How PE is taught at Church Lench First School
Intent
At Church Lench CE First School, all of our PE and Sport is based around the National Curriculum, EYFS and Early Learning Goals.
We are working closely with a PE specialist from Gloucester University to create a more bespoke PE curriculum for our children. We have recognised that two national lockdowns and the impact of COVID have meant that children have not been taught certain key skills and require more time and reinforcement to develop these throughout their years at first school. As the school is also structured with mixed age classes, we have found that the scheme we used previously is not conducive or practical for our children and have, therefore, called on a local specialist to help us plan and deliver a PE curriculum that offers our children the skills and experiences they require during their primary years. This has been mapped as a Learning Journey with 6 different stages in:
- Games Skills
- Control and Fluency
- Movement Skills
- Evaluating and Improving
During the 3 terms of the school year each class will concentrate on a particular theme
| Theme | Class 1 | Class 2 | Class 3 | |
| Autumn | How can I Move My Body? | Physical literacy games-running and body management skills Using equipment throwing, catching, target and team games | Athletics-running, throwing, jumping. Look at techniques. Physical literacy games and activities-using equipment, throwing, catching, target and team games ( Net and Wall)
| Fitness and Health activities
|
| Spring | How Can I control My Body? | Dance Gymnastics-Rolls, Shapes, Balances, Simple Movements | Parkour Activities Gymnastics | Gymnastics-Complex rotation, balances, apparatus athletics-running, throwing, jumping. Aiming to achieve personal bests |
| Summer | How Can I Perform with Others? | Athletics activities-Throwing, Running, jumping D and G routines and sequences in groups | Problem Solving activities Dance activities | Dance Problem solving/ team building, orienteering |
Staff are receiving training throughout the year 2021-22 and trialing lesson plans and activities before embedding this journey in 2022-23. The children will also take part in evaluating the structure of lessons and giving feedback on their learning.
As well as one PE session each week led by staff we also have experienced PE coaches who provide expertise in outdoor games, athletics and team sports once a week for each class. They also work closely with TAs and teachers to upskill our staff.
Extra-curricular opportunities
Throughout the school year, children are usually given the opportunity to participate in a range of different after school clubs. These have included dodge ball, skipping, Zumba, football, multi-skills, tennis and much more. During the lockdowns and outbreaks of COVID, we have had to put some of these on hold. Football and netball have been resumed at present for Years 1-5. We also encourage children to participate in clubs in the local community, helping to promote these by forging links and sharing opportunities and communications. We have a very strong link with our local tennis club and part-fund tennis lessons with a tennis coach for children to attend after school during the Autumn and Summer terms.
Inter- and Intra-School sport
We actively encourage children at Church Lench to participate in a range of different competitive sports, both in school and against other local schools. We regularly hold our own tournaments and also attend county events, such as dance festivals, orienteering, bell-boating, cross-country and football matches, to enable children to improve on important skills such as team work, resilience, perseverance and independence.