Subject Philosophy: PE
At Queen’s Park, we value both the physical and mental benefits of exercise. Our curriculum enables children to develop a broad range of physical skills whilst also teaching them the benefits of exercise for the mind and mental health. PE is taught with passion and outstanding subject knowledge. We facilitate engaging learning experiences for our children to ensure that new skills are acquired and applied successfully. High quality physical education makes an essential contribution to the leadership, culture, role-models and values of the nation.
We teach with:
We teach to:
Our PE curriculum supports and supplements the delivery of the National Curriculum. Our curriculum provides:
Curriculum Rationale
We have designed our own programme of study for PE which covers the National Curriculum requirements. We take a topic-based approach to our curriculum, led by the Humanities curriculum and we make cross curricular links when possible however we avoid forcing curriculum links which simply are not there. This is especially true in PE.
The Department for Education recommends at least 90 minutes of PE time per week. Each week, children will have an hour-long PE lesson which covers the required skills and sports outlined in the curriculum maps. The rest of the 90 minutes is achieved through additional physical activities. Teachers are free to decide on the additional activities for their class however we do encourage regular participation in the Daily Mile.
Swimming (Currently under review due to Covid-19)
As the National Curriculum requires children to swim 25m unaided by the end of Key Stage 2, children in Year 3 and 4 attend a weekly 30-minute swimming lesson at a local sports centre. These lessons are taught by qualified professionals.
Daily Mile
Research suggests that regular short bursts of self-paced exercise are beneficial for fitness, cognition and wellbeing. We encourage children to run continuously for 10 minutes as many times as possible in a week.
Curriculum Links
Our cross curricular topics may sometimes lend themselves to outdoor and physical activities and we encourage teachers to be creative when planning their lessons. For example, teachers could use Active Maths, mapwork in Geography or historical dances as alternative ways to ensure children are active for at least 90 minutes per week.
Games Sessions – (may be restricted by space due to Covid-19)
As well as a formal PE lesson, we also encourage teachers to run additional sessions which focus purely on enjoying games and physical activity. These sessions could be a chance to apply the skills taught in the formal PE lesson to a larger whole class game or it could be an opportunity to relax and have some fun together. Sportsmanship, appropriate reactions to winning and losing and teamwork skills can be modelled, encouraged and taught through these sessions too.
Our curriculum maps offer a clear progression in skills across the school and outline key skills which each year group should master by the end of the year to ensure they are ready for the next year’s programme of study. Key vocabulary is also outlined on our curriculum map and these terms should be used in lessons by both the teacher and the students. Whilst we have prescribed key skills and vocabulary which must be taught, teachers are free to plan and deliver their PE lessons in any way they like to ensure they meet the needs of their individual classes.
We have ensured that children are exposed to a wide range of sports and activities. Teachers must teach the sports and activities outlined in the curriculum map to ensure children receive a broad and balanced physical education. During Games Sessions however, teachers are free to choose any sport or activity – even if it is not on their year groups curriculum map. We need to ensure that our children are happy and engaged in physical activity so that they see the mental benefits of sport. Every class is different and will have different preferences when it comes to sport and physical activity.
Our PE teaching will have the following principles:
Vocabulary – our curriculum maps outline key vocabulary which should appear in teaching during a unit. These words will be constantly revisited, discussed and applied throughout the unit.
Explanation – our well-connected, clear curriculum means subject knowledge for teachers is secure and new skills are clearly shared with pupils in engaging ways. Pupils are encouraged to remember what they learnt previously and consider how this links to what they are learning now. Older children may also be guided into think about how this will link to future learning.
Challenge – we have high expectations for all students. We scaffold and differentiate when needed but we also do not limit. In PE, children are encouraged to express their creativity in a number of different ways which are not always possible in the classroom.
Practise and Application – after direct teaching, all children will be given the opportunity to practise a new skill. PE lessons should aim to prioritise practise time over instruction time.
Evaluating – we will use self and peer assessment to encourage students to improve their performance by evaluating and assessing their own work and the work of others.
Feedback – we will provide verbal feedback to our children and ensure that this happens ‘live’ during lessons as much as possible. This will enable misconceptions, are addressed and skills are refined and developed immediately.
Sportsmanship - we will value participation over performance and we encourage children to share this ethos. Children will be taught how to win and also how to lose in a respectful way.
Teamwork – we will develop social and communication skills which children can transfer to other areas of their lives.
Core Tasks – these tasks are seen as an end point in the unit – something to work towards. If children master all of the taught skills, they will be able to participate actively and confidently in the core task.
Partnerships
Parents and Guardians
We aim to engage parents in our PE curriculum in a number of ways. We strongly believe that home support can contribute to high standards of attainment and progress. We engage parents in the following ways:
Wider Community and Cultural Capital
Children at Queen’s Park regularly attend educational visits across London, quite often including a link to sport e.g.trips to the Cricket Festival at Lords, tours of Chelsea Football Club. After school clubs are frequently sports-based and we regularly participate in local sports competitions and friendly games against other schools.