Intent

At Fellside, we believe that the delivery of high-quality physical education teaching, in a safe and supportive environment, is integral in promoting the optimum physical and emotional development in all pupils. Through teaching a broad and balanced physical education curriculum, we aim to improve the wellbeing and fitness of all children and instil in them the skills needed to be masters of their own physical health.

At Fellside, we seek to provide a varied and motivational physical education curriculum which challenges, engages and excites staff and pupils alike. Physical education bridges the support of both the physical and emotional development of children, teaching children to learn how to think in different ways to suit a wide variety of creative, competitive, cooperative and challenging activities. They learn how to plan, perform and evaluate actions, ideas and performances to improve their aptitudes, abilities, preferences and make choices about how to get involved in lifelong physical activity. PE at Fellside aims to motivate children to lead a more active life. It teaches the key skills of self-discipline, teamwork, resilience and leadership, and gives them the self-confidence to fulfil their potential to succeed in all physical activities

We believe that PE is unique in its ability to develop the ‘whole’ child.  High quality PE lessons, enhanced by extended curriculum opportunities, help to foster good relationships and social development, as well enhancing positive mental health and physical fitness.

Aims

Our aims in teaching PE are that all children will:

• Be physically active and find enjoyment in physical activity;
• Find a lasting sense of purpose, achievement and fulfilment in physical activity;
• Develop a variety of physical skills appropriate to their ability and an understanding of how to apply them;
• Develop positive attitudes to physical endeavour including perseverance, fair play and sporting behaviour and the ability to cope with success and failure;
• Develop physical skills, habits and interests that will promote a healthy lifestyle;
• Develop their skills of communication and the ability to work independently and with others.

Implementation

At Fellside, we have developed a physical education curriculum which promotes provides the opportunity for progression of physical skills – agility, coordination, balance, control; rhythm etc. – whilst offering opportunities to experience wide variety of sporting endeavours. Our curriculum is made up of units of teaching and learning that incorporate the following aspects:

• Dance
• Games (multi-skills in KS1; striking and fielding; net and wall; and invasion games in KS2).
• Gymnastics
• Athletics
• Outdoor and Adventurous Activities (KS2)
• Swimming (KS2 – Year 4)

Two hours of high-quality PE is scheduled for each class weekly and all pupils at Fellside have access to high-quality PE teaching, some of which is supported by long-standing external coaches. The remit of visiting coaching staff (who are funded via our PE and Sports Premium) is principally to support CPD of school staff, thereby creating a legacy for sustainable improvement in this subject area.

We are fortunate to have the support of the Gateshead Schools Sports Partnership (SSP) with whom we work closely, as well as colleagues at Whickham School.  Both links afford us the opportunity to participate in borough and cluster-wide fixtures and festivals, some of which are competitive.  Our PE and Sports Premium also funds the provision for a health and wellbeing offer for Fellside children, with its central aim to promote positive mental health derived from an active lifestyle.

Our annual sports day is much anticipated and enjoyed by Fellside pupils and staff.  Our Sports Ambassadors and House Captains take a central role in this, as do visiting Sports Leaders from Whickham School (among whom are always many ex-Fellsiders).

Outside of PE curriculum time, Class teachers are supportive of our whole school endeavour to participate in a Daily Mile – indeed, this is an activity that is begun as early as Reception class.  The focus on this is on self-improvement over time.  Staff also track ‘active minutes’ across each school day to ensure we can demonstrate adherence to the target of 60 active minutes per day.

Children from Reception class upwards also have access to a wide variety of sporting activities in our extra-curricular offer.  Currently, these include hockey, multi-skills, karate, Little Kickers and Little Rugby.  We track participation in extra-curricular opportunities and target attendance where necessary.

PE in Key Stage 1

In Key Stage 1, focus is on development of fundamental movement skills, ensuring children become increasingly competent and confident.  They access a broad range of opportunities to extend their agility, balance and coordination, individually and with others. Children engage in competitive (both against self and against others) and co-operative physical activities, in a range of increasingly challenging situations.

During Years 1 and 2, children learn to achieve the following outcomes:

• 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.

PE in Key Stage 2

In Key Stage 2, pupils 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. They enjoy communicating, collaborating and competing with each other, and they develop an understanding of how to improve in different physical activities and sports and learn how to evaluate and recognise their own success.

During Years 3 to 6, children learn to achieve the following outcomes:

• 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 gymnast
• 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.

In both key stages, staff understand the values of teamwork and collaborate effectively with others with sportsmanship and fair-play evidenced in lessons.  They observe the work of others and arrive at reasoned judgements to improve performance.  Among children in Years 5 and 6, there is an emphasis on developing Sports Ambassadors who are able support in the organisation of sporting events in school; as well as to encourage and promote the many benefits of an active lifestyle.

Swimming and Water Safety

At Fellside Community Primary School, swimming and water safety is provided to Year 4 pupils who visit Dunston Leisure Centre on a weekly basis and follow a specific programme as set by the ASA Awarding Body

Teaching and Learning of Core Tasks

To support our delivery of PE, we use Gateshead School Sports Partnership Core Task Cards.  These provide a complete piece of work for pupils to achieve as they are exposed to each unit of work within our PE curriculum. They ae an integral part of our school’s curriculum plans for Physical Education with the path of progress clearly mapped. Each core task card can be used as a medium-term plan within the context of our overall curriculum plan.

Core tasks are activity-based challenges that represent a complete piece of work for pupils to achieve, and give pupils a clear picture of what they are aiming for from the outset of a unit of work.  They are designed to match the physical, mental and emotional maturity of the majority of pupils in an age group, and provide a link with the expectations pitched around a particular level.  Each task grows in difficulty and complexity as pupils make progress through a series of tasks, each building on one another across units of work, within and between year groups.  They enable pupils’ to make progress by improving the quality of their performance in a particular task, and they enable teachers to recognise and validate pupils’ progress.

The Core Tasks for PE give pupils an opportunity to use what they have learnt in an authentic context that is suitably challenging for their age and ability. Each core task covers the skills, processes and understanding required by the PE national curriculum (2014), as part of our planned PE curriculum and schemes of work. The components are linked and all need to be developed in order to perform a core task well. PE core tasks also provide an excellent framework for assessment for learning, as they involve an ongoing discussion between teacher and pupil about how to improve the quality of performance, make progress and achieve end of key stage expectations

The core tasks are designed to be used in such a way that teachers and pupils can:

• Identify which skills will be needed to perform the task well.
• Gain an understanding of what they are trying to achieve throughout the unit of work.
• Assess what they can do at the beginning of a unit of work
• Plan activities for groups and individuals which will enable every pupil to make progress by the end of the unit of work.
• Assess what they can do at the end of the unit of work

This is a cyclical process that has been adopted by all teachers.

Impact

We aim to inspire and motivate children to participate in a variety of sports and physical endeavours which are engaging and fun. We seek to ensure children instinctively utilise skills and knowledge acquired during PE lessons, encouraging them to take responsibility for their own health and fitness and thus develop a lifelong love of sport that will support their future happiness. We know from the strong take-up of extra-curricular sporting activities by Fellside children that they are keen to apply their learning across a wide range of physical challenges and sporting endeavours outside of the school day.

Core task cards are the fundamental mechanism via which we assess progress in PE in Years 1 to 6.  Teachers assess progress in skills outlined on the core task cards, and final outcomes are RAG rated and recorded so that there is a running-record of outcomes for each cohort as they progress throughout school. This provides a useful record and an accurate starting point for class teachers at the start of a new school year in terms of assessment of prior learning.

Children themselves also take part in this process by undertaking self-assessment via a series of ‘I can’ statements linked to each curriculum unit.  Children undergo this process at the start of a unit of work, and again at the end.  This supports their understanding of the positive gains they have made during the teaching and learning process.