Pedagogy
Our PE curriculum focuses on developing our pupils through the acquisition of WISDOM, KNOWLEDGE, and SKILLS.
These have been selected because they ensure the whole development of the child will be prioritised, they enable pupils to meet the expectations of the National Curriculum 14 and have ambitions beyond the NC14. Each theme has a set of curriculum tools which ensure it is fully embedded through the lived experiences of staff, children, and stakeholders. Impact scales will measure the effectiveness of curriculum provision on the growth of children within these three equally important themes.
At Windmill Hill Academy, we follow the objectives of the National Curriculum in a progressive format in line with our knowledge and skills organiser for PE. We use the Arena scheme to support the planning and teaching of PE.
Wisdom
Children’s wisdom is developed in the following ways:
- Taking part in topical and relevant debates relevant to PE and being physically active.
- Using class discussions to explore issues and make decisions.
- Through learning how to make positive contributions to topics under discussion.
- Making real and informed choices about learning -positive attitude to a problem or challenge.
Knowledge
Children’s knowledge is developed in the following ways:
- Listening to and discussing tactics and/or sports events /leading healthy lifestyles.
- Meeting with and talking to other individuals to help understand different sports/rules/opportunities beyond the curriculum.
- With a mixture of individual, group, whole class and whole school recording and some practical work.
Capabilities
Children’s capabilities are developed in the following ways:
- Being given responsibilities for roles within the school community (e.g. Monitors/Playground Leaders/ Playground Buddies/ members of Rights Respecting Pupil Parliament groups).
- Meeting with and talking to other individuals in the local community.
- Developing the skills and confidence to ask for help and advice.
- Listening to support and learn new concepts, skills, and knowledge.
- Developing the skills to understand and be in control of their emotions and behaviour.
- Challenging themselves to advance in their understanding of the subject being taught.
- With a mixture of individual, group, whole class and whole school recording and some practical work.
Teachers will help pupils with SEND to overcome any barriers to participating and learning and make any ‘reasonable adjustments’ needed to include pupils. To make lessons inclusive, teachers will anticipate what barriers to taking part and learning may pose for pupils with SEND. Some modifications or adjustments will be made or smaller steps to achieve the learning goal. Occasionally, pupils with SEND will have to work on different activities, or towards different learning intentions, from their peers.
In EYFS, all areas of learning and development are important and inter-connected. These are stipulated in the ‘Statutory framework for the early years foundation stage’. The most relevant statements for PE are taken from the following areas of learning:
- Personal, Social and Emotional Development
- Physical Development
- Expressive Arts and Design
Assessment
Formative
Assessment is regarded as an integral part of teaching and learning and is a continuous process. All sessions should begin with a recap/recall of previous learning ‘Flashbacks’. Teachers should use skillful questioning to gauge starting points, to assess current understanding and knowledge, to ensure concepts have been acquired, to identify misconceptions. This formative assessment should support the teacher in adapting lessons to ensure pupils are learning new learning, building on prior learning, and making links between new and previous learning.
At the end of each session, teachers should use assessment tools to ensure that the intent of the lesson has been achieved, to help plan for the following session and to support building a picture of the pupils’ progress for final summative assessments. It is the responsibility of the class teacher to assess all pupils in their class, this will be triangulated with marking, feedback and pupil self-assessment. Any misconceptions are addressed with immediacy and the impact of targeted teaching reviewed.
Summative
It is the responsibility of the class teacher to assess all pupils in their class. Each child is assessed termly, against the NC criteria and recorded annually on iTrack.
Data is also recorded through the use of a ‘diamond’ assessment sheet at the end of each taught unit using Arena’s ‘Gold, silver and bronze’ criteria. Pupils produce an outcome to demonstrate their unit learning.
Reports to parents are given via parent meetings and pupils’ attainment is reported via an annual report.
We also use absolute education to record the percentages of children who are involved in PE and competitive sport in and out of school.
Culture
The culture in our school is that the Physical Education curriculum is there to strengthen personal health, develop one's physical capabilities, and apply the population's physical skills to the service of society.
Physical fitness is vitally important not just for the children in our school but moving forward into adulthood. The importance of physical activity for society is incredibly important and at our school we try to allow our pupils to understand this.
Opportunities to compete in sport and other activities build character and help to embed values such as fairness and respect. Enrichment is planned for via different areas of the curriculum e.g., through Wild-Tribe, Sports Visitors, playground leaders, positive playtimes, Inter-school sporting events, club opportunities, Sustrans, Time 2 Move programmes and signposting pupils to extend individual talents.
We value high quality CPD for staff and staff have had opportunities to attend CPD and observe specialist coaches. Four of our teachers are now accredited in Wild Tribe with the view that all teachers will be by the end of the next academic year.
Teachers will help pupils with SEND to overcome any barriers to participating and learning and make any ‘reasonable adjustments’ needed to include pupils. To make lessons inclusive, teachers will anticipate what barriers to taking part and learning may pose for pupils with SEND. Some modifications or adjustments will be made or smaller steps to achieve the learning goal. Occasionally, pupils with SEND will have to work on different activities, or towards different learning intentions, from their peers. For some activities, there may need to be a ‘parallel’ activity for pupils with SEND, so that they can work towards the same learning intentions as their peers, but in a different way.
Systems
In EYFS, we aim for pupils to be an ‘Amazing Athlete’: Show strength, balance and co-ordination when playing; move confidently and safely in a variety of different ways; use a range of equipment.
In EYFS, all areas of learning and development are important and inter-connected. These are stipulated in the ‘Statutory framework for the early years foundation stage’. The most relevant statements for PE are taken from the following areas of learning:
- Personal, Social and Emotional Development
- Physical Development
- Expressive Arts and Design
Reception
Personal, Social and Emotional Development
- Manage their own needs - personal hygiene
- Know and talk about the different factors that support overall health and wellbeing: -regular physical activity
Physical Development
- Revise and refine the fundamental movement skills they have already acquired: - rolling – running
- crawling – hopping
- walking – skipping
- jumping - climbing
- Progress towards a more fluent style of moving, with developing control and grace.
- Develop overall body-strength, balance, coordination and agility needed to engage successfully with future physical education sessions and other physical disciplines, including dance, gymnastics, sport and swimming.
- Use their core muscle strength to achieve a good posture when sitting at a table or sitting on the floor.
- Combine different movements with ease and fluency.
- Confidently and safely use a range of large and small apparatus indoors and outdoors, alone and in a group.
- Develop overall body strength, balance, coordination and agility
Expressive Art and Design
- Explore, use and refine a variety of artistic effects to express their ideas and feelings.
- Return to and build on their previous learning, refining ideas and developing their ability to represent them.
- Create collaboratively, sharing ideas, resources and skills.
- Listen attentively, move to and talk about music, expressing their feelings and responses.
- Watch and talk about dance and performance art, expressing their feelings and responses.
- Explore and engage in music making and dance, performing solo or in groups.
ELG
Personal, Social and Emotional Development
Managing Self
- Be confident to try new activities and show independence, resilience and perseverance in the face of a challenge.
- Explain the reasons for rules, know right from wrong and try to behave accordingly.
- Manage their own basic hygiene and personal needs, including dressing.
Building Relationships
- Work and play cooperatively and take turns with others.
Physical Development
Gross Motor Skills
- Negotiate space and obstacles safely, with consideration for themselves and others.
- Demonstrate strength, balance and coordination when playing.
- Move energetically, such as running, jumping, dancing, hopping, skipping, and climbing.
Expressive Arts and Design
Being Imaginative and Expressive
- Perform songs, rhymes, poems and stories with others, and (when appropriate) try to move in time with music.
The national curriculum for physical education aims to ensure that all pupils:
- develop competence to excel in a broad range of physical activities
- are physically active for sustained periods of time
- engage in competitive sports and activities
- lead healthy, active lives.
KS1 pupils should be taught to:
- Master basic movements including running, jumping, throwing and catching, as well as developing balance, agility and co-ordination, and 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.
KS2 pupils should be taught 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 principles 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.
- Compare their performances with previous ones and demonstrate improvement to achieve their personal best.
Swimming and water safety
All schools must provide swimming instruction either in key stage 1 or key stage 2. Pupils should be taught 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 situation.
By the end of each key stage, pupils are expected to know, apply and understand the matters, skills and processes specified in the relevant programme of study.
At Windmill Hill Academy, we use the Arena Programme which our planning and teaching of PE is based on.
See the knowledge and skills organiser for PE which demonstrates the progression through the year groups.
Policies/key documents
- Whole School Long term horizontal curriculum map
- PE Knowledge and Skills organiser
- EYFS Long term overview
- Arena units and resources
- Diamond assessment sheets
- Absolute Education
- Sports Premium spending map (see Sports Premium section)
- SEND Policy
All of these can be found on our website under the curriculum/policies tab.