Earlham Primary School

Intent 

Our physical education curriculum provides opportunities for pupils to become physically confident in a way which supports their health and fitness- this is of paramount importance to the pupils of Earlham as Newham has terrible levels of obesity and disease and illness related to not being physically fit and healthy. Another key aim is to inspire our pupils to competitive sporting excellence, through the curriculum, extra-curricular PE activities, trained coaches, sports competitions as well as motivational visits from Olympians and sporting stars!

Our children start school movement poor: their co-ordination, ball skills and spatial awareness and judgement are under-developed due to limited access to outside spaces. High levels of screen time mean they have low activity levels.  Our PE curriculum is therefore designed to develop fundamental movement skills of balance, locomotion and ball skills. There is a deliberate repetition of key locomotion and ball skills units from Reception through to Years 1 and 2, to enable the children to practise and further hone the fundamental skills they will need to participate in the games units offered in Key Stage 2.

Our PE curriculum covers gymnastics, dance, athletics, football, basketball, team building, rugby, cricket, swimming and tennis, with opportunities for all pupils, including those with SEND, to compete against other schools in all of these sports as part of our membership of the Sporting Hub Tapscott Trust and the Langdon Sports Partnership. We are particularly passionate about girls sporting opportunities; girls are targeted for sporting after school clubs and have pathways for sport carved out for them, including Girls Active festivals and designated lunchtime sport sessions. Our Earlham Lionesses are currently flourishing in the football leagues.  
 
We believe that physical activity matters, that negotiating our way in the world is as much a physical as an intellectual journey and we follow the national curriculum and ensure our units of learning build on previous skills and knowledge. Opportunities to compete in sports build character and help to embed values such as fairness and respect. It is our intent to deliver high quality teaching and learning opportunities that inspire all children to succeed in physical activities, to the highest possible level of achievement.

Implementation 

Every class has at least two hours of Physical education a week. Each class participates in high quality indoor or outdoor PE every week; indoor units include gymnastics, dance and ball skills; outdoor units are skills and games-based. The indoor PE curriculum revisits activities and skills to reinforce previous learning and ensure children further develop these skills over their school journey.

We adapted our swimming curriculum following Covid so Year 4 and 5 pupils attended weekly swimming lessons while year 6 had a 2-week intense course to consolidate prior learning that was disrupted by Covid pool closures. This was covered by the Sports Premium Grant are some of our coaches, equipment and sporting competitions.

Year 6 pupils enjoy a residential programme which involves a range of ambitious activities including archery, orienteering, canoeing, sailing and climbing. Healthy diet and lifestyle are explicitly taught as part of our science curriculum in Years 2, 4 and 6, and as part of our PSHE curriculum.

At Earlham we squeeze in any additional opportunity to promote fitness, healthy living and movement. We begin each school day with a 10-minute fitness session on the playground of aerobics, yoga or dance and our fitness breaks throughout the day (morning and lunchtimes) involve football, cricket, basketball, the daily mile and the bleep test! During the Wellbeing Check in one of the Ways to Wellbeing is ‘Be Active’ and so children spend an additional session a week of mindful movement or just dancing! 

Our Holiday clubs happen every school holiday are also fitness focused with children able to access an even wider range of sports and coaches including American football, boxing, archery and fencing. There is a daily session around healthy lifestyles and nutrition too, building on our in-class knowledge.

Assessment for PE happens within the lesson, teachers and support staff keen observe the children’s skills and knowledge and provide timely interventions through effective modelling and scaffolding so all can achieve. Anyone at risk of not keeping up with their peers in terms of skill acquisition is referred to the lunchtime coaches and individually tutored so that they can achieve success. At the end of a unit the teachers assess all pupils' performance against the outlined knowledge and skills for that unit. 

Impact 

Due to a high-quality PE and sport programme delivered by skilled staff our impact in PE is evident in children who perform confidently and skilfully in a range of different sports. Children are able to represent the school successfully at competition level. 
Our children speak enthusiastically and passionately about their sporting experience at Earlham and how it has led them into new avenues, for example sporting scholarships to private schools and participation in teams outside of Earlham. 
They are resilient and demonstrate good sportsmanship- not just in PE but across school life. And they are happy and comfortable to be active- knowing that physical health and fitness is not only a way to mental wellbeing or a possible career, but a lifestyle that can safeguard them against disease and discomfort in later life.