PE at St White's

Physical Education and Sport

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 them with opportunities to be creative and competitive whilst learning to work with and respect others during physical activity.

At St White’s, we 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 in evaluating their own and other’s performances and reflecting 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 during and after school. We listen to our children’s wants and needs and provide them with a range of active experiences and clubs. We want to aid our children in obtaining the values and skills to celebrate and respect the success of others, as well as modestly celebrating their own successes. These clubs vary throughout the year but include football, gymnastics, dance, fencing, dodgeball, tri-golf, archery, 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, archery and netball among numerous other sports and activities.

As a school we have fostered a new sportsmanship curriculum which underpins all of our Physical Education lessons. Pupils develop their knowledge and understanding of sportsmanship, and are now advocates when demonstrating these skills at local sporting events.

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