Intent: why do we teach what we teach?

• Physical Education is an important part of every pupil’s journey through every stage of their education at KSA. We expose pupils to a wide range of sports during lessons but also provide an in-school activity and enrichment programme as well as an after-school programme which offer pupils opportunities to further develop technical and leadership skills through competitive, fun sessions. Pupils represent the school and compete against other schools in a variety of sports through external competitions.
• The curriculum is designed to ensure that every pupil learns basic motor skills, sports related skills and will develop a better understanding of the fitness elements that lead to better physical performances and more importantly a better understanding of what a healthy lifestyle should entail. This includes the benefits for both physical and mental health as a result of meaningful exercise.
• The skills learnt and positive effects of Physical Education and physical activity from sports are invaluable. Pupils can develop many of the holistic skills favoured by universities or employers such as resilience, teamwork, communication, problem-solving, leadership, building confidence and self-reflection as well as contributing to reducing a range of stress and depression related disorders.
• We have carefully thought about the progression of skills from EYFS to KS4, with a spiral curriculum that builds on previous learning. For example, in Reception, pupils learn how to kick a ball and begin to control it while moving around a space; in KS1, this progresses to stopping and changing direction while dribbling. In KS2, pupils learn basic passing techniques to increase ball control and improve teamwork; in KS3, these skills are practised in game-based scenarios with opponents; in KS4, these skills are applied with consideration of the tactical component.
• Similarly, pupils’ kinaesthetic abilities follow a deliberate trajectory: during Nursery and Reception, pupils explore how their body moves and how to control it; in year 1, pupils develop that control through gymnastics to make shapes and routines that build towards mastery of their movement. In year 6, pupils further their core stability through units on health and fitness; our year 9s study the theory behind components of fitness and controlled movements in circuits; in year 11, pupils analyse how these movements link to sporting actions and tailor their circuits to their specific sports.
• We aim to introduce an academic PE qualification in KS4 at the start of the 2022 to 2023 academic year (when we have our full 90 plus cohorts coming through to KS4) which will highlight the success of our physical education lessons. Pupils who do select academic PE, will be required to learn in greater depth about the human body and the effects of sport and exercise at macro and micro levels. They will also need to ensure they know about methods of training and how different training improves on different health or skill related components. This foundational knowledge provides pupils with opportunities to access further education at university and beyond if desired.
• The curriculum focuses on health and fitness, how the two topics are linked and how to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Pupils learn about the different systems which can be affected by physical activity such as the cardiovascular system, the respiratory system, the musculoskeletal system, short and long-term physical, social and psychological effects of sports and exercise and how each of these things are affected through sports and exercise. Pupils also learn about different energy systems such as the aerobic and anaerobic and how different sports utilise the different systems.
• The curriculum ensures that maximum physical activity and tactile learning happens through Physical Development in EYFS, and PE through KS1 and KS2 with small elements of theory included and then as pupils move through their KSA journey increasing amounts of theory is introduced and by year 9 all pupils should be equipped with knowledge and tools they can use to maintain active and healthy lifestyles for their future lives. In KS4 there will be the option to keep studying physical education as well as core PE lessons for all pupils where everyone engages in team sports and continue to build on their leadership skills.

 

Implementation: how do we teach what we teach?

 

EYFS	1 hr a week + daily outdoor learning as part of continuous provision
KS1	Year 1 & 2 = 1 period a week
KS2	Year 3 & 4 = 1 period a week – basic theory knowledge and physical development or gross and fine skills Year 5 & 6 = 2 periods a week – sport specifics and physical development Health and Fitness (pupils will also learn to swim across key stage two)
KS3	1 period a week – sport specific and health and fitness
KS4	1 period a week – health and fitness and team sports
KS4 Academic PE (in the future)	3 periods a week (with additional practical work during enrichment)

• EYFS lessons happen across both Nursery and Reception in half-class sized groups for safety and precision.  They focus on mastering gross motor functions such as cross lateral skills, building core strength, balance, coordination and negotiating space safely with control and agility. Pupils in the EYFS also have regular opportunities to exercise and practice the skills acquired in structured PE lessons as part of their daily outdoor provision. KS1 focuses on developing the basic skills and movements learnt in EYFS, developing these in a broader range of contexts, and exercising greater control over the speed and manner of their movements. They also begin to learn sports-based skills like throwing, catching and kicking balls in a more sophisticated manner, beginning to apply these in small game-like situations. In KS2, year 3 and 4 continue to develop motor skills, coordination and movement and will situate these in sport-specific games. From Year 5 throughout secondary, the PE curriculum is built around different practical topics for each half term. 
   
•  PE is taught by specialist PE teachers across all phases, one primary lead and one secondary lead. Both have higher education qualifications and experience of teaching PE to multiple age groups. Where lessons aren’t led by a PE specialist, a PE lead has modelled and thoroughly prepared with the teacher to ensure consistency across lessons. In sport enrichment, this is led by teachers with a strong sporting background, who have collaborated with a PE lead to plan sessions. 
   
• Pupils are provided with the opportunity to evaluate and analyse not only their own performance but those of their peers. Analysis in PE is often structured through set criteria which allows the pupils to follow a framework to help them be successful and engage in purposeful analysis. For example, during our health and fitness unit, year 9s have to time their peers during an agility test, feedback the time to their peer and provide one way they could improve in order to cut down their time in their next run. The analysis skills developed in PE are pivotal to our pupils as they’re transferable to many different subjects and scenarios in their academic life.
   
• All pupils, including those with physical impairments and SEND, take part in physical education lessons. Lessons are adjusted in order to maximise inclusion and engagement and ensure all pupils can access the outcomes and feel successful. For pupils who have more serious impairments, the PE department works with the SEND team, and a arrange of relevant professionals (for example the Occupational Therapist) to ensure that the PE department can meet each and every pupil’s needs and maximise learning and development for all.
   
• The current curriculum is being adjusted to meet the requirements of the Cambridge National Level 1 & 2 Sports Studies specifications. These specifications currently include two mandatory modules that consists of Contemporary issues in sport which is assessed via set tasks and a 1 hour written exam and Developing sports skills which is assessed via set tasks and practical performances. We will gradually implement theory knowledge into physical lessons starting from year 7 which will include content based around the muscular and skeletal system incorporated into the warm-up and how different sports and positions within those sports utilise different energy systems and components of fitness. This is being overseen by the head of department and rolled out in a sensible manner across the different year groups. Pupils will also have the option of furthering this knowledge through theoretically based homework tasks that helps strengthen and reiterate this knowledge and provides them with a good core foundational base knowledge of academic PE in order to ensure they’re well equipped for the CTECH course.

Curriculum Routines

A typical Physical Education lesson at KSA is objective led and builds on motor and fine motor skills in Primary. In Secondary the focus is on skill development and game play. Vocabulary and grammar are recapped on a regular basis to support pupil learning.

Across the school a lesson will consist of: 

Warm up	Pulse raiser, dynamic and static stretch and recap of the previous lesson
New Content	New skill/movement – may be review
Guided Practice	Opportunity to practice new skill/play guided by the teacher/ in pairs
Independent Practice	Opportunity to practise new knowledge more independently – may be game play
Game play	Should show you whether pupils have learnt what you have taught them in lesson and if they are able to apply it to a game situation
Plenary/Exit Ticket	A recap of the lesson and opportunity for assessment for learning in order to reiterate key terms, skills and learning objectives

Extra-curricular activities

Pupils can choose to participate in clubs after school throughout their time at KSA. In a regular year we offer the following;

• Boys’ Football
• Girls’ football
• Basketball (Girls & Boys)
• Cricket
• Martial arts
• Badminton
• Table tennis
• Tchoukball
• Multi-sports
• Fitness classes

While internal staff (or outside organisations) run all clubs, many of these are supported by older pupils volunteering as part of Duke of Edinburgh awards and sixth formers regularly assist in KS2 enrichment.

Representing the School

Pupils are offered many opportunities to show us that they are keen to and able to represent the school at fixtures and events throughout the year. We compete in all Westminster sports events and some Ark events throughout the year. Sixth formers play an active role in the sports calendar at King Solomon and are afforded the opportunity to develop key leadership skills throughout the year. Several sixth form pupils support with the delivery of several after school clubs which include year 8 & 9 football and KS3 basketball. Additionally, sixth formers also play a supporting role to years 7, 8 & 9 football teams in the Westminster league and often lead on warm-ups and in-game decisions. We currently have KSA football and basketball teams in each year group and are working towards having a cricket team. We also have representation for table tennis from all year groups.

 

Implementation: how do we teach what we teach?

• The primary curriculum focuses on pupils developing gross and fine motor skills and where possible maintaining at least an average level of fitness according to national averages. Outcomes are observed, recorded and reviewed which allows for adjustments to be made where necessary. Assessment for Learning happens on a lesson-by-lesson basis through teacher observation and through formative assessments at the end of half-term/terms through competitions and or conditional games which allow pupils to demonstrate skills.
• In alignment with assessment in the Early Years, Early Years Practitioners observe pupils in play and assess them according to the developmental milestones in ‘Physical Development’. Pupils are encouraged to rehearse the skills learnt in PE lessons during their play in the outdoor provision and progress is captured as ‘memorable moments’ through pupil voice, photographs or observations. These are collected in pupil’s learning journals to support practitioners’ judgements of pupils’ confidence and skill acquisition and to plan next steps for progress.
• We are in the process of implementing a termly assessment grid, across KS3 which can be used to further inform planning and curriculum. Once refined, this will roll out to all other key stages and will create a consistent feedback system which will be used to ensure the curriculum is suitable and ensure pupils are getting the maximum benefit from their physical education lessons.
• We are in the planning phase for Cambridge National Level 1 & 2 Sports Studies curriculum. The preparedness of our pupils for this course will be assessed via opt-in (for those looking to take the course in KS4) theory homework tasks set across the year and the practical application of this work within PE lessons. This will allow us to accurately assess pupil progress against standardised national curriculum measures and ensure our pupils have good foundational knowledge when starting in key stage 4.
• The love for sport and desire for leadership developed while pupils at our school has inspired some former pupils to take on the leadership of some of our after-school clubs. The opportunity for pupils of all ages to have role models who demonstrate positive, healthy lifestyles creates excitement and ambition around sport and exercise.