Physical Education
Intent
Physical Education promotes an understanding in children of their bodies in action. It involves thinking, selecting and applying skills to promote a positive attitude towards a healthy lifestyle; this includes the benefits it has on mental health and wellbeing. At Great Bedwyn, we enable children to make informed choices about physical activities throughout their lives. We do this by encouraging children to participate in physical activity for pleasure and to develop the motivation needed to be the best they can be, whilst also maintaining good sportsmanship. PE is inclusive, supportive and fun.
We aim to develop children’s knowledge, skills and understanding so they can perform with increasing competence and confidence in a range of physical activities. A varied curriculum is in place to support this, with activities including: dance, athletics, gymnastics, games, swimming and water safety and outdoor adventure activities.
“Sport, a universal language, building more bridges between people than anything else I can think of” Sebastian Coe
Implementation
At Great Bedwyn, our PE curriculum is based on the Get Set 4 PE scheme which is used to teach PE across the school. This scheme ensures that children are given a wealth of opportunities to develop skills, knowledge and understanding of movement, health and wellbeing. Pupils have a weekly PE lesson with their class teacher or alongside a qualified sports coach. The PE curriculum is sequenced to ensure the progression of knowledge and skills and enables children to build upon prior experience. Children take part in a range of invasion, striking & fielding or net & wall games, gymnastics and dance as well athletics and outdoor adventures. In KS2, children have the opportunity to join in on residential trips including a range of adventurous activities and Year 3 have swimming lessons to ensure they can swim competently, confidently using a range of strokes effectively.
Inter and intra sports competitions are another feature of our PE programme, helping pupils to enjoy the competitive nature of sport as well as to encouraging children to take pride in participating in a range of activities for their school. We have an inclusive approach and endeavour to give all pupils the opportunity to represent their school during their time at Great Bedwyn.
Playtimes are an important part of helping pupils to be happy, healthy and ready to learn. We have a large sports field, trim trail and a playground designed to promote active play. There is also an outdoor area specifically for the EYFS children, including a bouldering wall which gives the opportunity for children to develop and improve fundamental movement skills. To develop leadership and communication skills, children in Year 6 are paired with the youngest pupils in school to encourage the EYFS children to play collaborative games, respect rules and get active during playtime.
At Great Bedwyn, we recognise the importance of being physically active throughout the school day. Physical activity is embedded throughout the school through initiatives such as The Daily Mile, Wake and Shake, BBC Super Movers and brain breaks to help meet the government target of children being physically active for 60 minutes per day. Active travel is encouraged, with many pupils and families walking or cycling to school. Children are also encouraged to participate in a variety of extra-curricular activities. We provide inclusive and enjoyable clubs which increase children’s physical activity and endeavour to provide a broad range of activities based on children’s interests.