Intent

At Brushwood, we strive to create a culture which aims to inspire an active generation to enjoy PE, encourage each other and achieve. We provide a safe and supportive environment for children to flourish in a range of different physical activities which is essential in supporting their physical, emotional, spiritual, social and moral development.

We encourage all children to develop their understanding of the way in which they can use their body, equipment and apparatus safely yet imaginatively to achieve their personal goals. All children have the opportunity to enjoy being physically active, maintain a healthy lifestyle and using the medium of sport, increase their self-esteem. We aspire for children to adopt a positive mind-set and believe that anything can be achieved with determination and resilience.

The intent of Physical Education is to promote physical activity and healthy lifestyles. Children are taught to observe and produce the conventions of fair play, honest competition and good sporting behaviour as individual participants, team members and spectators. Thus embedding life-long values such as co-operation, collaboration and equity of play. At Brushwood, we aim for children to develop the necessary knowledge and skills which will have a positive impact on their future by becoming physically active citizens to benefit their long-term health and well-being.

Implementation

At Brushwood we offer a dynamic, varied and stimulating program of activity to ensure that all children progress physically through an inspirational and fully inclusive PE curriculum. We provide opportunities for children to learn how to stay safe in water based activities by offering swimming lessons. Children become confident in the water, knowing how to keep safe and also meet the National Curriculum requirements of swimming 25m. Our PE Curriculum, along with PSHE and science, teaches children about the importance of healthy living and learning about the need for good nutrition.

All pupils receive at least two hours of high quality PE using the vast outside space or school hall. In the lower school, all children have a weekly PE lesson with their class teacher and have weekly sessions with a qualified sport specialist teacher. During these afternoons, children receive expert coaching to develop fundamental skills through a variety of activities and games suitable to their key stage. We have an inclusive approach and value the importance of physical and mental well-being.

The PE curriculum is sequenced precisely to ensure progression of knowledge and skills throughout a child’s primary education, thus enabling children to build upon prior experiences and apply these fluently, with confidence. Children take part in a range of invasion, striking & fielding or net & wall games, we promote imagination and creativity in gymnastics and dance as well as provide opportunities for athletics using both indoor and outdoor environments plus outdoor and adventurous activities.

Children also have the opportunity to further these skills at after school sports clubs thus making club links within the community and development officers for specific sports. At Brushwood we provide a broad range of activities based on children’s interests and new initiatives. In addition, the Year 6 residential trip provides a wide range of outdoor activities.

Inter and intra sports competitions are offered to all children at the school. Although we enjoy the competitive nature of sport, we also appreciate and encourage the importance of children ‘having a go’ and promote positive experiences of being physically active and good sportsmanship.

Playtimes are an important part of our pupils being happy, healthy and ready to learn. We have well-staffed and equipped playground, a sports field, outdoor gym and we have a new trim trail which was designed to provide opportunities for children to develop and improve fundamental skills using various body parts.

To develop leadership and communication skills, children in Year 6 children can apply to become a Young Sports Leader which is a responsible role in encouraging younger children to learn how to play collaborative games, respecting rules and to be as active as possible during playtimes. Children selected are positive role-models for younger members of the school, organising lunchtime games and assisting with annual sports days.

We recognise the importance of being physically active throughout the school day so to reduce sedentary learning, the whole school embraced the active classroom program which is thoroughly enjoyed by both pupils and staff and helps meet the government target of all children being physically active for 60 minutes per day.

Impact

The impact of our curriculum is monitored through:

• Pupil voice - questionnaires and pupil book reviews

• Engagement in enrichment activities

• Subject leader monitoring - lesson visits, work scrutiny, action plan and assessments.

• Governor reports