PE

Intent

St Margaret Mary Catholic Primary School recognises and understands the importance of Physical Education (P.E.) in school. Sport and P.E. can play a vital role in the development of a child’s physical, cognitive, social and emotional skills, which can be used throughout their life.  At St Margaret Mary Catholic Primary School, we strive to ensure all our children (both boys and girls) have every possibility to both achieve in and enjoy taking part in P.E. lessons and sport.

At St Margaret Mary Catholic Primary School, it is our intention that all children:

• Develop the physical and mental skills which are needed to excel in a range of physical activities and sport
• Are physically active for sustained periods of time
• Have opportunities to take part in competitive sports and activities
• Understand the importance of leading a healthy, active lifestyle

Through high quality lessons (P.E. and P.S.H.E) delivered by both internal and external staff, a vast range of after school sport clubs and by competing in all school competitions available, we aim to raise the profile of P.E. and offer our children a number of new and exciting opportunities.  Furthermore, at St Margaret Mary Catholic Primary School we understand the importance of leading a healthy lifestyle. Children are taught the need to have a balanced diet, a positive mind-set and the resilience to persevere. These skills are promoted by staff at all times.

Implementation

At St Margaret Mary Catholic Primary School, we offer a balanced and progressive curriculum, which covers all aspects of the Early Years and P.E. National Curriculum.  Our P.E. curriculum is taught predominantly through the use Cornerstones in EYFS. This is topic based and the children engage in a number of physical activities linked closely to their topic. Alongside this, more formal P.E. lessons are taught which focus closely on the skills needed to achieve the Early Learning Goals (E.L.G.).

In KS1 and KS2 the scheme ‘Power of P.E.’ is used. ‘Power of P.E.’ contains structured plans for a vast amount of sports / activities and the P.E. lead selects which sports are delivered throughout the year. Each topic contains key objectives which cover the vital skills for each topic being taught. Teaching staff are guided by the detailed ‘Power of P.E.’ lesson plans, which provide engaging and challenging lessons for all children, however teachers are also encouraged to adapt and modify lessons accordingly.

The focus in Key Stage 1 is to predominantly develop and master basic movement skills, such as balance, agility and co-ordination. This is facilitated in multi skills sessions where the children get to experience: gymnastics, dance, small sided team games and ball skills. The focus in Key Stage 2 is to use the fundamental skills learnt previously and progress further by linking closely to a number of different sports and activities. Rules to sports are introduced and children are encouraged to reflect on their performances, giving feedback to how both themselves and their peers can improve. In KS2, children cover a range of games including: invasion, striking and fielding, net/wall, athletics, fitness, gymnastics and dance.

In 2023, St Margaret Mary Catholic Primary School became a member of the Manchester United Foundation. Each class has the opportunity for weekly sessions with a trained sports coach, predominantly looking closely at the mental skills needed to achieve, not only in sport but also life. Skills such as: perseverance, communication, confidence building, resilience and working as a team are focused on as well as many others. Also, by working closely with the Manchester United foundation we are able to offer many more opportunities for all our children to take part in sporting activities as well as visiting Old Trafford and receiving tickets for Manchester United men’s and women’s team fixtures. Further information regarding the Manchester United foundation can be seen https://www.mufoundation.org/

Each class has access to two hours of physical activity every week, made up of playtime activities (circuit sessions led by Year 6 children) and quality teaching of P.E.  Structured P.E. lessons are always delivered by the class teacher. During each lesson, children are given the opportunity to practise skills in a variety of ways and each lesson aims to build upon the previous skills, allowing them time to use them effectively. Through the use of external coaches in our annual Health & Fitness week, we also offer different fun and innovative sessions and activities for children to take part in.

All Key Stage 2 children receive a minimum of 5 swimming lessons throughout the year. By the end of Key Stage 2 all children should be able to swim 25m without support. To help children achieve this, we offer further sessions for children who require more swimming practice. In Key Stage 2, the children are also invited to go on a number of residential trips, taking them out of their comfort zone. During these residentials the children are given the opportunity to take part in a number of adventurous activities, that we are unable to offer at school.

At St. Margaret Mary Catholic Primary School, we offer a wide range of sporting after-school clubs run by both teaching staff and outside agencies. The clubs offered are changed throughout the year to offer a wide variety.  The P.E. budget is spent carefully each year, making sure all sporting equipment is safe, up to date and able to be used effectively.  The school have also invested in a number of new facilities for the children to use in lessons and at play times. These include: Multi Use Games Area (MUGA), two new climbing areas and an outdoor gym area.

Impact

After evaluating the intentions (stated earlier) St Margaret Mary Catholic Primary School is currently achieving the outcomes set for P.E. Children are making good progress in P.E. and are eager to attend after school clubs and competitive sports events. We also now have more children than ever before taking part in sport outside of school time.