation
Each child receives PE lessons on a weekly basis which are carefully planned and mapped out to ensure a broad and full range of skills and activities. These sessions are either delivered by our specialist PE coaches or class teachers during PE lessons. As a school, we use the ‘Sports Plus’ PE scheme.
In addition to PE lessons, our children have other opportunities to be physically active including: swimming lessons, outdoor gym sessions, orienteering, playtime and lunchtime physical activities and our Meadows’ Mile initiative with our astroturf track. We have also developed our woodland area so our children can benefit from high quality, innovative outdoor learning taught by our expert ‘Forest School’ practitioner or by some of our ‘Forest School’ trained staff.
In the Early Years Foundation Stage, children begin to improve their movement skills. Teachers strive to develop their agility, balance and coordination through a variety of indoor and outdoor physical learning opportunities.
Pupils in KS1 are given ample opportunities to develop their fundamental movement skills and extend their agility, balance and coordination. They engage in competitive and cooperative physical activities through games, dance and gymnastics.
In KS2, pupils continue to apply and develop a broader range of skills such as running, jumping, throwing and catching. These skills are incorporated into competitive games, performances using movement patterns and evaluations of their own and others’ work. Pupils communicate and collaborate with each other and develop an understanding of how to improve in physical activities. There are many opportunities across the year for children to take part in inter and intra school competitions, as well as festivals, where children’s successes in sports are celebrated.
As mentioned previously, children in Years 4 and 5 attend swimming lessons at the local swimming pool where they are taught to swim competently, confidently and proficiently over a distance of 25m using a range of strokes.
At The Meadows we extend the experiences of our pupils by providing a variety of extra-curricular opportunities. Sports clubs for children in both Key Stages are run by teachers and external sport coaches. Some examples of these opportunities include: football, cricket, multi-skills, tennis, cricket, athletics and dance.
We compete regularly in sports fixtures with other schools as part of the KNPSFA and KNPSSA (Kings Norton Primary School Football/Sports Associations) This introduces a competitive element to team and individual sports and allows our children to put into practise the skills that they have developed in their lessons and extra-curricular clubs. These opportunities foster a sense of team spirit and co-operation amongst our children. We also compete regularly in the School Games events organised by our local Colmers partnership.
Impact
We help motivate children to participate in a variety of physical activities and sports through quality teaching that is engaging and fun. From our lessons, our children learn to take responsibility for their own health and fitness, many of whom also enjoy the success of competitive sports.
We equip our children with the necessary skills and a love of sport. They will hopefully grow up to live happy and healthy lives, utilising the skills and knowledge acquired through PE.
Our successes over the past decade have been considerable in festivals and competitions locally and nationally. As a school, we have been recognised previously with a School Games Mark Award of Bronze. When the application window opens up again, we will be striving for Silver or Gold.
