Physical education at St Joseph's

Intent statement:

At St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School, we recognise and understand the importance of high-quality primary PE and the role it has to play in promoting sustainable, long term, healthy lifestyles. The intention of our PE curriculum is to provide all children with high quality PE and sport provision. It is our vision for every pupil to experience success and achieve their potential and for pupils to understand the importance of a healthy and active lifestyle, enabling them to be fit for life. We aim to inspire our pupils through fun, purposeful and engaging PE lessons that are enjoyable, challenging and accessible to all and for them to develop a lifelong passion for some kind of physical activity or sport. Through our teaching of PE, we will provide opportunities for pupils to develop values and transferrable life skills, such as respect, humility, graciousness, teamwork and communication skills, and for them to have a positive, meaningful and memorable outdoor and adventurous residential experience, as well as providing them with opportunities to take part in competitive sport.

Implementation statement:

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. Our PE planning allows teachers the flexibility to design sequences of lessons tailored to each specific cohort and provide challenging and enjoyable learning through a range of sporting activities including; invasion games, net & wall games, strike and field games, gymnastics, dance, swimming outdoor & adventure. Pupils participate in two high quality PE lessons each week, covering two different areas of PE every half term. In addition to two hours of PE lessons, pupils participate in a range of extra-curricular activities. Lunch time sports and activities are available each day through our ‘Active play initiative’ which is led by our Y5 pupils. Children can attend a variety of after school sport clubs including football club, netball club and multi-sports. We endeavour to make our curriculum subjects as active as possible with active learning strategies being used by teachers to help pupils engage with curriculum subjects in a more active way. In KS2 we encourage our pupils to develop into sporting role models for the younger children, assisting with lunch-time clubs, our annual Sports day and any other Sporting activities. At the start of the academic year, subject leaders from across the cluster meet to develop the sporting calendar for the year. A variety of events and competitions are organised by the team and children are invited to attend competitive sporting events within the local area. 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. Past events and competitions have included: Cross country running, netball and football tournaments (and leagues), cricket, rounders, hand ball, tag rugby and swimming galas.

Impact statement:

All pupils leaving our school will…

Have the fundamental skills in PE to be able to participate in a wide range of physical activities and sport. Have a lifelong passion for some kind of physical activity or sport. Understand the importance of a healthy and active lifestyle and be fit for life. Have a positive, meaningful and memorable outdoor and adventurous residential experience. Have the chance to compete in some form of competitive sport.

“PE is my favourite lesson at school.” Year Five Pupil

“I understand the importance of being fit and healthy and enjoy lots of different sports.” Year Six Pupil

“My favourite is dance and gymnastics at the moment.” Year Two Pupil

“I know that I’m getting better with each lesson, it’s really fun!” Year Three Pupil

Here at St Joseph's we like to catch up with our pupils through informal chats to find out their views on the PE provision in our school.

Here are the responses from our amazing pupils during the summer term 2023:

What do you like about PE?

It gets you fit and it can get your body ready for different activities. (Y2)

My favourite part of PE was when we made up our own game (Y2)

I really liked doing our dance to the music from Trolls and my group were so good, we didn’t need to look at Sandra (dance coach) for help

I really enjoy the sports parts of PE.

I really enjoy gymnastics and attend a club outside of school, so I like the gymnastics and dance part of the curriculum.

PE helps me focus and allows me to concentrate on learning a new skill. It also helps with building teamwork and communication skills.

I love invasion games because they are fast moving and competitive.

I like learning new sports and taking part in the competitions. This year, I took part in the swimming gala and I play for the netball team. (Y6)

I like that there is a variety of activities and sports to help you learn new skills. (Y6)

PE can help you socialize because you get to mix around and work with different people. (Y6)

Why is it important to be physically active and how does PE in school help with this?

I think PE helps with mental wellbeing and it can calm you down because you can burn off all your energy and become calmer. (Y5)

I think it is very important to be physically active and it’s nice to take a break from the classroom so that you can use your body physically which will help you keep healthy. I think it has been proven to increase your lifespan if you are physically fit and healthy. (Y5)

PE is good for making friends because you get to work in groups with people who you may not get to work with in the classroom. (Y5)

PE is my favorite lesson at school. (Y5)

If you were not physically active and sitting down all day it would be boring. (Y6)

When you move around your heart pumps blood around your body quicker which makes you healthier because your hearts working harder. (Y5)

Practicing running can make you faster and you will become more healthy. (Y2)

When you are doing PE you use your muscles which makes you stronger. (Y2)

How can PE help with life outside of school?

You might learn a new sport and then become interested in that new sport in the future. (Y5)

If you learn a new sport or skill at school you might want to take that up outside of school. (Y6)

The teamwork and communication skills that you learn in PE can help with life outside of school (Y6)

If you have a younger sibling, you can teach them the new sports that you have learnt in PE at school. (Y2)

In PE you can be taught the proper way to do something and then you can help others. (Y2)