Intent

At Thorpe CofE Primary School, we have a clear intent for Physical Education, which aims to provide a well-rounded and comprehensive curriculum that promotes the physical, mental, and social development of all our pupils. Our intent is rooted in the belief that a high-quality PE curriculum can enhance academic achievement, build resilience, nurture confidence and foster positive attitudes towards leading a healthy and active lifestyle.

We strive to create a learning environment that instils a lifelong love for physical activity, embeds the values of fairness, cooperation, and mutual respect, and promotes inclusivity by ensuring that all pupils have equal opportunities to participate and excel in PE.

We listen to our children’s wants and needs and provide them with a range of active experiences and clubs. We have strong links with local clubs and partnerships within our community to ensure the children and families receive the support and knowledge they need for life.

In EYFS, through the specific area of Physical Development, children develop skills in the areas of movement, riding, ball skills and feeding and dressing. Gaining increasing control, confidence and coordination with different movements such as running, jumping. Developing collaboration skills through simple games with peers.

The PE curriculum at Thorpe CofE Primary school embodies the school values of respect, honesty, resilience, kindness, responsibility and trust.

Implementation

Our PE curriculum is designed to provide a wide range of activities that develop pupils' physical literacy, allowing them to acquire essential movement skills, explore different sports, and discover their individual interests and talents. It encompasses competitive and non-competitive activities, team sports, individual pursuits, and activities that promote fitness, health, and wellbeing.

Our PE lessons are planned using a combination of the Get Set 4 PE platform and Real PE approach, both of which align with our core values, our whole child approach to PE and the objectives laid out in the National Curriculum. Progression is built into both schemes which ensures our children are increasingly challenged as they move up through the school.

We employ enthusiastic and knowledgeable PE specialists alongside our teachers who have a passion for physical activity to deliver our PE curriculum. They possess a deep understanding of the principles of effective teaching, enabling them to create engaging, challenging, and age-appropriate lessons that cater to the needs and abilities of all pupils.

Our teachers use a variety of differentiated teaching strategies, ensuring that pupils are appropriately challenged, supported, and motivated to achieve their personal best.

We are committed to promoting inclusivity and eliminating barriers to participation in PE. Our curriculum and teaching strategies are designed to cater to the diverse needs of our pupils, ensuring that all children, including those with disabilities or special educational needs, feel valued, included, and able to fully participate in PE activities.

We foster a culture of respect, encouraging pupils to celebrate each other's achievements, collaborate, and support one another. Our teachers employ adaptive equipment, modified rules, and individualised support plans to ensure that every child can access and enjoy PE lessons.

To encourage a lifelong commitment to physical activity, we offer a wide range of extracurricular activities in PE and sports. These include after-school and before school clubs and involvement in local sports events. This provision allows pupils to further develop their skills, experiences, and interests in a competitive and supportive environment, fostering teamwork, leadership, and resilience.

Impact

Children at Thorpe enjoy physical activity and sport, and the majority have the chance to represent the school at some stage throughout their school journey. The quality of lessons is monitored by the subject leader via lesson observations and pupil voice.

We encourage children to live a healthy lifestyle and hope that our focus on physical activity will inspire them to lead a healthy lifestyle in the future.

 

Swimming and Water Safety

At Thorpe CofE we offer Swimming lessons to all children using our onsite facilities.

The focus of the swimming instruction is to teach pupils to:

• Swim competently, confidently and proficiently over a distance of at least 25 metres
• Use a range of strokes effectively; for example, front crawl, backstroke and breaststroke
• Perform safe self-rescue