P.E. and sport

PE is taught by a combination of class teachers and a PE specialist. Children have equal opportunities to take part in a range of sports and physical activities within a supportive environment where effort as well as success is recognised. Children are encouraged to participate in exercise through-out the day during, including PE lessons, clubs, outdoor learning (forest school), lunch provision and special events.

 

At Swainswick School, we use the scheme of learning ‘Get Set 4 PE’ (GS4PE) to support our curriculum. It is aligned to the National Curriculum and focuses on the development of the three fundamental movement skills of a child’s development: 

agility, balance and coordination. It allows for the progression of skills to be practiced before applying to traditional and non-traditional games and encourages healthy competition and cooperative learning through an inclusive approach to teaching PE.

 

GS4PE has a multi-ability focus and allows children to:

• explore and create their own games

• develop cognitive skills

• understand the benefits of health and fitness.

• engage in physical activity

• work as a team

 

Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS)

Physical activity is vital in children’s all-round development, enabling them to pursue happy, healthy and active lives. Gross and fine motor experiences develop incrementally throughout early childhood, starting with sensory explorations and the development of a child’s strength, co-ordination and positional awareness through tummy time, crawling and play movement with both objects and adults. By creating games and providing opportunities for play both indoors and outdoors, adults can support children to develop their core strength, stability, balance, spatial awareness, co-ordination and agility. Gross motor skills provide the foundation for developing healthy bodies and social and emotional well-being. Fine motor control and precision helps with hand-eye co-ordination, which is later linked to early literacy. Repeated and varied opportunities to explore and play with small world activities, puzzles, arts and crafts and the practice of using small tools, with feedback and support from adults, allow children to develop proficiency, control and confidence.

 

In Key Stage 1:

The children develop fundamental key skills and become increasingly competent and secure in physical literacy. They access a broad range of opportunities to extend these skills which can be categorised into the below strands:

• Functional Movement – the development of fundamental movement skills.

• Aesthetic Movement – to develop the use of body awareness and respond to a stimulus through dance and gymnastics.

• Manipulative Skills – to use equipment and small apparatus with greater co-ordination and movement.

• Movement Concepts – increasing decision-making about how, where and why to move into spatial awareness.

 

The Key Stage 1 curriculum contains social and development games, gymnastics, dance, ball skills and exercise and fitness. The children are also introduced to the early stages of athletics and outdoor and adventurous activities that they will build upon as they transition into Key Stage 2.

 

In Key Stage 2:

The children continue to apply and develop a broader range of skills and learn how and when to apply them in different situations. In lower KS2, children learn skills and tactics for a variety of games and begin to evaluate the success of them. New vocabulary is explained to support their learning and to allow the children to understand the key concepts of each lesson. Following on into upper KS2, we aim to develop the children’s confidence to become more competent and gain expertise in their techniques. They will understand what makes effective performance and how they can apply this to their own and others’ work. The children apply taught strategies and make connections with more complex games, dance activities and gymnastics.  Children are encouraged to learn how to evaluate and comment on skills, techniques and ideas through observation and how this can help to improve their work and performances.

 

Furthermore, throughout the whole of KS2, all children are able to experience outdoor and adventurous activities such as orienteering, team building and problem solving challenges. Planning for Key Stage 2 involves teachers creating engaging learning using high quality resources that are available within school. Whilst planning, there is an initial assessment of the skills of the group and gaps in learning can be assessed. Teachers use precise questioning in lessons to assess knowledge and skills, and identify any children with gaps in their learning, ensuring that they can all make progress.

 

 

Teaching Physical Education to children with Special Educational Needs (SEN)

All children have the opportunity to take part in Physical Education. Through our P.E curriculum we ensure that lessons are accessible for children with special educational needs and through planning, different ways of minimising or reducing barriers are identified. In this case, activities will be modified and adapted to offer an equivalent level of challenge to the individual to ensure that they make progress in line with their Individual Education Plans (IEPS). 

 

Extra-curricular opportunities

Children at Swainswick Primary are encouraged to take the opportunity to join a number of extra- curricular activities with the main focus being during lunch times and after school. The clubs provide further scope for our children to work on their skills in a specific sport and develop socially with other members of the school. Afterschool clubs include football club and multi-sports. 

 

 

Active learning opportunities

In addition to P.E sessions, we aim to make sure that each child can access 30 minutes of physical activity every day. Lessons are tailored to allow the children to have short brain-breaks such as ‘Supermovers’, ‘Cosmic Yoga’ and daily stimulating workouts. We also provide the children with a number of activities at break and lunchtimes such as using the exercise equipment and outdoor activities. Our Lunchtime Supervisors will help to demonstrate each skill and the ethics of team work and fair play.