Intent

The Blossom Federation believes that Physical Education (PE), experienced in a safe and supportive environment, is essential to ensure children attain optimum physical and emotional development and good health.

We intend to deliver high-quality teaching and learning opportunities that inspire all children to succeed in physical education and in developing life skills. We want to teach children skills to keep them safe such as being able to swim.  We also want to teach children how to cooperate and collaborate with others as part of an effective team, understanding fairness and equity of play to embed life-long values. Our curriculum aims to improve the wellbeing and fitness of all children across the Blossom Federation, not only through the sporting skills taught, but through the underpinning values and disciplines PE and Healthy Living promotes.

The specialist PE teams deliver and provides a wide curriculum for the children's physical education across KS1 and KS2. We ensure that all children are taking part in every lesson and provide a variety of sport subjects that can impact all ages. There are special sessions for our SEND children which will ensure that they are getting the same physical education as all the other children in the school. Also, there are after school sports sessions, federation events and school trips. This includes every child in activities throughout the academic year to make us an inclusive school when it comes to physical education.   

Implementation

• PE provides challenging and enjoyable learning through a range of sporting activities including; invasion games, net & wall games, strike and field games, gymnastics, dance, swimming and outdoor & adventure. 
• The long term plan sets out the PE units which are to be taught throughout the year and ensures that the requirements of the National Curriculum are fully met.
• children participate in high quality PE lessons each week, covering different sporting disciplines every half term. In addition, children are encouraged to participate in the varied range of extra-curricular activities. 
• Children are invited to attend competitive sporting events within Hackney and across our three schools. This is an inclusive approach which endeavours to encourage not only physical development but also mental well-being. These events also develop teamwork and leadership skills and are very much enjoyed by the children.
• Children participate in workshops covering a variety of sports throughout the year. For example archery, outdoor and adventure, boxing and skipping, again providing the children with an opportunity to develop, improve their fitness and to try something new.
• Children across KS2 have the opportunity to swim once a week for a block each year. 

Impact

We help motivate children to participate in a variety of sports through quality teaching that is engaging and fun. From our lessons, our children learn to take responsibility for their own health and fitness, many of whom also enjoy the success of competitive sports. We equip our children with the necessary skills and a love for sport. They will hopefully grow up to live happy and healthy lives utilising the skills and knowledge acquired through PE.

Physical Education in the EYFS

Physical activity is vital in children’s all-round development, enabling them to pursue happy, healthy and active lives. Gross and fine motor experiences develop incrementally throughout early childhood, starting with sensory explorations and the development of a child’s strength, co-ordination and positional awareness through tummy time, crawling and play movement with both objects and adults. By creating games and providing opportunities for play both indoors and outdoors, adults can support children to develop their core strength, stability, balance, spatial awareness, co-ordination and agility. Gross motor skills provide the foundation for developing healthy bodies and social and emotional well-being. Fine motor control and precision helps with hand-eye co-ordination which is later linked to early literacy. Repeated and varied opportunities to explore and play with small world activities, puzzles, arts and crafts and the practise of using small tools, with feedback and support from adults, allow children to develop proficiency, control and confidence.

Early learning goals that link to PE:

ELG 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, hopping, skipping and climbing.

In the EYFS children...

• Are physically active every day both indoors and outdoors.
• Have regular access to a range of resources to develop strength, balance and co-ordination eg wheeled toys, climbing equipment, bats and balls, large tyres, a parachute and equipment to build obstacle courses etc
• Have many opportunities outdoors to be energetic. We operate a free-flow system indoors and outdoors so that children who learn better when physically active can choose to spend more time than others outside.

If you would like to know more about this area of the curriculum, please talk to Keith Clarke.