At The Rushmere Park Academy we believe that Physical education is a vital component in the development of children’s physical, emotional and well-being. We believe in giving all pupils, irrespective of their academic or physical ability, the opportunity to discover and develop their physical potential through a balanced and developmental programme of activities.

We believe that all learning is entwined, and our bespoke curriculum and our experienced teachers promote the cross curricular development of skills. Physical education plays a major role in enabling pupils to be creative and imaginative, to apply skills and knowledge from other curriculum subjects. Pupils are encouraged to problem-solve, communicate, and collaborate alongside their peers, to develop positive relationships, grow resilience and to celebrate progression.

The principle of Physical Education are:

Moving and handling:

· show good control and co-ordination in large and small movements.

· move confidently in a range of ways, safely negotiating space.

· handle equipment and tools effectively, including pencils for writing.

Self-care:

· know the importance for good health of physical exercise, and a healthy diet, and talk about ways to keep healthy and safe.

· manage their own basic hygiene and personal needs successfully, including dressing and going to the toilet independently.

Master basic movements:

· Running, jumping, throwing, and catching, as well as developing balance, agility and co-ordination, and begin to apply these in a range of activities

· develop flexibility, strength, technique, control, and balance [for example, through athletics and gymnastics]

· perform dances using simple movement patterns.

· use running, jumping, throwing, and catching in isolation and in combination

Competing and sportsmanship:

· participate in team games, developing simple tactics for attacking and defending

· perform dances using a range of movement patterns

· play competitive games, modified where appropriate [for example, badminton, basketball, cricket, football, hockey, netball, rounders, and tennis], and apply basic principles suitable for attacking and defending

· take part in outdoor and adventurous activity challenges both individually and within a team

· compare their performances with previous ones and demonstrate improvement to achieve their personal best.

Swimming and water safety:

· swim competently, confidently, and proficiently over a distance of at least 25 metres

· use a range of strokes effectively [for example, front crawl, backstroke, and breaststroke]

· perform safe self-rescue in different water-based situations.

We cover a wide range of sporting activities across our school, following the recommendations of the National Curriculum. We actively participate in the local sporting competitions (Key stage 1 and 2), provide pupils with opportunities to experience alternative sporting activities — Archery, through lunchtime and after school clubs, we strive to link pupils to external sporting groups. We explore additional opportunities to include the whole school in sporting events — Physical sports day, cerebral sports day, and inclusion (celebrating our differences) sports day. Visiting dance, judo, netball, rugby, and cheerleading teachers.