Intent
At Dodworth St. John’s, our P.E. curriculum aims to develop the knowledge and skills children need to succeed in different sports and physical disciplines, but also aims to develop the positive mental attitude needed to live a healthy and active life. We want our children to choose an active and healthy lifestyle for themselves, and P.E., as well as other subjects and initiatives in school, such as healthy eating and developing good hygiene routines, supports us in our aim and places physical activity and physical education as a high priority.
Through P.E., children also develop confidence, raise aspirations, and can become part of our wider sporting community should they wish, through wider curriculum, and enrichment opportunities. Through physical education, and in line with the ‘British Values,’ we want to teach children how to cooperate and collaborate with others, as part of a team, understanding fairness and equity of play and embedding life-long values.
Using the National Curriculum for Physical Education (2014), we have carefully planned our P.E. curriculum from EYFS to Y6, carefully considering the small steps that children need to know to progress onto the next stage. Through these sequential learning documents, high quality teaching and learning opportunities are developed, as staff can be confident in knowing what the children will have learned previously and have a clear vision of where the children need to be, to progress further.
Progression
Every class from Year 1, has 2-hours of physical education per week; one indoor session and one outdoor session. We also have times during the day for children to be active outside through play – morning break, lunch time and an afternoon break. We have a group of Y6 pupils, who are our Sport Leaders in school. They plan and deliver games during break times, for each year group. Bruce Dyer also leads sporting activities during lunchtimes, with a focus on character building, incluidng sportsmanship and working as a team. Pupils within EYFS undertake daily physical exercise within a specialised external play area. They also have use of the school hall for structured activities at least once a week.
PE is further supplemented in all year groups with after school clubs delivered by external providers. Our current after school programme includes football on Mondays and karate on Fridays. We also have a multi-sports club on Friday mornings, which is run by Bruce Dyer.
We are always keen to develop the wider opportunities we provide for our children, which take them beyond the school gates, and have made links with:
- Dodworth Miners – Tag Rugby sessions with qualified coaches and CPD for staff
- Barnsley Metrodome – swimming lessons
- Bikeability – Year 5
- Balanceability – Year 1
We have also established links with GrassRoots to develop the competitive side of sports, as well as to provide our children with a wider range of skills and experiences. We are currently part of an interschool cluster, where our children have the opportunity to compete and take-part in a variety of sporting events each week.
To develop this further, we are also currently exploring how we can work with other schools in our local vicinity to create further sporting opportunities.
KS1
All pupils from Year 1 to 2 have at least 2 hours’ worth of planned physical exercise each week. Teachers plan and deliver lessons focussing on the development of the children’s fundamental movement skills (balance, agility, co-ordination, running, jumping, and catching).
KS2
All pupils from Year 3 to 6 have at least 2 hours’ worth of planned physical exercise each week. Children in Year 6 participate in 15 sessions of swimming lessons to enable them to swim competently, confidently, and proficiently over a distance of at least 25 meters. Pupils continue to apply and develop a broader range of skills such as running, jumping, throwing, and catching. These skills are incorporated into competitive games. Linking with Geography, children across KS1 and KS2 are given the opportunity to take part in Outdoor Adventurous Activity within our school grounds and in Year 6, children take this further during a 2-night residential visit to Robinwood.
Impact
All children at Dodworth St. John’s receive a broad and balanced P.E. curriculum regardless of year group or ability. Teachers plan P.E. with clear progression of skills and knowledge that we have devised as part of our curriculum offer to ensure that all children access it at an age-appropriate level.
Assessment in P.E. is formative, and children are assessed against the outcomes as set out in our sequence of learning.