Physical Education Curriculum Rationale

Aims of our PE curriculum

At White Mere our physical education curriculum focuses on broadening knowledge, skills and understanding across a range of activity areas while also inspiring and engaging all our children.
Each year group are given the opportunities to develop their physical education skills and then to apply these skills using tactics, strategies and compositional ideas that relate to specific activities.
Our physical education curriculum inspires all pupils to succeed and excel in competitive sport and other physically demanding activities.
Our curriculum provides opportunities for pupils to become physically confident in a way which supports their health and fitness while also giving our pupils opportunities to compete in sport and other activities that can build character and help to embed values such as fairness and respect.
Each lesson has progressive activities that are designed to inspire and engage our children, which thusly allows them to explore and develop skills and embed knowledge. Our 3 focuses in PE are:

• An inclusive curriculum enabling all children to experience a full and rich school life.
• A physical education environment with diversity at its heart, celebrating difference and achievement.
• Acceptance and tolerance which underpins every level of our physical education curriculum.

EYFS

Here at White Mere we encourage the physical development of our nursery and reception children as an important part of their EYFS journey. As a part of our EYFS offer we relate the physical development of the children to the objectives set out in the Early Learning Goals, which underpin our EYFS PE curriculum planning for children aged between three to five. Our PE offer is set up so that we support the children’s Gross Motor and Fine Motor Skills and development.
We give opportunities for the children to develop both their skills and their confidence in the various ways they move, and the way in which they handle tools and equipment. Lastly, we supplement this with ensuring that all children in EYFS undertake activities that offer appropriate physical challenge, both indoors and outdoors, throughout the school day.

Key Stage 1 Curriculum

Pupils will develop fundamental movement skills, become increasingly competent and confident and access a broad range of opportunities to extend their agility, balance and coordination, individually and teamwork with others. Our children engage in competitive (both against self and against others) and co-operative physical activities, in a range of increasingly challenging situations.

Pupils are given opportunities to:

• Master basic movements including running, jumping, throwing, and catching, as well as developing balance, agility, and co-ordination skills, and then to begin to apply these in a range of activities.
• Participate in team games, developing simple tactics for attacking and defending.
• Perform dances using simple movement patterns.

Key Stage 2 Curriculum

Pupils will continue to apply and develop a broader range of skills, learning how to use them in different ways and to link them to make actions and sequences of movement. Our key stage two pupils have the opportunity to enjoy communicating, collaborating, and competing in various activities. They will also develop an understanding of how to improve and succeed in different physical activities and sports and will learn how to evaluate and recognise their own success.

Pupils are given opportunities to:

• Use running, jumping, throwing, and catching in isolation and in combination.
• Play competitive games, modified where appropriate (for example, badminton, basketball, cricket, football, hockey, netball, rounders, and tennis) and apply basic skills that are suitable for attacking and defending.
• Develop flexibility, strength, technique, control, and balance (for example, through athletics and gymnastics).
• Perform dances using a range of movement patterns.
• Take part in outdoor and adventurous activity challenges both individually and within a team.

Swimming (Year 5)

Swimming is provided by the Gateshead local authority. Swimming takes places at Heworth Leisure Centre.

Pupils will be given opportunities to:

• swim competently, confidently, and proficiently over a distance of at least 25 metres.
• use a range of strokes effectively (for example, front crawl, backstroke, and breaststroke).
• perform safe self-rescue in different water-based situations.

Safeguarding

All adults working with children in school will be DBS checked.

Health and Safety

Any accident that occurs in a PE lesson or club must be logged in the whole-school accident file (located at the school office). If an accident does occur, class teachers will send for a First Aider if they not present for the session: Mrs. Cutter, Miss. Henderson, Mrs. Nicholson, Mrs. Parry, Mr. Blackburn, Mrs. Purdy Marr and Mr. Archer.
In order to minimise the risk of injury:

• Children should attend the school day with their White Mere PE uniform on.
• Children will work in bare feet for all gymnastic apparatus work.
• Jewellery is not to be worn, as stated in the school policy.
• Long hair should be tied back and rigid headbands should be removed.