Curriculum - PE
Welcome to our PE Curriculum page. The website is currently undergoing some exciting updates. Content is gradually being added. The website will be finalised by June 2024.
At Bridgtown Primary school our vision is to provide the children with rich PE opportunities that allow them to experience physical education, school sport and physical activity that will lead to lifelong participation and happy and healthy lifestyles. Together with an inclusive and engaging curriculum and a range of after school clubs, it is our aim to help the children to become happy and healthy, humble and respectful, resilient, confident, a team player with good communication skills and also have transferable skills for their later life. We believe that our inclusive PE curriculum can inspire all pupils to succeed and excel in competitive sport and other physically demanding activities whilst understanding the importance that PE has on their lives. We also provide the children of Bridgtown Primary School with opportunities to take on leadership roles in which they can build character and embed values such as fairness and respect. As a school, we recognise that regular participation in sport and physical activity can also help to improve physical fitness, help with weight management, instill self- discipline, improve mental health, self- confidence and reduce stress.
Curriculum Rationale
Here at Bridgtown Primary School we believe that Physical Education is key to leading and maintaining healthy lifestyles both physically and mentally.
Our aim is that by the end of Year 6, children are happy and healthy individuals, who are respectful, resilient, confident and good team players with good communication and life skills. We aim to give all children the opportunity to understand how to fulfil a healthy lifestyle both physically and mentally and also to have the key skills to allow them to lead happy, safe and healthy lives.
The staff at Bridgtown are committed to ensuring the children enjoy their lessons and become motivated to love physical education, we do this by giving the children different opportunities to take part in a broad range of sports and meeting sports personalities with different backgrounds. We recognise that it is important that children from our school access a broad range of sports and opportunities that they may not always be able to access outside of school. We endeavour to support the children’s development and knowledge of sport with good quality lessons and after school clubs. Each lesson is carefully planned with the correct balance of support and challenge to enable all children to access each lesson and make the correct progress.
In the Early Years Foundation Stage we use carefully planned provision alongside a PE lesson to build on fundamental skills enabling the children to work towards the Early Learning Goal. We offer daily playful opportunities for children to engage in physical activities both indoors and outdoors and all children are encouraged to use the bikes, scooters, balls, building equipment and also the large wooden climbing frame to enhance their physical development. We access all areas of the environment all year round to ensure that the children are getting the best opportunities to support their physical development. We also share a range of healthy snacks, encourage independent toileting, hand washing. We take part in daily toothbrushing and discuss the importance of all of these to make our lifestyles healthy.
The skills that are taught in the Early Years are then built on throughout KS1 and KS2 ensuring that the children have the best opportunities to meet the end of KS2 attainment targets.
PE here at Bridgtown Primary School provides challenging and enjoyable learning through a range of sporting activities including; invasion games, net & wall games, strike and field games, gymnastics, dance, swimming and outdoor & adventure. Through the Key Stages, staff at Bridgtown Primary School endeavour to teach children the skills to run, jump, throw and catch in isolation and in combination and with these skills the children will be taught to play competitive games enabling the children to work as a team, cooperate with others allowing them to understand the importance of fairness and respect. This in turn will imbed quality life values. The children will also be given opportunities to develop flexibility, strength, control, technique and balance. They will gain confidence when performing and they will learn the skills to self-evaluate. We also give children the opportunity to gain key life skills to help to keep themselves safe such as being able to swim. The children will be taught to swim competently, confidently and proficiently over a distance of at least 25 metres using a range of strokes. They will also be taught how to perform safe self-rescue in different water based situations.
Children are given opportunities throughout their time at Bridgtown Primary School to take part in various competitions and showcases both at school and at the local theatre. The children are encouraged to take part in residentials in both Year 4 and Year 6 to continue to build on all of their skills that help us to lead a happy and healthy life.
PE in EYFS
In Early Years, Physical Education is incorporated into our everyday teaching, learning and practice. It is explored through a range of different areas including, physical development, personal, social and emotional development and expressive arts and design. This supports the children to develop their physical skills in both fine and gross motor elements as well as working on children’s personal, social and emotional development giving them the best start to leading a happy and healthy life. The children also get daily opportunities to build on their fundamental skills which gives them the best start to achieving all outcomes at the end of their primary school journey.
Children in Early Years are given opportunities through continuous provision and their planned PE lesson to build on their core strength, stability, balance, spatial awareness, co-ordination and agility through games and resources available. Gross motor development is built on by the use of bikes, the climbing frame, balls and other equipment such as streamers and scarves. Fine motor control and precision is developed through activities such as cutting, the use of playdoh, the encouragement of dressing and undressing including doing up their zip and buttoning and unbuttoning their clothing and the use of small tools.
Adults encourage, model and give guidance to the children to enable them to learn how to look after their bodies in regards to good hygiene, personal skills and healthy eating independently.
Children’s personal, social and emotional development is crucial for children to lead healthy and happy lives. Adults build strong, warm and supportive relationships with the children to enable them to understand their own feelings and those of others. Children are supported to manage emotions, develop a positive sense of self, set themselves simple goals, have confidence in their own abilities, to persist and wait for what they want and direct attention as necessary.
With all of these opportunities, adult guidance, scaffolding and modelling the children will be put in good stead to meet the Early Learning goals at the end of their reception year and continue to develop to meet all other attainment targets at the end of KS1 and KS2.
What does PE look like in EYFS?
PE in KS1 & KS2
The PE curriculum here at Bridgtown Primary School supports children to become happy and healthy individuals regardless of their background, ability and additional needs. Our curriculum inspires all pupils to succeed and excel in competitive sport and other physically-demanding activities. Through our well planned and structures weekly PE lessons and after school activities we provide opportunities for the children at Bridgtown Primary School to become confident in a way which supports their health and fitness enabling them to lead happy and healthy lifestyles and also broadening their sport opportunities. As we give the children opportunities throughout the key stages, it allows the children to build on their abilities to become resilient, humble and respectful, confident, a good team player with good communication skills all which are transferable skills for their later lives.
Design and structure in KS1 and KS2
The PE curriculum here at Bridgtown Primary School is designed with the children at heart and all lessons and activities are planned alongside the national curriculum objectives. Children access a broad range of sports through their weekly lessons including football, basketball, tag rugby, dance, gym, dodgeball, tennis, athletics, cricket and swimming. All children in KS1 and KS2 access physical education twice a week. Children have the opportunity to access other physical activity throughout the week during playtimes with the use of the gym equipment, other sports equipment, large climbing frame and the trim trail. We recognise that not all children who attend Bridgtown Primary School will have access to a broad range of sports and activities outside of school therefore we provided the children four days a week with sports and activities such as archery, football dance, gym, tennis and dodgeball through our after-school clubs.
Our curriculum allows children in KS1 to continue to develop fundamental movement skills which allows them to become increasingly competent and confident and access a broad range of opportunities to extend their agility, balance and coordination, individually and with others. Our lessons are planned to engage all pupils regardless of their background, gender and ability to compete both against self and against others in a range of increasingly challenging situations. Through skills-based lessons, children are taught to master basic movements including running, jumping, throwing and catching, as well as developing balance, agility and co-ordination, and begin to apply these in a range of activities. Opportunities throughout lessons are given for children to participate in team games which develops simple tactics for attacking and defending. Through our dance and gym topics children will learn skills which then allow them to perform dances and routines using simple movement patterns.
In KS2 our curriculum gives the children opportunities to continue to apply and develop their skills and knowledge allowing them to broaden these skills learning how to use them in different ways and giving them to opportunities to link them to make actions and sequences of movement. The children are given the opportunity to communicate, collaborate and compete with each other. Through modelling and scaffolding the children will be given the opportunities to develop and understand how to improve their own performance in different physical activities and sports and learn how to evaluate and recognise their own success. Through the teaching of skills, the children will be taught to use running, jumping, throwing and catching skills in isolation and in combination this will build on the children’s confidence and understanding of playing competitive games applying basic principles suitable for attacking and defending. Through our planned gym and dance topics, the children will develop flexibility, strength, technique, control and balance and be able to perform dances and routines using a range of movement patterns. Being able to compare their performances with previous ones and demonstrate improvement to achieve their personal best is also a skill that is modelled and taught throughout their PE lessons.
All children take part in a competitive sports day in the summer term allowing them to showcase their skills to their parents that they have been working on throughout the year.
The children in Year 4 and Year 6 also take part in a yearly residential giving them the opportunity to take part in outdoor and adventurous activities and challenges. All children are encouraged to attend the residentials as this enables the children to build on their independence, self-esteem, team work and communication skills alongside using all of their fundamental skills in which they have been working on throughout their school years.
Children in KS2 access swimming lessons taught by swimming instructors at the local leisure centre. Staff at Bridgtown Primary School recognise the importance of these lessons and understand that being able to swim is a lifelong skill and they understand that not only does it teach the children water safety but it also helps them create a happy and healthy lifestyle. All children are encouraged to go on a weekly basis. Children are assessed against the national attainment targets and we aim for them to leave Year 6 being able to swim competently, confidently and proficiently over a distance of at least 25 metres using a range of strokes effectively. They are also taught how to perform safe self-rescue in different water-based situations.
At the end of each half term, the children are assessed on the skills that they have been taught throughout each sport topic. By the end of each key stage, pupils are expected to know, apply and understand the matters, skills and processes specified in the relevant programme of study.
Opportunities for children to compete and perform are also given to the children throughout their school years through inter and intra competitions and also performances at the local theatre.
As a school we thoroughly enjoy seeing the hard work that children put in to their out of school activities and achievements are commended in our weekly assemblies. We also celebrate a half termly sports person where a child is chosen from each class that has shown aspects of being a good sports person alongside their ability to build on their skills.
As a school, we work hard to embed these skills to ensure that the children lead a happy and healthy lifestyle with skills that are transferable into their later life.
