Curriculum Intent
The Physical Education Curriculum is driven by a passion and commitment to develop confidence in all students through sport and physical activity. We aim to equip students with the knowledge and values they need to lead healthy and fulfilling lives – both now and in the future.
It is our ambition to broaden the sporting experiences of our students whilst creating passionate, independent learners who develop a lifelong love of physical activity. Physical Education is vital to develop well educated and reflective your people who are respectful, resilient and ready to make a positive difference in their community.
The Physical Education Curriculum is under-pinned by the national curriculum which states:
“A high-quality physical education curriculum inspires all pupils to succeed and excel in competitive sport and other physically-demanding activities. It should provide opportunities for pupils to become physically confident in a way which supports their health and fitness. Opportunities to compete in sport and other activities build character and help to embed values such as fairness and respect”.
The fundamental aims of the curriculum are to develop competence and knowledge and in doing so increase students self-efficacy. The acquisition of this core knowledge is necessary to develop a deep understanding of the subject. The structure of the curriculum emphasises this, allowing students to develop and make accelerated progress of their knowledge by revisiting key principles related to effective performance in a range of sports. Such knowledge will enable students to succeed and excel in competitive sport and other physically demanding activities. The sequencing of the curriculum ensures that there will be a greater complexity and challenge every time a student returns to a sport / activity that they have studied previously, whilst becoming increasingly reflective in their learning. The Ofsted Government review (2022) cited three pillars of progression that develop competence to participate. These are:
- Motor competence – knowledge of the range of movements that become increasingly sport and physically activity-specific.
- Rules, strategies and tactics – knowledge of the conventions of participation in different sports and physical activities.
- Healthy participation – knowledge of safe and effective participation.
It is important students see how key knowledge can be transferred between different sports / activities within Physical Education. An example of this is the principle of attack; within an invasion game this would link to finding space to get free to receive a pass from a teammate. Whereas in a net / wall game such as badminton this would link to placing the shuttle in space, making it difficult for the opponent to return the shot. The underpinning knowledge is understanding that space is useful when attacking but the context in which it is applied changes to depending upon the game being played. This knowledge is further developed at KS4 in examination Physical Education where students are required to analyse and improve their sporting performances, whilst utilising knowledge of the components of fitness which is initially acquired at KS3.
Physical Education curriculum offer
KS3 and KS4 Core PE: Students study a variety of sports during their core PE lessons.
KS4 Examination PE: Students study the following course at KS4.
- GCSE PE (Edexcel)
- OCR Sport Studies