At Hunton & Arrathorne, we place children’s health and physical fitness at the heart of our learning experiences. We are committed to ensuring that all of our children have access to at least three hours of physical activity per week – some of this through timetabled P.E lessons and some through extra-curricular activities and active playtimes.
In Reception and Key Stage 1, children will have one longer session of timetabled P.E. per week which will last most of the afternoon. This is to ensure there is sufficient time within the lesson to develop basic skills in more depth as these will be fundamental to the children as they move into Key Stage 2. At this stage, children will have two sessions of timetabled P.E. per week which will see the children build on these skills and apply them into sports such as netball and cricket for example. These timetabled sessions will be supplemented by regular intra-house competitions as well as sessions with specialist coaches; we establish close links with external specialised coaches including tennis, cricket and golf. We firmly believe the P.E curriculum at Hunton & Arrathorne is broad and balanced with requirements for both the KS1 and KS2 curriculum addressed in full.
Each of these sessions will follow our progression documents to ensure a wide coverage of skills are being taught. Teacher-led sessions will be supplemented by the use of the ‘Get Set 4 PE’ scheme which provides teachers with detailed lesson plans, progression documents (including progression in both skills and knowledge being taught for each unit) and vocabulary documents to help develop their teaching in P.E. Each lesson begins by discussing key knowledge, key vocabulary and reflecting on how previously taught skills will be built upon and applied through today’s lesson.
The structure of the long-term plan allows our children to develop the fundamental skills in Key Stage 1, skills which are later applied to various sports throughout Key Stage 2 in a competitive context. Knowledge of health and fitness runs throughout all aspects of the curriculum. We have explored links between subjects such as science, mathematics and design and technology which further enhances the children’s ability to value health and fitness, linking closely to our intent.
Children in Reception access physical development through the outdoor area and regular work in class. They access balance bikes once per day and participate in age-appropriate PE and forest school sessions to assist in their physical development.
Key Stage 2 children have the opportunity to swim for one term per year. In the Summer Term, Y5 & Y6 children revisit the pool to work on essential lifesaving skills for six weeks. We also have a fully-qualified Forest Schools Instructor which means outdoor learning is enhanced on a regular basis.
As well as our school’s own long-term planning and the provision of visits and visitors, progression in P.E is further enhanced through our School Sports Partnership work, aligning our curriculum and extra-curricular offer with competition timetables.
We proudly work in partnership with the local community to deliver our P.E curriculum – using the village hall on a Tuesday and Wednesday afternoon for lessons. We use the school grounds and invest sensibly in equipment which the children respect and look after.
Alongside the core curriculum P.E offer, Sports Leaders offer active break-times and lunchtimes and take responsibility for organising physical wellbeing activities. A range of extra-curricular activities are also offered, most of which are paid for by school, and uptake is increasing.
The PE subject leader is Michelle Tunmore.
For further information about our PE curriculum, please click below.
