Physical Education

"Physical fitness is not only one of the most important keys to a healthy body,
it is the basis of dynamic and creative intellectual activity."

John F. Kennedy

The Physical Education Curriculum at Athersley North Primary School is designed to provide pupils with the opportunities to participate in a broad and alternative range of physical activities to widen their experiences.

Pupils will gain knowledge and skills to use in a competitive environment, embedding values such as fairness and respect. This will promote physical and mental wellbeing thus enabling children to manage feelings from success to failure.

They will be provided with the tools to make informed choices to independently lead a healthy, active lifestyle.

How we teach PE

At Athersley North Primary School, Physical Education is taught as a progression of knowledge and skills. Sequences of lessons are centered around a progression of skills that build upon each other and are then applied in an end of unit activity e.g. athletics – end of unit Sports Day event.

Each unit is taught over a half term as outlined on the long term plan for Physical Education. 

Physical Education is taught over a 2-year rolling programme.

Key vocabulary for every unit is specified for every year group. These words are explicitly taught to deepen pupils’ knowledge of Physical Education.

Lesson Structure

Theory including key vocabulary
Warm up
Input of knowledge and skills including demonstration of skills
Practice of skills
Application of skills
Cool down

Disciplinary Vocabulary

At Athersley North Primary School, we ensure that pupils speak like an expert by introducing subject specific vocabulary that they will use within a range of topics. This vocabulary is progressive and pupils will build a bank of sporting terminology throughout each key stage e.g. Dance – canon, compose, choreograph etc.

Substantive vocabulary

At Athersley North Primary School, we ensure that all pupils can articulate their understanding of a substantive concept by giving them opportunities to use a range of vocabulary linking to the substantive concept being taught.

Our Curriculum

Throughout their time at Athersley North Primary School, pupils will be exposed to a range of different sports and physical activities. They will learn skills that are transferable between the different units of work and these will be built upon each time a unit is revisited.

Curriculum Long Term Plan

Progression strands

Throughout each unit of work there are progression strands. These strands are the areas that built upon throughout each key stage to deepen pupils understanding and skills within the Physical Education curriculum.

Example progression strand – Physical competence