Physical Education

Subject Intent

By the time they leave Northgate we aim for our children to; 

Understand the benefits of keeping healthy and fit. Understand the skills of working as a team, sportsmanship and a healthy competitive spirit. 

At Northgate Primary School, we strive to ensure that all children foster a life-long love for a variety of physical activities and sporting opportunities. Through this engaging curriculum, they will develop their physical literacy, communication skills and thinking skills which are important, transferrable skills that can be used across multiple settings.

Through PE, we aim to promote not just physical skills but also develop wider personal, social and moral skills which could include resilience, teamwork, independence, leadership, analysis and evaluation. We want to encourage children to have long term, physically active and healthy lifestyles where they understand the benefits of keeping fit and healthy. This will also encourage children to understand the contribution this has on good mental health and well-being.

We achieve this through high quality PE and sports lessons during which every child can succeed and achieve their potential.  Children will experience a broad range of different sports safely though participation and observations. Each lesson is appropriately challenging and accessible for all children. At Northgate, we encourage children to develop a healthy competitive spirit through providing all children with opportunities to take part in competitive physical activity. This includes running a range of extra-curricular activities and encouraging children to attend local clubs and sports. Our relevant, engaging and challenging curriculum means that students who have studied PE at Northgate will continue to enjoy learning about Physical Education, physical activity and a variety of sports throughout their lives.

Implementation

At Northgate Primary School, we follow the Futura Curriculum. Pupils in Years 1 to 6 take part in two planned sessions of physical exercise each week.

One of these sessions each week follows the Real PE programme. In Key Stage 1, the focus of these lessons is to develop the children’s fundamental movement skills, offering the children a range of opportunities to extend their agility, balance and co-ordination as well as applying them in a range of different activities. Children are able to take part in competitive and co-operative physical activities, including competing against themselves and others. The introduction to team games is important in Key Stage 1 and children are given the chance to develop simple tactics of defending and attacking.

During Real PE lessons for Key Stage 2, the children continue to develop their fundamental movement skills, learning a broader range of skills and applying them to a range of different activities, including more challenging, sport-based games. Communication becomes more of a focus as children continue to work collaboratively and compete against others. Children are encouraged to recognise how to improve in different physical activities and evaluate their own success.

For both Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2, the second session of physical exercise takes place with a sports coach. During these sessions, all children are given the chance to apply their skills to a range of different sports including football, athletics and outdoor adventurous activities. They also have the chance to develop different movement patterns and flexibility through dance and gymnastics.

All pupils have the opportunity for physical activity during morning and lunchtime breaks on the playgrounds and AstroTurf which are well stocked with resources. In addition, children have access to the Inspired Playground markings where they play a range of active games co-ordinated by the trained Year 5 playground leaders that are on duty. Children are also encouraged to be creative using these markings to invent their own physical activities.

At Northgate Primary School, we offer a range of extra-curricular clubs to all children. These include dance, gymnastics, multi-sports, cricket, football, netball and rounders. We also give some children the access to an extra PE club ran by our sports coach. The aim of these groups is to target those children who need more support in fine motor abilities as well as those children who are exceeding expectations in PE.

Pupils in Years 4, 5 and 6 attend a weekly swimming lesson at Chilton Trinity 1610 throughout the year.

All children in Key Stage 2 are given the opportunity to take part in physical activity in an alternative outdoor environment each year. Year 3 pupils visit Fyne Court, year 4 pupils go on a short residential trip in the Spring term, year 5 pupils attend a high ropes course in Vivary Park, Taunton and year 6 go on a week-long residential trip in the Summer term. All these activities give children the opportunity to experience a range of different activities that offer new and exciting challenges.

During the Summer term, all children get the chance to take part in Sports Day. During the day, children get to take part in a range of different events including running, throwing and jumping activities. Importantly, as we run the event as an inter-house competition, it allows all children to compete in an enjoyable and fun way. At Northgate, we aim to run a range of other inter-house competitions throughout the year including inter-house hockey and cricket.

All children at Northgate, from Foundation Stage to Year 6 get the chance to take part in a sports festival each year run by SASP (Somerset Activity and Sports Partnership). The themes of these days include multi-sports, net and wall games and outdoor activities. We find that the children thoroughly enjoy these days where they get to mix with children from other schools in the area too.

Pupils in Key Stage 2 have the opportunity to participate in a variety of different competitive sporting activities. These include traditional sports such as football matches and tournaments as well as more accessible games such as Boccia. We also aim to take part in many "Everyone Can" events as well which allows even more children to take part in competitive events and represent the school in a positive and enjoyable way.

Northgate Primary School Physical Education Curriculum Overview and Progression Document