Physical Education
At the Synergy Schools Federation, we have created a PE curriculum that provides all pupils with the knowledge to be able to participate in physical activity, regardless of their starting points.
Through PE activities, our children are able to flourish and develop not only specific PE knowledge but important values in life such as, endurance, teamwork and sportsmanship. These link well with our school Christian Values.
Motor competences and fundamental movement skills are taught and developed from EYFS. These specific PE lessons are in addition to and in support of some of the physical development early learning goals. Children’s fundamental movement skills then progress through school, following our knowledge progression statements (please see below). This includes procedural knowledge which focuses on strategies and tactics that require explicit teaching. These can only be successful if children can perform the necessary movements through factual and conceptual knowledge.
The knowledge progression for PE works closely with our scheme of learning. This ensures that children are taught rules within specific games and/or sports within PE and are then able to apply the correct procedural knowledge to support success in these areas through correct choice of tactics and strategies.
As part of our scheme of learning, there is a clear focus on healthy activity, participation and fitness. These sessions are also taught weekly so that children engage with them and are able to regularly demonstrate endurance. There is a clear link made to leading a healthy and active lifestyle and how that can support you in PE and sport.
Physical Education provides us with a perfect opportunity to live and breathe our school vision - Having the Courage to Shine. We are constantly faced with new challenges and we strive to be the best version of ourselves through displaying key values. Through PE, we also want children to be inquisitive in their learning and ask questions to help develop their tactical awareness when playing games or trying to improve their individual abilities.
The School Games Mark is a government led awards scheme launched in 2012 to reward schools for their commitment to the development of competition across their school and into the community. Participating in this process allows schools to evaluate their PE provision and assists them in developing an action plan for future progress.
Each School Games Mark application is divided into four sets of questions. They cover the following basic topics:
- Participation - how many young people at your school are being engaged in sporting activity?
- Competition - how many different sports are being played and how many competitions are being entered?
- Workforce - how many pupils are involved in leadership activities alongside taking part in competitions?
- Clubs - how many local links does your school have with clubs or establishments from the area?
