At Our Lady’s, we strongly believe that physical education should be experienced in a fun, safe, nurturing and encouraging environment that enables our pupils to understand that in order to succeed, not just in sports but all areas of life, you must show determination, resilience and be willing to practise skills in order to show sustained self-improvement.

Our curriculum is designed to provide our children with high quality teaching and learning experiences that allow them to succeed in their lessons and during competitive sporting opportunities both in and out of school. As a school, we foster a love for physical activity and other challenging activities with the aim of instilling a life-long passion PE and by doing so, promote a healthy active lifestyle.

Through our curriculum aims, we strive to address the physical, social emotional and cognitive development of each child. We will actively encourage our pupils to develop their physical skillset, team work and communication. Our curriculum offers a broad range of activities, encompassing different sports, games, dance, gymnastics, swimming, and outdoor adventurous activities. We aim to introduce pupils to a variety of activities, exposing them to different skills and promoting an understanding and appreciation of diverse forms of physical activity.

We aim to develop our pupils’ substantive knowledge (different skills) and also their disciplinary knowledge (how and when to use them).

Implementation

Children are taught a minimum of 2 hours a week by both teaching staff and a sports coach from City in the Community (CITC) who also provide high-quality CPD. Some year groups also take part in squash, taekwondo and tennis sessions. The 2 PE lessons a week are supplemented with daily fitness breaks using activities such as the Daily Mile initiative.

The GetSet4PE scheme is used across the school. It is designed to provide teachers with comprehensive lesson plans, enabling them to effectively teach various aspects of the PE National Curriculum. These detailed plans equip teachers with the necessary subject knowledge to deliver high-quality physical education. Additionally, teachers are supported with technical glossaries, online resources, and adult guidance to enhance their subject expertise, enabling them to communicate technical terminology and skills with confidence and clarity. One of our goals is to empower teachers with the knowledge and confidence to teach all facets of physical education.

The lessons are thoughtfully structured to give students the opportunity to both practice their existing skills and to progress towards acquiring new, more advanced skills. The lesson sequence is designed with consideration of prior learning, providing opportunities for revision and practice as integral components of the lesson plan. Our aim is for this revision process to become an integral part of effective teaching, ultimately enriching students' depth of knowledge, skills, and understanding in physical education.

Our Year 4 children attend weekly swimming lessons at the Moss Side Leisure Centre. By the end of the academic year, all children are expected to be able to swim 25 metres competently.

Our partnership with both City in the Community and TeamMCR provides us with countless opportunities to take part in a range of competitive sport with other schools. Some of our oldest children, acting as sports leaders, will also be active during break and lunchtimes, organising and running a range of games and sporting challenges.

Impact

At Our Lady’s, our PE curriculum is carefully crafted for each year group to ensure that students develop in-depth knowledge and skills across the entire spectrum of physical education. Through this, we develop our pupils’ understanding of the core values physical education promotes such as respect, fairness and self-discipline.

We take pride in delivering a consistently high-quality PE education, which we believe will significantly enhance students' proficiency in both knowledge and practical skills. We prioritise the use of technical PE vocabulary across all year groups to create a consistent learning environment.

Furthermore, our school places a strong emphasis on promoting sports, PE, and physical activity through initiatives such as our PE and Sports Achievement display board. Additionally, we actively engage the whole school community, including parents, through annual events like Sports Day. We also maintain valuable connections with TeamMCR, providing students from various year groups with opportunities to participate in external events and tournaments. These events not only showcase our students' achievements but also involve family members, celebrating their successes together.

Assessment is carried out at the end of each unit through the Get Set 4 PE scheme in conjunction with CITC or any specialist coaches.