Physical Education (PE)

Physical Education Curriculum Statement

Miss Farr is our PE lead at Linton Heights Junior School. Her over-arching aim is to provide rich, yet inclusive experiences for our pupils in PE.

Here she explains our ethos behind sports.

“As a school, we’re very passionate about our PE and outdoor learning provision. We subscribe to the South Cambs School Sports Partnership which provides us with competition opportunities throughout the year; we send teams to as many of these as possible. As well as this, we have recently subscribed to Complete PE which includes a number of different resources to help the children reach their potential.

As a PE lead, Miss Farr believes that the following aspects are very important and are part of our identity:

Ensuring an inclusive PE provision for all SEND children
As many children as possible should have the opportunity to participate in a school competition
Having a variety of sporting facilities and equipment with the aim that all preferences and tastes are catered for
Instilling the idea that PE is not only physical, but also mental, behavioural and emotional
Using positive and encouraging language during PE lessons and competitions

As sports lead, Miss Farr teaches half of the PE provision per class – with the class teacher teaching the other hourly session. Additionally, she runs clubs every afternoon after school and at lunch time.

Our facilities are excellent, we have a large field, playground area and swimming pool, We also have our own Forest School area which is located on the school grounds. Our pupils benefit from Forest School activities where they learn to use tools, make dens and cook over a fire amongst other things. We believe that these outdoor activities develop thinking skills, teamwork and resilience as well as being beneficial for children’s mental health. Miss Farr runs weekly sessions and classes participate on a cyclical basis.

We also offer residential field trips in Years 5 and 6 as part of our outdoor learning curriculum.

Intent

Development of physical competence, an active lifestyle and respect for others

Physical education develops children’s physical competence and confidence. In January 2024, Linton Heights Junior School subscribed to the Complete PE curriculum. This provides children with the opportunity to be creative, competitive and to face up to different challenges as individuals, groups and teams. It promotes positive attitudes towards active and healthy lifestyles. Through a range of activities children discover their aptitudes, abilities and preferences and make choices about how to get involved in lifelong physical activity.

In recognition of the quality of sports provision, Linton Heights Junior School has achieved its platinum school games award on three occasions. These opportunities to compete in sport and other activities build character and help to embed the Linton Heights values of ambition, resilience and respect…….?

As Lucy Perarson (England cricketer) suggests ‘Physical education is about pupils learning about themselves: their capabilities, their potential and their limitations. It is the foundation of all sports participation. But it goes beyond the individual and understanding themselves – it’s learning how to work with and respect others’.

Development of well-being

“Sana mens in corpore sano: a healthy mind in a healthy body’ (Juvenal Satura). The reason why physical education is such an important aspect of our curriculum is pupils are active usually doing their work in the fresh air. Activity matters. It grounds us, it makes us happy and help us to be fully integrated. It reminds us we are not just intellectual but physical beings, held in balance.

High expectations

The Complete PE curriculum is designed with the national curriculum as a starting point however, due to our extremely high expectations for our children, we supplement this curriculum with additional challenge. We have a whole strand of our PE curriculum dedicated to outdoor and adventurous activities fulfilled by regular and planned forest school sessions throughout their time in school. Our outdoor and adventurous activities strand culminates in two residentials (one in Year Five and one in Year Six) where children are able to fulfil these objectives including outdoor adventurous activies, abseiling and high ropes.

Implementation

PE long term plan

Each year group teaches the areas of PE identified in the Complete PE long term plan to ensure coverage of statutory knowledge and skills as a minimum. Each year group will be taught PE in two, hour long PE sessions each week.
The Complete PE progression of skills is used to identify the learning objectives for each year group, in line with the school’s raised expectations and also takes prior learning into account.

Extra-curricular activities

We offer a wide range of extra-curricular activities for children to access both before and after school.
We also offer daily Sensory Circuits. This is offered to children who have barriers to learning/ behavioural issues/ SEND and difficulties with mobility.
We signpost to external providers for children who display particular interests or talents in some activities – this has included a pupil with a significant talent in tennis, another in running and another in kart racing.

Competition and events

We subscribe to the South Cambridgeshire School Sports Partnership who provide many opportunities throughout the year for children to take part in a wide range of different sports and PE activities. We also participate in friendly matches/ competitions with Trust schools throughout the year – such as football, cross country and this year dance.
We have squads for children who are selected to train in preparation for specific events.
Annually we have a sponsored, sports orientated event. This has included a sponsored skip and hula-hoop. These events encourage pupils to be active and have introduced any of our pupils to a new and enjoyable sport.

Sports Premium Funding

Government sports funding is used to pay for sports coaches, updating and replacing equipment, providing opportunities for children in receipt of the pupil premium to take part in sporting and residential activities and supporting the running of Forest Schools. More information can be found in the annual review of Sports Premium Funding spending which can be found on the school’s website.

Challenge and Support for all Learners

We understand that every learner develops differently and adapt our provision continuously to ensure every child receives the correct balance of support and challenge to achieve their very best. We recognise this fact and provide suitable learning opportunities for all children (including those who may be gifted and talented or have additional needs) by matching the challenge of the task to the ability of the child.

Each child is valued, respected and challenged regardless of ability, race, gender, religion, social background, culture or disability.

Impact

Assessment

We use Complete PE assessment package to determine children’s progress against the expectations of Complete PE curriculum. We assess children against both the requirements and standards of the National Curriculum as well as our school’s own raised expectations for all children.