Physical Education

Statement of Intent

At Wincle CE Primary School, we are discovering a world of wonder, empowered by God’s spirit. We aim to develop pupils who will be physically active and can be aspirational in a range of different physical activities. We recognise the importance of physical activity for all children. Our Gold School Games Mark, earned in 2023, is testament to our commitment to ensuring that all pupils lead active, healthy lifestyles. We seek to achieve excellence for all pupils, providing the highest quality sports coaches to give our children the best chance to achieve. Equally, we acknowledge our responsibility to ensure that every pupil enjoys and is confident to exercise throughout their lives, making fun a key component of all our physical activity provision.

 

Key features of our PE curriculum:

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• Every aspect of our PE curriculum is provided by specialist coaches, trainers and teachers, ensuring that excellence is facilitated for all pupils.
   

• In order to ensure pupil safety and teaching effectiveness, large classes are broken down into smaller groups for PE lessons.
   

• All pupils access PE lessons and sporting opportunities, regardless of SEND, physical impairments or disabilities. Coaches and teachers ensure that all lessons are effectively differentiated in order to meet the needs of all pupils and participation in extra-curricular and competitive activities is tracked to ensure that all pupils are given equal opportunities to engage in physical activity.
   

• We form clear distinctions between sport and physical activity, where sport is competitive and structured and physical activity is any form of movement. PE lessons and extra-curricular activities are carefully planned to ensure an even balance of the two activity types, in order to appeal to all pupils’ interests and ensure that no child is alienated from physical activity because of difficulties playing sport.
   

• All pupils in KS2 are given opportunities to learn to lead through the PE curriculum, with some pupils given further responsibility for coordinating extra-curricular activities across the school.
   

• The ability to play sport is underpinned by a series of core skills. We continually teach and reinforce these skills, ensuring that all pupils have plenty of time to practice them in isolation before applying them to more complex contexts.
   

• Sport and physical activity teaching is clearly connected to cultural education and health education. All pupils are taught about the significance of sport throughout the world, taking advantage of learning opportunities, such as the Olympic games. Health education is also incorporated into every lesson, with children learning how to observe the effects of exercise on their bodies, understand which muscles are affected by which movements and plan activities to target strength or stamina.
   

• We recognise that many pupils engage with different physical activities outside of school, meaning that they approach PE lessons with very different skill-sets. As such, we plan our PE curriculum and extra-curricular opportunities to enhance pupils’ skills by ensuring that programmes fit around their interests and experiences.
   

• Provision is closely linked to our surrounding environment. Pupils are given ample opportunities to engage with nature and the landscape of our village, discovering new ways to be active.

 

 

 

Our PE curriculum supports children to develop skills in the following key areas:

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• Mastering Movements
  Central to development and success in sports and physical activity is the mastery of basic movements, including running, jumping and balancing. Ball skills are of equal importance and, in their most basic form, include throwing, bouncing, kicking, rolling, hitting and catching. Pupils are taught effective techniques to master these movements from reception and are provided with regular opportunities to enhance their strength, flexibility and skill throughout their primary education.
   

• Competitive Sports
  All pupils should be given opportunities to participate in inter and intra-school competitions. Training in tactical thinking is a central focus in PE lessons. Pupils continually enhance their skills in attacking, defending and working as a team. More importantly, Christian values of respect and honesty are reinforced in every PE lesson and sporting opportunity, meaning that our pupils do not just approach competitive sports with skill, but with integrity.
   

• Dance & Gymnastics
  Dance and gymnastics are not just features of the PE curriculum, but are included in all pupils’ cultural education. Children are given opportunities to learn and create a variety of dances, from street dance – taught by a specialist instructor – to country dancing, performed at the annual village fete. In addition to this, they are taught culturally traditional dances from different religions and countries.
   

• Understanding Healthy Lifestyles
  In order for pupils to lead active, healthy lifestyles, they must develop a comprehensive understanding of how exercise benefits the body. Our healthy school committee and School Games Crew work together to plan frequent opportunities for pupils to explore new ways of getting active. PE teachers take responsibility for ensuring that pupils notice and understand the effect different exercises have on their bodies, supporting them to plan activities that focus on building specific strengths and flexibilities.
   

• Outdoor Adventure Activities
  We are very fortunate, in Wincle, to be surrounded by an environment providing ample opportunities to participate in outdoor, adventurous activities. Hikes around the village are an integral part of school culture, with KS1 completing four walks a year and the whole school completing the Wincle Walk in the summer term. Children from year 2 to 6 also have opportunities to walk to and stay at a local hostel, where they do orienteering, night-hikes, bush-craft, shelter-building and nature work. Pupils also attend an adventure residential twice in KS2, participating in a range of further activities.
   

• Swimming and Water Safety (KS2 Only)
  Swimming is a life skill that all pupils must develop to a safe and practical standard. 10 weeks per year of swimming tuition are provided by qualified swimming instructors at a local leisure centre. Pupils are split into 3 groups to improve safety and ensure that teaching is well differentiated according to ability.

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Click to download our curriculum map: