At Our Lady and St Joseph’s, Physical Education is an important part of our commitment to “Searching faithfully for excellence,” rooted in our Gospel values of love, respect, stewardship, honesty, hope, justice and forgiveness. We believe that every child should experience the enjoyment and benefits of being active. Through PE, pupils develop the confidence, knowledge and skills to care for their bodies, work positively with others and build healthy habits for life.

Key Aims

Our PE curriculum aims to inspire a lasting enjoyment of physical activity and develop children’s skills progressively from the Early Years through to Year 6. We strive to:

• Develop physical confidence, coordination and competence through a broad range of activities.

• Help children understand how regular physical activity supports health and wellbeing.

• Encourage teamwork, fairness and respect through individual and shared challenges.

• Build resilience, independence and a willingness to practise and improve.

• Give every child opportunities to participate, experience success and recognise their progress.

Content and Skills

We follow Get Set for PE planning to support a carefully sequenced curriculum that covers the National Curriculum requirements in Key Stages 1 and 2 and supports physical development in the Early Years. Pupils will:

• Develop fundamental movement skills, including running, jumping, balancing, throwing and catching.

• Apply and refine these skills through games, dance, gymnastics, athletics and outdoor adventurous activities.

• Learn rules, strategies and tactics, using them with increasing confidence in different activities.

• Develop control, coordination, strength, balance and stamina.

• Observe performances, recognise strengths and identify ways to improve.

• Learn how to participate safely and understand the importance of preparation, practice and regular activity.

In Nursery and Reception, daily indoor and outdoor experiences help children develop their movement skills, physical confidence and independence.

Swimming is taught in Years 1, 3 and 5, with lessons taking place throughout the year. Children develop confidence in the water, swimming technique and essential water safety skills. We work towards pupils being able to swim confidently and competently over at least 25 metres, use a range of strokes effectively and perform safe self-rescue in different water-based situations by the end of Key Stage 2.

Progression

Learning in PE is carefully planned so that children revisit and build on their movement skills, knowledge and understanding. From exploring movement in the Early Years, pupils progress towards more controlled actions in Key Stage 1 and increasingly confident performance in Key Stage 2.

As children develop, they learn to select appropriate skills, make decisions, apply tactics and evaluate their own and others’ performances. Regular practice helps them improve accuracy, fluency and independence.

Teachers assess progress through observation, discussion and practical performance. Activities, equipment and support are adapted to meet individual needs, maintaining high aspirations and enabling every child to participate and achieve.

Wider Impact

PE supports children’s physical health, emotional wellbeing and personal development. It provides opportunities to develop perseverance, solve problems, take responsibility and build positive relationships.

Through sport, children learn to encourage others, follow rules, show honesty and respond respectfully to both success and disappointment. These experiences help pupils put our Gospel values into practice.

Extracurricular activities, local sporting competitions and festivals enrich learning and give children opportunities to represent the school and discover new interests. Where appropriate, we help families explore opportunities to participate through local clubs.

Our PE curriculum equips children with the skills, confidence and motivation to enjoy physical activity throughout their lives.