Intent
Our approach to the Physical Education curriculum ensures that it is taught discretely to ensure depth and rigour. A customised PE curriculum has been developed and enhanced from the National Curriculum, which meets both the academic and pastoral needs of all our pupils and ensures children practice and develop the progressive skills taught during PE lessons. The HCAT progressive documents support the progression of skills and ensures that children are progressing each year. The PE curriculum we offer is designed to meet the needs of all our pupils by providing purposeful contexts which engage our children. It is rich, varied, imaginative and ambitious and meets the needs of individual learners but can easily be adapted for pupils with additional needs. Through regular assessment, tasks are matched to the ability of each child through scaffolded activities, providing a level of challenge that is stimulating for pupils.
our P.E Curriculum is composed of five key disciplines which are revisited and build upon over time, these are:
The above disciplines are underpinned by the core threads of: Analysing Performance & Sporting Conduct and Health & Exercise, within each P.E unit of work there are planned opportunities for pupils to develop an understanding within these core threads whilst reflecting upon their practice and development of knowledge.
Wider Opportunities
At HCPS we have developed the range of sporting opportunities, both in school and extra-curricular groups children are offered. This ensures lessons are relevant to the skills that children need to be working on to succeed in the sporting opportunities at the end of each half term. We have developed a comprehensive range of sporting opportunities, in school, across schools and in extra-curricular groups such as: multi-skills, boys & girls football, cricket, boccia, dance and gymnastics. Our aim is to promote the application of acquired skills and the variety of competitions that our children are offered. This ensures lessons are relevant to the skills that children need to be working on in order to succeed in the sporting opportunities at the end of each half term. As a school, we are extremely proud of our achievements in sport through inter school competitions and have recently been awarded a Bronze School Games Mark.
Implementation
The Accelerated Learning Cycle, based on the work of Alastair Smith, is applied in all lessons. It stems from the idea of a supportive and challenging learning environment. The cycle has active engagement through multi-sensory learning, encourages the demonstrating understanding of learning in a variety of ways and the consolidation of knowing. Within a lesson a new skill is introduced, learners have the time to practise this skill and then apply the skill to a game situation. This builds on the gather, skills, apply approach and delivery of lessons is taken across school to ensure children develop a deep understanding of specific skills and are able to apply these in a range of situations. Ultimately, providing opportunities to allow children to be fit and healthy are at the heart of the PE curriculum offer that we provide to the children exploring a wide range of topics, to prepare them for life. This includes approved sporting competitions, extra-curricular sports clubs and residential visits. These opportunities provided through school via our PE curriculum has inspired and developed a new generation of successful competitors both locally and nationally.
Impact
Formative assessment is ongoing throughout each lesson. It judges progress and enables the teacher to make flexible adaptations to their planned teaching. Through this regular ongoing assessment, tasks are matched to the ability of each child through differentiated activities, adult support, thus providing a level of challenge that is stimulating for pupils and questioning skills Alongside formative assessment, Seesaw is used to collect evidence towards the progress made in P.E across a unit of work, this is also used to inform summative measures of attainment and progress. INSIGHTs is used as a summative assessment for foundation subjects. This assessment system is regularly analysed to identify any gaps or misconceptions to be addressed or passed onto the following teachers.
Adaptations
At HCPS our curriculum is ambitious for all pupils, including those children with SEND. Curriculum designers and teachers have high expectations of what SEND pupils can achieve and the curriculum is not diluted or unnecessarily reduced for SEND pupils. Every pupil is different and so what works for each pupil varies. Pupil’s individual needs are considered and adaptations are planned to ensure the success of pupils in all subjects. The way that our curriculum is designed ensures that chunks of learning are sequenced in a coherent way to enable all pupils, including those with SEND, to build on prior knowledge. Too much information at once can be a barrier to learning which is one of the reason why we have chosen half termly curriculum drivers. Where pupils are identified with having complex needs it may be appropriate to provide a personalised curriculum which will be based on individual needs and will retain ambition for the pupil. Where working memory is an issue for pupils, including those with SEND, we look to reduce extraneous load as much as possible as well as identifying key information when teaching. This helps pupils to pay attention to the content which they are expected to learn. Adaptations to support individual pupils will be recorded on personal school support plans.
At HCPS we do not assume that pupils with SEND learn content better through practical work as this can cause distraction and cognitive overload rather than increase clarity or accessibility. The curriculum is not narrowed for any pupils. Knowledge is taught and then pupils are provided with opportunities for scientific enquiry to test and investigate the knowledge taught. Pupils specific needs determine the types of adaptations which are required. These adaptations are in how the subject is taught rather than the content pupils are expected to learn. Where appropriate, learning will be chunked into smaller steps and pre learning and consolidation time in planned in to support need. Time is also planned to ensure pupils with SEND are pre taught vocabulary to support their understanding. Adaptations may include supporting pupils to pay attention to key aspects as well as reducing excessive or unhelpful demands on working memory.
