At Townville Infant and Nursery School, we aspire to offer the best possible early education for all our children in a happy, safe, inclusive environment.
We believe that a positive experience of sport and physical activity at a young age can build a lifetime habit of participation. Children’s character development is broadened by supporting them through physical activities to develop skills such as confidence, self-belief, dedication and resilience whilst also instilling the values and virtues of friendship and fair-play. Active participation, fun and enjoyment are key to ensuring children develop and hold a positive attitude towards physical exercise and healthy lifestyles.
Through our Physical Education Curriculum, we aim to ensure our Key Stage 1 children:
- Improve their fundamental movement skills, agility, balance and co-ordination applying these in a range of activities.
- Understand diversity within sport, this includes looking at para-sports and celebrating cultural diversity.
- Have opportunity to develop individually and as part of a team.
- Recognise key sports men and women and aspire to achieve recognising this takes hard work, commitment, dedication and an acceptance of failure as part of the process of development.
- Engage in competitive physical activities against both themselves and others.
- Engage in cooperative physical activities.
- Develop simple tactics for attacking and defending reflecting a desire to achieve.
- Understand how their body is affected by physical activity and know the importance of physical exercise for good health.
- Explain what they need to stay healthy with reference to diet and exercise.
- Embody a sporting attitude, celebrating the achievements of others and being humble in their own triumphs.
This builds upon the children’s prior knowledge gained through the foundation stage for Physical Education where children:
- Learn to dress and undress independently.
- Learn to manage self, negotiate space and assess risk.
- Develop their movements by engaging with increasingly challenging physical spaces or activities.
- Revise and refine a broad range of fundamental movement skills, developing greater control and grace.
- Combine movements with greater ease and fluency.
- Observe the effects of activity on the body.
- Show some understanding of good practices with regards to exercise.
- Negotiate space and obstacles safely.
- Build strength, balance and co-ordination.
As active learners’ children in EYFS are exposed to a range of opportunities to develop and test their physical skills, build stamina and negotiate equipment and space. In both Nursery and Reception children also participate in discrete, weekly PE sessions.
Children in Reception also take part in regular Forest School sessions.
In Reception and KS1, Physical Education is taught as a discrete subject and follows a rolling program. The long-term plan details how the different components of Physical Education; Fundamentals, Games, Gymnastics, Dance and Athletics are taught.
Key Skills relating to Games are taught in units in both the Autumn and Spring term, within these unit’s children progress their physical literacy and skills through a range of activities including Boccia, Tag Rugby and Tennis.
Children take part in inter-school tournaments for Dodgeball, Kwik Cricket and Tennis.
Key Skills in Dance are taught during the Spring term – different dance disciplines are taught as part of a three-year rolling program which includes; Bollywood, Modern and Street Dance. During the schools Dance unit, Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 all study the same discipline and their development culminates in an inter-school dance competition at the end of the unit.
Key Skills relating to Gymnastics are taught in units in both the Autumn and Summer terms.
Athletics is taught in the Summer term and culminates in our school Sports Day.
Throughout the year children across Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 also train and compete in the intra-school ‘Wakefield Virtual Infants School Competition’. Throughout this the children work to improve their fundamental skills and improve their own scores; contributing to a combined achievement in the competition.
Whilst studying a range of sports and disciplines our progression documents thread the development of skills, health and fitness and application throughout the Reception and Key Stage 1 years. This means that children have the opportunity to regularly revisit key skills and disciplines enabling them to know and remember more.
Sticky Knowledge Mats support the teaching and delivery of Physical Education by highlighting the key knowledge and skills children learn within each discipline. These make explicit links to a diverse range of inspirational sports people and sporting events. Teachers subject knowledge is also supported by working alongside qualified coaches to ensure they have a good knowledge of the disciplines and activities they teach.
Every lesson includes formative assessment opportunities for the teachers. Teachers use these assessments to adapt their teaching to suit the needs of the pupils. Summative data is collated by the class teacher at the end of each unit and is shared with the PE lead to inform a judgement on standards and progress – supporting accurate improvement planning to be made where required.
As a result of our carefully sequenced, planned and taught Physical Education curriculum, children will:
- Enjoy Physical Activity and be inspired to lead healthy lives.
- Have a growing sense of Sportsmanship.
- Have the knowledge and skills needed to go on to live a healthy life.
- Be interested in sporting achievements; taking pride in what they achieve themselves.
- Know and appreciate the impact physical exercise and a healthy lifestyle has on both our physical and mental health and wellbeing.
Townville children will meet the end of Key Stage 1 National curriculum outcomes and will have a strong foundation of Physical Skills on which to further grow and succeed in physical activity.
Ensuring knowledge, skills and understanding progress over time as a Townville child grows and develops is key to our long term planning. Please see the attached documents for further details:
