Physical Education
Our PE Subject Leader is Mr L Forster
At Brandon Primary School, high-quality teaching and learning is at the forefront of our PE curriculum. We strive to ensure all of our children increase their motor competence, understanding rules, tactics and strategies and have healthy participation in physical activity inside and outside of school. We ensure our children develop the skills and tools to improve and maintain their health, both physical and mental, and their overall wellbeing. Our children are exposed to challenging and motivating PE which helps develop their understanding of leading a healthy, active lifestyle inside and outside of school.
PE curriculum content has been carefully selected to establish strong connections with key themes and pupil views to ensure coverage outlined in the National Curriculum programmes of study, as well as the EYFS (Early Years Foundation Stage) framework. We ensure a clear and progressive curriculum sequence that is systematically taught to all pupils, enabling them to acquire the intended knowledge and skills. The content can be tailored or modified according to the needs or interests of specific cohorts. Our curriculum develops children’s physical literacy and sport specific skill knowledge to ultimately create independent learners who know how to improve and get better. The PE curriculum has been divided into three core areas:
KS1 – development of core skills and fundamental movement
LKS2 – development of using core skills in sport-style games
UKS2 – development of sport specific skills and tactics
Physical activity is an area of difficulty for some of our children and we know some children have limited access to activity outside of school, therefore our PE intent is to consistently deliver high-quality, well-resourced PE lessons with a fundamental focus on developing key skills that ignite a passion for living a healthy, active lifestyle outside of school.
We recognise the importance of PE in the curriculum and are committed to providing all children with opportunities to engage fully in Physical Education (PE) both inside and outside of school. PE should provide opportunities for all children to become physically literate and confident in a way which also supports their health and fitness. Children should acquire not only physical skills, knowledge and understanding, but also the awareness and importance of leading healthy, active lives and the impact this can have on having a healthy mental health. The curriculum is underpinned by the school values as we well as the values of sportsmanship, fairness and respect through the sports and activities they undertake.
We intend for the children to:
• Lead healthy and active lives, picking up positive habits for their future lives.
• Develop knowledge, skills and understanding across a range of sporting activities.
• Participate in competitive sports and activities.
• Compete in games and activities in a collaborative team.
• Promote safe practice in all activities.
• Use sport to build self-confidence and self-esteem.
• Participate in competitive sports both in and out of school
• Encourage involvement in extra-curricular sporting activities and develop community and club links.
Our children follow a carefully structured Physical Education curriculum which has been designed for the children of Brandon to give them a range of sporting experiences to ensure children know more, do more and remember more as they progress through our school.
Our curriculum ensures children progress and develop their knowledge and skills in several key sporting areas: Gymnastics, Dance, Athletics, Games, Swimming, Health Related Exercise, and Outdoor Adventurous Activity.
PE is delivered by both class teachers and sport coaches who are specialists in their fields. The curriculum at Brandon covers the National Curriculum Programmes of Study and through our curriculum provision, children have opportunities to participate in and experience sports such as Dance, Football, Hockey, Gymnastics, Tennis, Cricket, Tag Rugby and Athletics.
We are incredibly fortunate to have a Durham County Council ran swimming pool within our school grounds and our children are offered a full swimming provision in both Year 3 and Year 4. They are taught 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 and perform safe self-rescue in different water-based situations. Swimming is assessed by teachers and instructors and recorded through the Swimphony Swimming Software. Outdoor Adventurous activities are also included in our curriculum and are enhanced through a OAA residential visit in Year 6 to the Lake District which includes activities such as beck scrambling, rock climbing, canoeing and abseiling.
We participate in the local School Sports Partnership and engage in sports festivals, intra, and inter school competitions.
To increase opportunities and inspire children to be active, we enhance our PE curriculum with sports activities after school and during lunchtimes. Clubs include LEGO, Glee, Football and Table Tennis. We have a Brandon Mile and climbing equipment accessed at breaktimes. In addition, each key stage has a range of play equipment to promote active and purposeful playtimes.
