P.E.
Our PE curriculum is enquiry based, fully inclusive and meets the needs of all learners, starting from building strong foundations in our EYFS, supporting and challenging them on their journey to being secondary ready, and ultimately ensuring that they are equipped with the cultural capital, skills and knowledge they need to succeed in the future.
Meet our Subject Leader
Mrs Renwick
Physical Education Curriculum Intent
Horizon Academy Trust recognises the value of Physical Education (P.E). We fully adhere to the aims of the national curriculum for physical education to ensure that all pupils:
- develop competence to excel in a broad range of physical activities
- are physically active for sustained periods of time
- engage in competitive sports and activities
- lead healthy, active lives
Physical education in Horizon schools is essential to the development of motor skills (both gross and fine) and the enhancement of reflexes. Hand-eye coordination is improved, as well as good body movements, which helps in the development of a healthy body and good posture. PE provides opportunities for pupils to become physically confident in a way which supports their health and fitness. By giving pupils the opportunities to compete in sport and other physical activities it enables pupils to build character and help embed values such as fairness and respect.
Across Horizon children are encouraged to develop their physical skills with a view to all children finding a sport which they can participate in and enjoy. In addition to this we aim to provide all pupils’ with:
- The willingness to practise skills in a wide variety of activities and situations, alone, in small groups and teams and apply these skills in chosen sports with a high level of performance.
- High levels of physical fitness, and the ability to remain physically active for a sustained period of time.
- An understanding of how to make healthy lifestyle choices.
- The ability to swim at least 25 metres before the end of Year 6, and the knowledge of how to remain safe in and around water.
- Exceptional levels of originality, imagination and creativity in their techniques, tactics and choreography and an understanding of how they can improve performance.
- A highly positive attitudes towards sport and competition, and the opportunity to represent the school in a variety of sports.
All schools are active members of the local schools’ sports partnership group and the children participate in local sporting events and competitive games against other schools.
Physical Education Curriculum Implementation
P.E. is taught at Horizon Academy Trust as an area of learning in its own right, as well as being offered through a wide range of extra-curricular clubs and opportunities. It is taught for at least two sessions per week wherever possible.
The key knowledge and skills of each topic are mapped across each year group. This ensures that children develop their knowledge of games (including basic skills), dance and gymnastics and (from KS2) athletics and outdoor and adventurous activity progressively.
The skills in these areas are also therefore developed systematically, with the programme of study for each year group building on previous learning and preparing for subsequent years. Knowledge and skills are informed and linked to enable achievement of key stage end points, as informed by the 2014 National Curriculum.
Lessons are planned to utilise cross curricular links, as well as the context of
each school (including school and local grounds and access to facilities and
community role models, such as sports coaches, with specialist skills). The
varied curriculum is designed to enable all children to enjoy physical activity and
to experience success in sport.
An extensive extra-curricular provision also provides further challenge and access to a range of physical activity. They experience positive competition and focus is also placed on developing healthy lifestyles and developing good sporting attitudes. Children learn in a safe environment and have a foundation for lifelong physical activity, leaving primary school as physically active.
Rationale for sequencing of knowledge and skills in Physical Education
The PE curriculum at Horizon is sequenced so that children develop knowledge and skills across the main concepts of: Games (including basic skills), Gymnastics, Dance, and in KS2 Athletics, Outdoor and Adventurous Activities (OAA) and Swimming. Units of learning have been chosen to build sequentially within each of these concepts.
Games (including basic skills)
In KS1 children develop a range of basic skills in movement and with a ball, which are then built on further in Year 2 by applying these into a range of small game situations using tactics and following simple rules. This initial knowledge is then built on in KS2 through the teaching of specific sport sports which participate in.
In KS2 the teaching in games is targeted around three main areas: Invasion Games, Net/ Wall Games and Striking and Fielding Games. Again, within each of these areas knowledge and skills progress. For example within the areas of net/wall games children develop individual racket control in Year 3 with badminton, moving to table tennis in Year 4, tennis in Year 5 and finally volleyball within Year 6, utilising their net/wall skills in a team situation.
Gymnastics
Within Year 1 children are taught to develop increased balance, control and coordination across a range of movements. This is further built on across Year 2 through the concept of sequence and traveling, linking together a range of movements, within increasing control.
As children progress into KS2 movements become more complex and children begin linking complex movements with increased precision using equipment such as springboards, vaulting horses and benches. Within gymnastic lessons children are encouraged to evaluate their own performance and that of other children using this knowledge to refine and improve performance.
The knowledge and skills progression sets out clearly which specific movements children should master and refine such as a types of jumps and rolls.
Dance
Within KS1 children develop an understanding of communicating mood and feeling to a range of stimuli, such as music and stories focussing on beat and tempo. They are also taught a range of simple movements through mirroring, and call and respond teaching which they use to create their own simple routines.
In KS2 children’s performances become more complex varying tempo and energy, and developing skills such as unison and canon to develop dances with partners and groups. By the end of KS2 children are confident improvising and dancing with control and expression to create complex sequences to music.
Athletics (KS2)
Athletics teaching begins formally within Year 3, prior to this many introductory elements are taught with games and basic skills in KS1. All athletic teaching in centred around improving their own personal best across a range of athletic disciplines.
In Year 3 Athletics begins with a introduction into different types of running, throwing and jumping events. Over the course of each year group teaching centres around introducing new concepts such as pacing in longer events, use of arms when sprinting and accuracy when throwing.
By the end of KS2 all pupils are use their knowledge of each event to analyse their own performance and suggest ways in which their times and distances could be improved.
OAA
The teaching of outdoor and adventurous activities builds progressively across KS2. This starts in Y3 with children attempting simple problems whilst working as a team to find locations. As they move through KS2 children begin to gain a better understanding of maps and use these to navigate set courses, before completing a complex orienteering challenge using compasses and maps. This often takes place through the school residential in an unfamiliar setting.
Swimming
Swimming is an essential life skill that is prioritised across KS2 in all schools. Within Y4 pupils will attend a series of regular swimming lessons to ensure all can swim confidently and proficiently over a distance of 25 metres using a range of strokes effectively. They are also taught to perform safe rescue in a range of different water-based situations.