PE Curriculum

Physical Education at Plymouth Grove Primary School

Our PE Leader and Specialist Teacher is Miss Thompson.

Article 29 of the UNCRC: a child or young person's education should help their mind, body and talents be the best they can

Global Goal 4: Quality Education

Intent

At Plymouth Grove we provide children with a broad and balanced P.E curriculum, which follows the skill based focus of the National Curriculum. 

We encourage lifelong, independent learners and aim for children to develop, build and master their own skills. We also focus on developing physical literacy, which will enable them to improve their decision making, enhancing their learning and development in P.E.

P.E is taught, using National Curriculum 2014 objectives and follows a whole school framework of age related expectations. This has been developed by a P.E specialist, who has devised the units of work, to ensure progression and development within a year group, as well as across the year groups and key stages. The units also coincide with the Manchester School Games Competition Calendar, allowing children to be mentally and physically prepared to compete. 

P.E units of work are planned according to the skill based structure of the National Curriculum and new units of work consolidate existing learning. This is done by practising and developing existing skills and improving them further, linking and embedding these skills across all areas of P.E.

P.E at Plymouth Grove strives to get children ready for the next stage in their lives in many ways. Socially, they will be able to work with their peers and to communicate and listen to each other effectively and share ideas. 

Children are aware of the milestones they need to reach by the end of Year 2, Year 4 and Year 6 and can clearly see the objectives that they need to achieve this in each unit of work that is taught.  

Implementation

P.E is taught by a P.E specialist, who delivers the curriculum, to all children, from Nursery to Year 6. The lessons are based on the framework from the National Curriculum as well as Development Matters document, for Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS). Long term and medium term planning have been created by the specialist teacher and are continuously being developed to meet the needs of the children. Assessment criteria has been developed and aids planning. 

At Plymouth Grove, we have a high proportion of children who have English as an Additional Language (EAL). The P.E curriculum consists of a physical approach to learning, incorporating key vocabulary and modelling skills, to ensure understanding. Visual aids and cues are used to enhance learning. 

There are extended opportunities for pupils in P.E, as we use the facilities of the local high school, which allows different year groups of children to experience P.E in a new environment, throughout the school year. We also understand the importance of pupils applying their skills into a real life context, therefore children attend multiskills festivals, attend friendly sports matches against held at different schools and take part in the Manchester School Games competitions to enhance their learning even further. 

All children are able to access P.E lessons and SEN pupils have differentiated tasks and activities, suitable to their needs to develop independent learning. They are also provided with adult or peer support, if required, for different aspects of their P.E lesson. P.E provides children with life skills and The National Curriculum underpins all P.E planning, although it is adapted for individual pupils, to meet their learning styles and needs. 

We also hold intervention P.E sessions that work on basic skills such as agility, balance and coordination, which lead onto class P.E lessons, giving children extra time to embed new skills. 

The curriculum is backed up with intervention groups for SEN children, led by P.E trained members of staff. After school clubs and competitions allow children to use the skills developed in P.E and to put them into context, in a competitive, real life context. 

City in the Community and Manchester United Foundation coaches provide extra P.E sessions and after school clubs, to enhance the children’s learning, to give them a different experience of P.E and to allow some staff CPD during the sessions, as all planning, progression and differentiation ideas are included. 

The P.E specialist has undertaken a Level 5 certificate in Primary Physical Education to enhance her learning and also leads and attends P.E network meetings with cluster school P.E leads, to enhance knowledge and skills. She also leads P.E sessions for PGCE trainees at Manchester University, educating and upskilling trainee teacher.

In each P.E lesson, the Learning Objective and success criteria is shared and discussed between the specialist teacher and children.Assessment criteria is also developed for each unit of work, so the children understand what they are aiming to achieve. 

New vocabulary and key concepts are introduced and developing and embedding physical literacy is a key aim, to develop lifelong learners in P.E.

Skills are modelled and are visual for children to see and questions are encouraged from children.Discussions are prompted to allow children to explain concepts and to address any misconceptions that children may have.

Assessment for Learning takes place throughout every P.E lesson, identifying strengths and addressing misconceptions. Key vocabulary and concepts are taught and children are challenged to use this new language and to explain concepts as well as to use them in an appropriate time. 

Pupils are encouraged to try new ideas and to be creative with their skills and tactics. Evaluating them, as well as explaining whether they worked or need to be adapted. 

Children are constantly revisiting previous skills, throughout all units of work and using them in new scenarios, to build on their knowledge of when they should be used.

Knowing more and remembering more. Children are given opportunities to learn a new skill, to practise the isolated skill, to link to another movement,to  put into context in a game scenario and to explain when it would be used, showing that they understand.This process can be repeated and the children can go back to any stage, to ensure understanding.  

P.E curriculum has been designed and planned by specialist P.E teacher, who has taught all of the children for four years. Due to this in depth knowledge of the children’s abilities, the curriculum can be tailored effectively for all children. 

It is planned to build on previous knowledge and units of work. Skills are used as a theme throughout all the units of work and children are encouraged to identify this and understand how they can use what they already know about a particular skill, to develop it in a different scenario. As the skills are constantly embedded, it should reduce cognitive load, releasing the brain to focus on a different aspect of P.E, such as tactics, as the skills will have already been mastered. 

AFL is used during P.E lessons. iPads are used to collect photos and videos, to show the children themselves performing a skill, therefore stemming a discussion between teacher and pupil, or peers, as to how the skill was performed and what needs to be improved. 

Physically seeing the outcome allows the children to visually connect with themselves, which gives them a greater understanding of how they need to adapt and improve even further. 

Assessment milestones, developed by the specialist P.E teacher, are also used for each unit of work, which clearly states, in colour bands, the objectives that the children are aiming for. 

Impact

The P.E curriculum is constantly being reviewed and adapted to meet the ever changing needs of the pupils. It includes a range of skill based, game based and problem solving activities to cater for all children. P.E lessons provide opportunities for independent, paired and group work to challenge and extend all children's ways of thinking and learning. This is supported with after school clubs and competitions, as well as time at playtimes and lunchtimes, to practise their skills.

The skills, knowledge and understanding and problem solving skills that P.E embeds, links well into other areas of the curriculum, as well as the wider lives of the pupils at Plymouth Grove. The P.E values: Teamwork, Respect, Self - Belief, Passion, Honesty and Determination underpin everything that is taught in P.E and pupils can use these values in everything that they do. 

Photo and video evidence show children's knowledge and progression in P.E, as well as how they present themselves, showing the P.E values 

P.E provides children with social skills, such as turn taking, working with a partner, sharing and small team games, which will help children develop in the social aspect of their wider life. A booster P.E session is provided for children with SEND to focus on social skills or skill based activities to further their understanding and provide them with extra opportunities to develop these skills. 

Activities are differentiated and support is provided for children who need it, either through adult or peer support. 

Assessment milestones give an indication where a child is working at, in different units of work, in P.E but the ability of pupils being able to express themselves and to make quick decisions in a range of scenarios need to be witnessed first hand. Children taught key skills and are made aware of a range of tactics, then are encouraged to choose when they are appropriate and to use them at the correct moments. The embedded skills will allow them to free up cognitive load and to focus on the physical literacy aspect of P.E, which can be seen by observing and questioning children. 

In high school, the P.E values will prepare them to be lifelong learners, as well as be ready to further their knowledge of physical literacy. They will already be able to understand and explain their P.E based actions, which will then, in turn, extend to different areas of the curriculum. 

We provide the children with as many P.E based activities as possible, whether these as friendly matches or competitive tournaments, in a range of sports such as cross country, to BMXing. We also have a range of visitors delivering extra curricular P.E to children from Football coaches and rugby coaches to dance instructors and taekwondo instructors. This will give them a wide range of experiences and different disciplines, that they can take with them.

Children are encouraged to read team problem solving challenges, key words linked to their P.E lesson and assessment milestones as well as working as a team to read and write tactics for their team. 

They will be asked to read and write activities that they have planned for their peers and have the opportunity to do this for younger children. 

Fischer Family Trust curriculum tracker is used to record the progress the progress that pupils are making in terms of knowing more, remembering more and being able to do more  at the end of each academic year. This will record whether the children are working towards the age related expectation, at the age related expectation or exceeding the age related expectation. 

These judgements will be quality assured by subject leaders using first-hand evidence of how pupils are doing, drawing together evidence from pupil interviews, observations of tasks, reading tasks, work scrutinies and  discussions with pupils about what they have remembered about the content they have studied.

These judgements will inform the curriculum and whether children are ready for the next stage of their education.