PE at St White's

Physical Education and Sport

The Department for Education explains that a high-quality physical education curriculum inspires all pupils to succeed and excel in competitive sport and other physically-demanding activities. It should provide opportunities for pupils to become physically confident in a way which supports their health and fitness. Opportunities to compete in sport and other activities build character and help to embed values such as fairness and respect. (The National Curriculum in England: Key Stages 1 and 2 framework document 2013.)

At St White’s Primary School, our aim is to embed the idea that regular exercise is an essential part of a healthy lifestyle so that pupils leave school with the knowledge, skills and motivation necessary to equip them for a healthy lifestyle and lifelong participation in physical activity and sport. We value not only physical activity but also the importance of developing children’s social, emotional and interpersonal skills by providing children with opportunities to be creative and competitive whilst learning to work with and respect others during physical activity.

At St White’s we aim to provide two hours each week of high quality Physical Education for every child throughout the School. In the Foundation Stage children are encouraged to take part in a wide range of physical activity opportunities provided throughout the indoor and outdoor curriculum as well as taking part in PE sessions focused specifically on developing fundamental individual movement skills, coordination and control. In KS1 children build on these fundamental skills by beginning to engage in competitive and cooperative physical activities. Pupils participate in team games to develop the values of fairness and respect and also to explore and link actions and improve coordination through, for example, dance and gymnastics. In KS2 pupils further extend their previous experiences with a focus on developing the confidence to evaluate their own and other’s performances and to reflect on how they can improve. Children in KS2 are also offered swimming lessons. At St White’s we aim for every child to be able to swim at least 25m by the end of Year 6.

A positive attitude towards active lifestyles is also promoted by the children having access to a wide range of sporting extra-curricular clubs which accommodate a wide variety of interests before, during and after school. These clubs vary throughout the year but include football, gymnastics, dance, fencing, dodgeball, tri-golf, multi-sports and running. As well as sporting opportunities within the school community, the school also enter many sporting competitions, events and festivals to allow for children to apply their sporting skills, develop their resilience and learn how to play competitively. The children have opportunities to represent St White’s in a range of sports including gymnastics, boys’ and girls’ football, indoor and outdoor athletics, cricket, mountain biking, dance, hockey and netball among other sports and activities.

The team here at St White’s, are extremely proud of the diverse and rich curriculum that it provides for all our children. The awards received this year, including the Primary Science Silver Quality Mark, Mental Health Champions Award are testament to our commitment to ever broadening our children’s knowledge, experiences and skills.