Physical Education at Bolton

Subject Lead: Bianca Cousin (Since September 2020)

Monitoring Governor: TBC

Bolton Primary School believes that Physical Education (PE), experienced in a safe and supportive environment, is essential to ensure children attain optimum physical and emotional development and good health. Every child is offered a minimum of 2 hours of high-quality PE a week. All children will learn and participate in the areas outlined in the curriculum map for PE. Units are usually allocated 5 - 6 sessions of approximately one hour and are carefully sequenced. PE at Bolton Primary School provides challenging and enjoyable learning through a range of sporting activities including; invasion games, net & wall games, strike and field games, gymnastics, dance, swimming and outdoor & adventure. At Bolton, we strongly feel that all EYFS/KS1 pupils should have one PE unit each half-term that is designated to developing Fundamental Movement Skills (FMS) and the 2-year cycle highlights this. Last academic year, we have also reintroduced daily ‘Activate’ slots to help develop children’s gross motor skills and with particular focus on ‘crossing the mid-line’.

The long-term plan sets out the PE units which are to be taught throughout the year and ensures that the requirements of the National Curriculum are fully met. Lessons are delivered by the PE lead (PE specialist since 2016 and Year 3 and 4 class teacher) During one afternoon a week, a sports coach (recruited January 2022) supports the teaching of all children within the school over each term. The coach works under the direction of the subject lead.

Following Covid, we decided that children would arrive to school on PE days in their PE kit and would remain in it for the rest of the day. This has meant that time is not ‘lost’ to children getting changed in /out of PE kit or finding the appropriate kit for those ‘repeat’ offenders! PE aims to develop the physical, thinking, social and healthy pupil.  Children will also learn about and discuss physical activity and health and wellbeing, through cross curricular themes and sessions in PHSE and science.

In summer 2024, time was allocated to make the curriculum more magical and memorable following some training on Curriculum Development (Primary Huh and Mary Myatt). The school subscribed to Mary Myatt’s Teachers’ Collection. The subject leader (headteacher) began by reviewing the existing curriculum and surveying children’s views about the topics. Units that hadn’t gone as well or where there was felt to be some duplications were rejected and work on building a new curriculum was started. Due to the nature of the subject, and because PE does not have any content on the website, the decision was made that ‘Dance’ was one area of PE that could use memorable fictional texts to explore this important subject.

We intend to deliver high-quality teaching and learning opportunities that inspire all children to succeed in physical education and in developing life skills. We want to teach children skills to keep them safe such as being able to swim. We also want to teach children how to cooperate and collaborate with others as part of an effective team, understanding fairness and equity of play to embed life-long values. Our curriculum aims to improve the wellbeing and fitness of all children at Bolton Primary School, not only through the sporting skills taught, but through the underpinning values and disciplines PE promotes.

Each class has allocated indoor/outdoor activity time, which includes the use of the playground, school field and Bolton Village Hall. The curriculum is well-thought out and takes into consideration the difficulties of lack of space, particularly during the autumn/winter months. High levels of activity, avoiding dead spots (pupils sat down doing nothing) with clear expectations for high work rates to be maintained are important. The physiological benefits of exercise are explained and understood and their association with health emphasised. High expectations are set for individual and group achievements. Pupils are extended both physically and intellectually through interesting tasks. In lessons pupils are encouraged to make decisions. They are given responsibilities for equipment, group organisation and at times their own learning as they practice and repeat movements in order to improve efficiency and the quality of their performances. A ’TWEAK IT’ approach is used to adapt games and OAA activities to make them easier or harder (Task, Who, Equipment, Area, Knowledge, Included and Time)

Each unit is mapped against the progression documents to ensure that learners develop detailed knowledge and skills across the full breadth of the PE curriculum through engaging and age-appropriate curriculum content. Attainment and progress can be measured using our Participation and Achievement Tracking Tool (PAT).

We help motivate children to participate in a variety of sports and physical activities through quality teaching that is engaging and fun. From our lessons, our children learn to take responsibility for their own health and fitness, many of whom also enjoy the success of competitive sports. We equip our children with the necessary skills and a love for sport. They will hopefully grow up to live happy and healthy lives utilising the skills and knowledge acquired through PE.

The school historically used their PE Funding to subscribe to the EVSP (external organisation) for activities and competitions. We did not feel this was value for money or meeting our needs. The school is proud of the model that is now in place and feel that this more sustainable than previous ones. We have now joined up with 7 other local primary schools and formed a new sports partnership, Eden Valley Alliance (EVA) to continue with some of the benefits of working with other small schools:

• Regular non-competitive Sport Festivals and Multi-Sport opportunities across the age-range for a range of abilities. 

• Opportunities for the school’s PE Leader to meet with other Area PE Leaders to share and develop good practice.

• Local schools have their own tournaments and festivals throughout the year alongside what has been planned for the eight schools that make up EVA.
• Maximum participation
• Opportunity for children to meet peers who may go on to attend one of the local secondary schools.
• A ‘tailormade’ programme of events throughout the year, which include aspects of the curriculum that schools have identified as areas for development. Within this, opportunities for CPD are also available.
• It is important to consider how all children get an opportunity to be part of a competition of some sort. It’s not being competitive but taking part in a competition. Everyone deserves the right to feel a sense of belonging and being part of a team.

In addition, children are encouraged to participate in the varied range of extra-curricular activities. Lunch time sports clubs are available on specific days and children can attend after school sport clubs at least once a week. Children are invited to attend competitive sporting events within the local area. This is an inclusive approach which endeavours to encourage not only physical development but also mental well-being. These events also develop teamwork and leadership skills and are very much enjoyed by the children. KS2 children are invited to become Sports Leaders. They develop into sporting role models for the younger children, assisting with lunch-time clubs, our annual Sports day and mini-olympics and any other Sporting activities.  It is important to offer alternatives as well, for example, Tchoukball and Ultimate Frisbee had not been taught in our school until recently. We found that a number of pupils who weren’t necessarily into football or netball, would come along to these sessions and this would help them to develop in confidence and skill level, prior to them being introduced to the curriculum. We use the ‘Participation’ tracking tool to help inform ideas for future extra-curricular activities and to ensure that we are providing all pupils with various opportunities to attend such clubs.

OAA

Problem solving can underpin any adventurous event (Problem solving activities involve learning themes which include: communication (links to oracy) trust, cooperation, team work and reflection, whilst planning as a group is key to any journey or when selecting a route to climb.) but as a specific activity it provides the opportunity to apply a number of important physical skills through lifting, balance/ counter-balance, body tension etc. While the learning process supersedes the end product, OAA introduces and develops a wide range of specific skills which are distinctive, transferable and offer lifelong relevance. Aspects of the OAA are specifically covered during residential events (Y5/6), which in the case of a physical activity focus, is biennial.  Y3/4 will have an ‘In School Under the Canvas’ camp in the summer term, which will alternate with the Y5/6) residential (biannually). Children will be engaged in activities such as: archery, team challenges and bushcraft with survival skills. 

Swimming

Our swimming programme has been very successful and the model we have in place ensures that those children who will not go swimming again from one school swimming block to the next will only have 6 months before the next (rather than a year or more in some schools.)  All children at Bolton Primary School have 10 swimming lessons over the year. These take place over 2 weeks, 1 week at the beginning of January and the other at the end of July. The PE lead oversees the whole programme and liaises with pool staff regarding groupings and the coverage of some lessons. The lead is free during these sessions to closely assess individual children and ensure that there is a sequence of learning and pathways within the groupings. This model is sustainable whilst we receive the Sports Premium money but we will need to think about the funding such sessions to whole school from 2025/26.

Oracy

The school is committed to developing good oracy skills throughout the curriculum. PE is not necessarily the first classroom you would think of when you talk about oracy development. In physical education and sports more broadly, there’s a lot of both non-verbal communication and verbal communication. The combination of verbal and non-verbal communication together is really what we’re looking for so they learn to do the signalling as well as speaking. We provide children with effective language experiences through the promotion of specialist and technical vocabulary, questioning and feedback on performance. In PE at Bolton, we ensure oracy is developed across both key stages to ensure children have the ability to communicate effectively in all sporting scenarios. For example: ‘Analysis of Performance’. Our curriculum presents ample opportunities for children to talk about their areas of strengths and areas for development in lessons, or when officiating in KS2. The children will have a growing vocabulary of terminology linked to this subject and demonstrate understanding when using it.

EYFS - Physical Development

Physical activity is vital in children’s all-round development, enabling them to pursue happy, healthy and active lives. Gross and fine motor experiences develop incrementally throughout early childhood. Games are created to provide opportunities for play both indoors and outdoors. Adults support children to develop their core strength, stability, balance, spatial awareness, co-ordination and agility. Gross motor skills provide the foundation for developing healthy bodies and social and emotional well-being. These skills are developed through ‘Continuous Provision’ within the classroom environment, playtimes, extra-curricular activities and within the EYFS specific sessions with PE lead.

Gross Motor Skills

Gross motor skills use large muscles and help children to gain physical strength. It gives them the confidence they need in their abilities to control their bodies. Physical activity in early years should encourage children to practise big movements like jumping, running and balancing to build these as they grow. Fixed outdoor equipment and other large construction materials provide our children with lots of opportunities to develop these skills.

Children will look to improve their body awareness and control of movements, as a part of early years physical development. Lots of this comes from active play with their peers and lots of great physical activities worked into their day, making it fun and exciting. By nurturing these skills, our children can build up habits that keep them remaining active in the future. Not only this, physical activity in early years opens up opportunities for them to be able to gain much more complex physical capabilities, should they desire it. For instance, playing for a football team requires a big range of gross motor skills and physical control.

Skills covered lead up to children meeting their Early Learning Goal (ELG)

• Experiments with different ways of moving.  

• Negotiates space successfully when playing racing and chasing games with other children, adjusting speed or changing direction to avoid obstacles.  

• Travels with confidence and skill around, under, over and through balancing and climbing equipment.  

• Jumps off an object and lands appropriately.  

• Shows increasing control over an object in pushing, patting, throwing, catching or kicking it.  

Early Learning Goal - moving and handling.

The specific Early Learning Goals that make up gross motor skills are:

• Negotiate space and obstacles safely, with consideration for themselves and others.
• Demonstrate strength, balance, and coordination when playing.
• Move energetically, such as running, jumping, dancing, hopping, skipping and climbing.

Fine Motor Skills

Fine motor control and precision activities are assigned to help with hand-eye co-ordination, which is later linked to early literacy. Repeated and varied opportunities to explore and play with small world activities, puzzles, arts and crafts and the practice of using small tools, with feedback and support from adults, allow children to develop proficiency, control and confidence. These skills are developed through ‘Continuous Provision’ within the classroom environment.

Skills covered lead up to children meeting their Early Learning Goal (ELG)

It’s important for children to have assistance early on with building upon their fine motor skills. Fine motor skills require the use of the small muscles that control children’s hands, fingers, and thumbs. It’s what helps children perform tasks involving self-care. This includes things like buttoning/unbuttoning clothes, tying shoelaces, feeding themselves or brushing their own teeth. This everyday physical activity in early years is a great chance to build a child’s confidence and self-esteem while they develop skills that support their growing independence

The Early Learning Goals in fine motor skills are:

• Hold a pencil effectively in preparation for fluent writing, using the tripod grip in almost all cases.
• Use a range of small tools, including scissors, paintbrushes, and cutlery.
• Begin to show accuracy and care when drawing.

Please see our PE at Bolton document below for more information, including our policy, progression of skills and long term plans.

Information about Sports Premium Funding can be found under KEY INFORMATION.