Physical Education – Horncastle Primary School

At Horncastle, we recognise the values that a high-quality Physical Education (PE) and school sports curriculum gives pupils. We want to nurture personal talents, discover new ones and encourage everyone to be the best they can be.

It is our intention when teaching the PE curriculum we develop the enjoyment of the physical activity and strive to improve the importance of health and well-being. Our intention is to give children the opportunities to develop their skills, knowledge and understanding and apply these in competitive situations, with the vision this provides them with lifelong learning skills. We strive to ensure that all our pupils receive a well-rounded learning experience when participating in different sporting activities, learning the importance of health and well-being and equipping them with the necessary values and tools to achieve in our school and beyond. It is our intention to engage pupils in the possibilities of sport to develop a passion for being active, healthy and the confidence to try new things and build resilience and determination with all they do.

Physical development underpins all other areas of a child’s learning and development. In the Early years, it is not statutory to deliver a stand alone PE lesson, although we prepare our children for moving into Key Stage 1 by having lessons towards the end of the year. PE can also look like many other types of play too – den building, gardening, baking, parachute games, dressing up to name a few.

We endeavour to provide high-quality PE and sports teaching in both curriculum and after school clubs. We aim to ensure that within their own level of ability all children can achieve and experience success, thereby enabling them to reach their full potential.

We work closely with JB Sports Coaching. They help deliver staff CPD, introduce our children to unusual sports, offer enrichment activities and run clubs at lunch and after school.

We value the benefits of PE and sport to build children’s self-confidence, esteem, self-worth and resilience, which is character-building and essential for our pupil’s development.

Why is it right for the children of Horncastle?

We begin in the Early Years by developing children’s fine and gross motor skills through their provision and experiences. This allows them to move into Year 1 with some of the necessary skills needed to access the PE Curriculum. Our PE Scheme progresses with each year group and enables children to consolidate and extend the skills they learnt in the previous year. Children begin by securing skills and knowledge before transferring this into gameplay in later years.

Getting our children engaged in physical activity is so important as national figures show that only 57.2% of children are active for more than 30 minutes a day outside of school. Through our playtime, lunchtime and after school provision, we aim to promote increased physical activity across the school. We want our children to be healthy and active individuals, with an enjoyment for sport and exercise.