P.E Curriculum Intent
At Stillness infants, our Physical Education curriculum aims to develop children’s confidence, ambition and competence to excel in a wide range of physical activities. Children learn of the importance of leading healthy, active lives and how being physically active for sustained periods of time can impact their physical and mental health. The curriculum is designed to be accessible for all children and provide them with the opportunity to experience success, regardless of their perceived ability. We aim to provide physical education in a safe, well-managed environment in which the children feel in control and able to take risks. We want our children to have fun as they explore, learning that mistakes are the key to improvement. Our PE lessons help children develop an understanding of their body and the way it works – developing good control and coordination in large and small movements. We seek to ensure that our children can safely and confidently negotiate space in a range of ways and are able to handle equipment and tools effectively. Teachers at Stillness strive to help their pupils become confident in physical activity and to understand the impact it can have on their overall health and well-being.
Our Values are integral to our teaching of P.E. Children learn to live the values of equality, teamwork and respect when competing both in teams and individually. They are taught how to celebrate their own successes whilst also learning how to celebrate and respect the success of others. Our delivery of P.E embeds the values of patience, individuality and independence as every child is challenged to reach success in the taught skills. Children are encouraged to build a growth mindset and through the values of forgiveness and empathy, learn that mistakes are integral parts of their learning journey.
We strive for strong parental engagement, to ensure children are ‘P.E ready’ and live healthy, active lifestyles. We encourage children and families within our school community to move every day through our TfL STARS school travel plan, Daily Mile, workshops and sporting events, where we work to educate both our children and families to develop a greater understanding on how to live healthy lifestyles and make healthy choices. In P.E lessons, assemblies, stories and within our Topic Based curriculum, we share athletes for particular strands of sport, who reflect our Diverse world and community here at Stillness Infants.
Our delivery of physical education aims to provide children with skills which are built on progressively and sequentially. Children learn fundamental skills in Nursery and Reception, such as negotiating space, moving confidently and handling equipment effectively. Children become increasingly competent in applying these skills in KS1 within a broad range of physical activities, where they learn to extend their agility, balance and coordination, individually and with others.
Vocabulary is explicitly taught in every lesson from Nursery to Year 2, building on previous learning. Children are encouraged to use taught language such as; direction, travel, sequence as well as position and skill vocabulary to verbalise their body movement and evaluate the outcome of their actions. We ensure every lesson shares explicit vocabulary for children to recognise and talk about the skills they are developing, in order to prepare them to evaluate and improve the skills learnt in Early Years and KS1 in KS2 and beyond.
Our curriculum hopes to develop a competence of a broad range of skills and sporting activities. We understand our responsibility in providing our children with broad experiences, in order to encourage future generations of athletes. Our curriculum allows for a wide range of fundamental skills to be developed, which enable children to participate in a variety of sports. Through workshops, significant sporting events and sports days, children recognise the variety of sports available to them and enjoy using their fundamental skills to access preferred sports.
Through the teaching of our values and key worldwide events, we use non-fiction and fiction texts, articles and current news to share the names and sports successes of young and diverse athletes within our local area and in the wider world. We celebrate the success and interests of our own pupils, encouraging them to aspire to be the best they can be, instilling a belief that they too can be athletes.
P.E Curriculum Implementation
The teaching of P.E at Stillness Infants builds on the Prime area of Physical Development in the EYFs. Through the Early Learning Goals of Moving and Handling and Health and Self Care, children develop their control and coordination in large and small movements and learn how to handle equipment appropriately and effectively. Children begin to understand the importance of good health and that this involves physical exercise and a healthy diet. Our P.E curriculum follows well sequenced lessons using our GetSet4P.E scheme which enables children to build on prior knowledge and develop their skills through practise and application. Our EYFS teachers begin to use GetSet4P.E to support the Early Learning Goals and introduce children to core skills, linking these thematically to their topics. For example, Fundamentals is taught alongside the ‘Super Me, Super You’ topic.
Our GetSet4P.E scheme of learning ensures our children are exposed to a wide range of units which progressively build on previously taught skills. For example in ball skills, Reception children explore catching using larger balls and beanbags, in Year 1 they begin to catch with two hands after bouncing a ball, and in Year 2, they develop catching a range of objects with two hands, with and without a bounce. Children are encouraged to use key vocabulary directly related to the skills they are using in every lesson, for example, aim, send, throw, catch, direction and balance. Teachers use the plans and knowledge organisers to choose and model specific vocabulary within lessons. They wrap opportunities around P.E lessons for children to watch, learn about and discuss famous athletes, to inspire and motivate them in the specific skills they are developing within a unit. We ensure chosen athletes are representative of our diverse community and celebrate the achievements of our very own pupils as well as teaching children of globally successful athletes. We use our assembly’s as key opportunities to inspire children, sharing National and International Events to embed our values and show the positive impact of living healthy and active lives. Teachers use the STEP principle to ensure lessons are appropriate for every child, stretching their skills and providing challenges for all. In adapting the space given, difficulty of the task, equipment and people, teachers ensure each unit is taught at the appropriate level for every child.