PE

 Intent

At Eccleston St. Mary’s CE Primary School, we aim to encourage pupils to be physically active and to flourish by acquiring skills and knowledge which can be adapted to a range of different physical activities. The aims of our PE curriculum are to develop pupils who:

  • Are secure in using their Fundamental Movement Skills as they leave Key Stage 1;
  • Are able to practise and apply these skills in a range of different activities and situations, independently, in small groups and also in teams;
  • Can apply these skills in given and chosen activities to achieve exceptionally high levels of performance;
  • Have and maintain high levels of physical fitness
  • Lead a healthy lifestyle which is achieved by eating sensibly and healthily, being aware of the dangers of drugs, smoking and alcohol and exercising regularly
  • Are able to remain physically active for sustained periods of time and have an understanding of the importance of this in promoting long-term health and well-being
  • Take initiative and become excellent young leaders, organising and officiating, and evaluating what needs to be done to improve, and motivating and instilling excellent sporting attitudes in others;
  • Can integrate ‘character values’ through their physical education and sporting activities;
  • Employ imagination and creativity in their techniques, tactics and choreography;
  • Are able to evaluate and improve their own and others’ performance;
  • Can be self-motivated, show resilience and work independently for extended periods of time
  • Have a keen interest in PE with a willingness to participate eagerly in every lesson, have highly positive attitudes and the ability to make informed choices about engaging fully in extra-curricular sport;
  • Can swim at least 25 metres before the end of Year 6 and know how to remain safe in and around water.

Implementation

Teachers are provided with the Lancashire County Council PE Scheme of Work which is divided into ‘Five Fundamentals for Under 5’s ‘(Foundation Stage), Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 which are all on the School Network System. The scheme incorporates a progression of skills, knowledge and understanding to comprehensively deliver the National Curriculum for PE. The new 2019 KS2 Scheme of Work, which is now provided via an App, also incorporates character values.

The PE Subject lead carefully plans a ‘Whole School Matrix’ which takes into consideration the context of Eccleston St. Mary’s CE, the coach provision available, local links that have been developed and also staff expertise. This is reviewed on an annual basis.

Whilst each unit is compiled of detailed step by step ‘Progressions’, class teachers are responsible, as part of the planning and assessment process, to adapt the plans within the scheme to the particular needs and skill level of the children. Each ‘Progression’ is not necessarily one lesson, it will depend on teacher assessment and evaluation as to whether the children are ready to move on or if they need further consolidation.

A wide range of sports and activities are delivered from Reception to Year 6 enabling pupils to develop their knowledge and skills in physical education in a variety of different areas. The Fundamental Movement Skills are a key focus for both Foundation and Key stage 1. These skills are then transferred into more sport specific activities as they progress through Key Stage 2.

Specialised sports coaches from Chorley School Sports Partnership deliver some of our physical education lessons, team teaching with class teachers and in some cases HLTA’S. We have a Tennis Sports coach in school on a weekly basis who provides P.E lessons in Year 2 (FMS through Tennis) and Year 4 (Development of Tennis/Net/Wall related activities). We also invite other external sports coaches into school to work alongside teachers. This ensures pupils are receiving high quality Physical Education in sport specific areas and also teachers are receiving CPD whilst the sessions are being delivered. Examples of external sports coaches that work with us in school are from Lancashire Cricket Board, Football Development, Croston Tennis Club, Tarleton Rugby Club and Enrich Education – Quidditch.

Alongside our curriculum provision for P.E, all pupils are provided with the opportunity to participate in at least 3 different sports clubs weekly. These clubs may be provided by our Tennis Coach, Class Teachers, PE Subject Lead or External Coaches (detailed above). A varied programme to suit a wide range of interests is planned across the year. Pupils are consulted half termly about which sports club will be offered and to which year groups they are available. A timetable is also displayed. Extra-Curricular activities are fully inclusive and all pupils are welcome.

We also provide a fully planned B.A.S.H. (Be Active Stay Healthy) Club every week at lunchtime for all children to access on a rota basis.

Every day, pupils and staff also participate in the Daily Mile on our school playground at a time to suit each class.

Pupils are encouraged to take part in competitive sport during their time at Eccleston St. Mary’s CE and we aim for as many children as possible to represent school in inter-school competitions. Upon joining the school each pupil is allocated a ‘House’. These represent the 4 local rivers; Douglas, Lostock, Ribble and Yarrow. Each term the pupils take part in a variety of different intra-house sporting activities with opportunities to earn points for their house. At the end of the school year, pupils also compete in an Athletics event. Pupils are given points to add to their house total with the winning house at the end of the competition being crowned “CHAMPIONS!” House Captains are recruited from the Year 6 pupils each year. Two pupils are also elected as Sports Crew on the School Council and help to organise sporting events during the school year.

Eccleston St. Mary’s CE also encourages pupils to apply their skills and knowledge in sports against other schools in inter-school (L2) competitions. Pupils from Year 1 to Year 6 take part in team games against other schools. Sports that we compete in during the academic year are boys’ and girls’ football, dodgeball, tag-rugby, cricket, hi-5 netball, swimming, table tennis, tennis, athletics, sportshall athletics, cross country, ultimate frisbee and rounders.

Eccleston St. Mary’s CE is part of the Chorley Schools Sports Partnership and also our local Sports Cluster of Primary Schools. These provide competitions for our pupils against other schools, CPD for staff and leadership opportunities for our pupils. All pupils are encouraged to take part in at least 1 after school sports club and represent their school in at least 1 team event during the academic year. Pupils can track their achievements on our school sport organising crew noticeboard.

Impact

Our PE Curriculum is high quality, well thought out and is thoroughly planned to demonstrate progression. We focus on progression of knowledge and skills in the different physical activity areas and, as in other subjects, discrete vocabulary progression also forms part of the units of work.

If children are achieving within the curriculum, they are deemed to be making secure progress. Interventions are planned for those who are still developing their skills and a Gifted and Talented programme is in place to extend those children who are exceeding national expectations.

In addition, we measure the impact of our curriculum through the following methods:

  • A reflection on standards achieved against the planned outcomes. Core Tasks are used to measure success at the end of each unit whilst taking into account and monitoring performance, via our whole school assessment documents, throughout the unit;
  • Pupil voice/discussions about their learning;
  • Video analysis through recordings of performance in lessons;
  • The annual tracking of standards across the curriculum.

​The impact of our P.E curriculum is also measured in the uptake of our Sports After School Clubs and participation and successes in inter school sports competitions. Each year we aim for 85% of pupils to have attended a sports club or competed against another school in a sport. Participation levels are tracked. A recent example of this is our success in 2019 in the Lancashire School Games Tennis Finals when we were Runners up, representing Chorley. We also won the KS1 and Upper Key Stage 2 Cluster Tennis Competitions. A total of 28 children participated in these events.

External measures are also used to measure the impact of our P.E curriculum. Each year we apply for the School Games Award. This recognises high quality provision in school sport with either a bronze, silver or gold award. For the last few years, we have achieved the Gold Award for our high quality physical education and school sport. We have also won the Chorley Schools Sports Partnership ‘Whole School Impact Award for PE and School Sport’ in 2018 and retained our nomination in 2019 by being awarded Runners Up at the Annual Awards Ceremony.

As the above award and nomination recognises, PE, School Sport and Physical Activity form an integral part of daily life for pupils at Eccleston St. Mary’s CE Primary School.

Files to Download

PE Curriculum Overview