Our Vision:

Westhouses Primary School recognises the vital contribution of physical education to a child’s physical, cognitive, social and emotional development as well as the role it can play in a child’s spiritual, moral and cultural development.

We aim to provide a broad and balanced P.E. curriculum to aid children’s increasing self-confidence in their ability to manage themselves and their bodies within a variety of movement situations. Through a balance of individual, paired and group activities, we aim to cater for the different strengths, needs and preferences of each child, using differentiated activities where appropriate. We believe that through the variety of opportunities that PE offers, children can develop a sense of personal achievement, fair play, teamwork and an understanding of the ways in which sport can transcend social and cultural boundaries.

Intent:

We aim to provide a broad and balanced P.E. curriculum to aid children’s increasing self-confidence in their ability to manage themselves and their bodies within a variety of movement situations. Through a balance of individual, paired and group activities, we aim to cater for the different strengths, needs and preferences of each child, using differentiated activities where appropriate. We believe that through the variety of opportunities that PE offers, children can develop a sense of personal achievement, fair play, teamwork and an understanding of the ways in which sport can transcend social and cultural boundaries.

To develop an understanding of this, we have embedded the School Games Values:

You will see these values around school and within all lessons, not just PE sessions.

We plan a range of activities that aim to provide children with a broad base of movement knowledge, skills and understanding, which they can refine and expand throughout their primary school years. All children are encouraged to join clubs and extend their interest and involvement in sport.

We encourage children to develop their creative and expressive abilities, through improvisation and problem-solving. Children are taught to appreciate the importance of a healthy and fit body, and begin to understand those factors which affect health and fitness. This work is closely aligned with our policy on Personal, Social and Health Education (PSHE).

Physical development:
• To develop physical competence and confidence by acquiring and developing a range of fine and gross motor skills.
• To be aware of the different shapes and movements that can be made with the body.
• To develop knowledge, skills and understanding, and the ability to remember, repeat and refine actions with increasing control and accuracy.
• To promote fitness and a healthy lifestyle by understanding the effects of exercise on the body and the importance of developing strength, endurance and flexibility
• To appreciate of the value of safe exercising.
Social and emotional development:
• To develop a love of physical exercise.
• To develop the ability to work independently and communicate with, and respond appropriately towards others using verbal and non-verbal communication.
• To develop confidence in their own skills and abilities.
• To promote an understanding of safe practice, and develop a sense of responsibility towards the safety of themselves and others.
• To realise that the right exercise for you can be fun and will give you energy for other things in life.
• To create and plan games and teach them to one another.
• To develop a sense of fair play.

Cognitive development:
• To develop decision making and problem solving skills.
• To develop reasoning skills and the ability to make judgements.
• To develop an increasing ability to select, link and apply skills, tactics and compositional ideas.
• To develop the ability to communicate non-verbally with the body
• To improve observational skills, the ability to describe and make simple judgements on their own and others’ work, and to use this knowledge and understanding to improve their own performance.
• To understand that using the correct technique will improve accuracy and individual performance.
• To be able to evaluate performance and act upon constructive criticism.

Spiritual, moral and cultural development:
• To develop a positive attitude to themselves and others.
• To experience a range of differing activities and realise that physical activity doesn’t have to be about winning a competition - doing your best is as important.
• To be able to encourage others and give praise for their achievements so that when children perform they do not fear failure.
• To treat your team, the opposition and the referee with respect.
• To raise self-esteem through opportunities to celebrate sporting success.

Implementation:

Teachers plan sessions based on the 'Think, Do, Feel' scheme of work. Each class takes part in at least 2 hours of taught PE sessions per week. Usually, this consists of 'competitive, skill based sports' and gymnastic/dance Fundamentals skills. Our lessons are planned in conjunction with the Bolsover School Sports Partnership Competition Calendar, so that children are given the opportunity to apply taught skills in competitive situations. We ensure that we teach high quality, purposeful lessons which support, embed skills and challenge our children (see our skills progression document below). Lessons are carefully planned using our progression documents, to ensure that children are challenged and supported as appropriate.

Our sporting events and awards can be found on our Sports Crew page. https://www.westhouses.derbyshire.sch.uk/sports-crew-and-sports-achievements/

We aim to provide a well-balanced curriculum which covers the statutory requirements for the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) and the PE National Curriculum.
 

Early Years Foundation Stage:

In the Early Years, opportunities are provided for children to be active and to develop their co-ordination, control and movement through moving and handling activities which involve the use of a range of equipment and involve different spatial experiences. Structured lessons and opportunities are planned for when appropriate. 
 

Key Stage 1 and 2:

Pupils in both KS1 and KS2 engage in two hours of high quality PE during the course of each week. In KS1 the curriculum focuses on fundamental movement skills to develop agility, balance and co-ordination. Curriculum content includes ball skills and team games, gymnastic and dance activities. At KS2 pupils continue to apply and develop a range of skills and units of work include a range of invasion, net / wall, and fielding and striking games, gymnastics, dance, athletics and swimming. 

Other Sporting Experiences:

• In Years 3 and 4, children also take part in the Swimming scheme at Alfreton Leisure Centre, whereby children attend one swimming lesson per week, lasting approximately 45 minutes.
• Year 5 and 6 also complete one PE session at the sports hall to ensure they have access to high-quality equipment and facilities.
• The 5/60 scheme - teaching children the importance of healthy eating and completing 60 minutes of activity each day.
• Coaching – we employ a variety of coaches to teach specialist sports and activities. Examples of these are: tag rugby (RuggerEds), Football, Cricket, Wheelchair Basketball, Archery and Fencing.
• Visits to Tibshelf Community School - multi-sports festivals, working with Sports leaders etc. Pupils in years 2 and 5 also compete in an annual Mini Olympics to widen experiences.
• Opportunities to take part in inter- and intra- school competitions, as part of our Bolsover School Sport Partnership affiliation. For example, Football, Basketball, Rugby, Boccia etc. 
• Enrichment opportunities such as visits to Lea Green, Climbing Wall, Activall etc.

For more information about our sporting competition success, please see our Sport Crew page, under the ‘children’ tab to the left.

Ensuring high quality PE teaching:

At Westhouses Primary School, we work in partnership with the local schools, coaches and the Bolsover School Sport Partnership to ensure our children have purposeful, challenging PE sessions. By using the partnership, we are able to improve the teaching of PE by using the expert skills and knowledge of partnership staff to develop the skills and knowledge of our staff through:

• CPD opportunities for staff to develop key sporting skills,
• Training for pupils to develop their leadership skills,
• Use of high-quality, trained sports coaches to lead sessions and develop skills of staff,
• Chances to apply the taught skills in cross-school competitions.

Across the school, various classes work with the sports coach, focusing on key skills which can be applied to a variety of competitive sports. Linking in with competition calendars, we also teach our pupils the rules and skills to compete in a variety of local cluster competitions.

WHPS PE Kit:
• Children should dress in plain black shorts, tracksuit bottoms and a plain white t-shirt.
• Children will work in bare feet for all indoor and apparatus work.
• Plimsolls or trainers are worn for outdoor games, together with Track-suits if it is cold.
• Jewellery is not to be worn. Watches should be kept safely in a container in the classroom.
• Long hair should be tied back and rigid headbands should be removed.
• Children will be trained to lift and carry any apparatus sensibly into position under adult supervision. The teacher will check it before use.

Play Leaders, Mini Leaders and Sports Crew:
As part of the Sports Premium spending, we employ a Play Leader to further enhance the provision of sport and games during lunchtimes. These sessions aim to build on the work of PE sessions and develop the children’s knowledge of healthy lifestyles. During this time, intra-school sports competitions are held between and within year groups, in a variety of sports. In addition, children are trained as ‘mini leaders’ to provide additional games and activities to help children maintain active levels during lunch time. They also organise the ‘daily mile’, which runs before school, every day. The Sports Crew’s role is to further publicise and raise the profile of sport. Children are voted in from each class, each year and make decisions about equipment and activities on offer in school. To see some of their reports and events, please click the following link: https://www.westhouses.derbyshire.sch.uk/sports-crew-and-sports-achievements/ 

Sports Premium Funding:

Through the Government Funding for sport (Sport Premium), where possible, the school will provide opportunities for pupils to work with PE specialists. The funding will support PE training by providing opportunities for teachers to work alongside specialist teachers. Pupils are also given the opportunity to widen their sporting experiences and knowledge of healthy lifestyles.

For more information on how we have used our sports premium funding, please click on the following internal link: https://www.westhouses.derbyshire.sch.uk/pe-sports-premium/ 

Impact:

In sessions, teachers will assess children against the three objectives of the sessions:

• Think - what skills are required to think like an athlete in the sport or activity?
• Do - what does the sportsperson need to do in this activity?
• Feel - how does our body react the to activity and why?

Staff will identify children who are working below the expectation and those who are working at a greater depth to further challenge them next session.

At the end of each academic year, an assessment will be inputted onto the data management system to support the next teacher when pitching their planning.

As part of the School Games Award, we regularly audit our provision. These audits focus upon SEND provision and children who do not have regular access to physical activities. These assessments also review provision in school and how well this meets the needs of learners to develop physically and life-long positive attitudes to sports and physical activity. To find out more about the School Games Mark, please follow this link: https://www.yourschoolgames.com/how-it-works/school-games-mark/

As a school  we are proud of our sporting achievements and provision, which is reflected in our Gold School Games ranking - something we have achieved for several years.