PE
At Knightwood, our PE curriculum guides children on a journey of resilience, teamwork, kindness and lifelong physical and mental well-being. Curiosity fuels our exploration of new sports and activities. We encourage children to try new things, step outside their comfort zones and discover their potential. We strive to embed core skills and deliver a range of sporting opportunities to empower our students to lead healthy, fulfilling and successful lives both now and in the future.
Intent:
Children at Knightwood will be provided with a broad, engaging and inclusive physical education curriculum. The curriculum inspires and builds confidence whilst developing their skills, participation and success in a wide range of physical activities.
Children will participate and compete in sport and have the opportunity to create meaningful, high-quality dance and gym performances. We aim to build resilience, self-esteem and embed teamwork, fairness and respect. We will celebrate and be proud of all achievements and we will guide pupils to reflect and to improve their skills. Through fostering a positive culture, we will enhance the health and well-being of pupils and staff, promoting life-long participation in sport and encourage positive attitudes towards physical activity.
Implementation:
Our children have two hours of physical education each week. The curriculum is planned to be progressive and develop a wide range of skills and knowledge using the Get Set 4 PE curriculum programme. One hour is led by our sports coaches who deliver the games sessions focussing on core gross motor skills, agility, balance and co-ordination. These skills are developed through the unit culminating in an opportunity for the children to apply them within a focus sport through half termly house competitions. The second hour is led by the class teachers and focuses on either gymnastics or dance on a half term rotation.
Gymnastics and dance have a core focus of creativity, allowing the children to confidently choreograph routines individually and in groups. Our children regularly experience performing for an audience. Every dance and gymnastic unit is performed either parents or to other classes in the school. Choreography and routines are recorded in order for our pupils to reflect on current, past and future routines, so that the quality of dance and gym in school is forever improving. The dance units incorporate a wide range of styles, cultures and musical theatre and gymnastic units encourage a wide use of equipment and incorporate a progression of skills.
We value the importance of life skills that the P.E curriculum supports. Therefore, we aspire for all children to leave Knightwood with the ability to swim 25 metres, ride a bike as well as providing our children with the necessary skills to succeed in the sporting and performing arts industries in life after education.
Alongside our P.E lessons, our children regularly participate in competitive sport, whether they are representing our school against others in the county or are competing on behalf of an external team or club. Our participation in these competitions as a school, alongside our varying after and lunchtime school clubs, provides our children with opportunities to access new sports and to develop taught skills outside of lessons. Whole-school events, such as sports Day and gym/dance performances provide every pupil with the opportunity to compete where they learn the importance of respect and sporting etiquette, whilst developing their own personal levels of confidence, perseverance and resilience in the process.
We have chosen to deliver our curriculum through the use of teachers and dedicated coaches (employed by the school). This means our children and staff have the opportunity to learn from experts to ensure high quality teaching. Knightwood has two MUGAs and a wide range of equipment that enables access to a wide range of sports.
Impact:
The Knightwood PE curriculum is more than just a series of exercises; it’s a pathway to holistic development and lifelong well-being. By prioritising physical health, mental resilience, social skills, inclusivity and curiosity, we aim to make a lasting impact on the lives of our children, empowering them to lead healthy, fulfilling and successful lives. This can be seen through our annual action Plans and evaluations, through the voices of the school community; such as staff questionnaires, pupil conferencing and parent feedback on Dance/Gym performances and sporting events. The Sport Premium Report, as seen on our school website, also outlines how our funding is allocated as well as the impact this funding has on our school and the Physical Education taught. It not only highlights the key achievements to date but also the areas that require further improvement to ensure that all our children receive learning and lessons that are engaging, inclusive and of high quality. By exposing our pupils to a diverse and exciting curriculum, we equip our children with the necessary skills in order to live happy, healthy and active lives with the hope that they will remain informed on and enthusiastic about health and fitness when they leave our school.
