PULSE


 engage in competitive sports and activities


And so we find ourselves in a battle for children’s hearts and minds. Our major adversaries; the X-box, tablets and the Toy Story box set. In the same way that we strive to engender in children a love of reading, we are now being challenged to inspire in them a love of physical activity and sport. Quite simply, the new curriculum for PE represents a major shift in our aspirations for our pupils.


So how do we do it? How do we design a package of provision that changes the hearts and minds of our pupils, allowing us to meet the aims of the new curriculum? More importantly, how will we know if we have been successful in meeting these aims? Believe it or not, the answer lies in the new curriculum itself. If we start by asking, what does a child need to be able to enjoy physical activity, we need look no further than the programmes of study;


Get more children engaged


The new curriculum has a significantly reduced number of statutory requirements allowing schools to be more creative in designing a curriculum that will excite and engage pupils. The fewer statutory requirements come with the expectation that schools will still provide a broad range of opportunities.


What is your school offering?


Ensure that there are pathways for children to pursue talents and interests I grew up thinking that Netball was something you did at school. I was blissfully unaware of local leagues, clubs and opportunities to play outside the school gates. I loved Netball at school, but left and never played again. How are you enabling and encouraging your pupils to engage outside of school?


Equip all children with the skills that they need to be successful


Let’s face it - no-one enjoys doing something they’re not good at / confident in. If we want children to enjoy being active then we need to ensure that they have mastered the basic skills and understanding that they will need. This is where the new focus on fundamentals of movement comes in.


How do you support children to ensure that they all achieve in PE?


Ensure that provision is inclusive Success is a key factor in engaging and inspiring children. For too long in PE we have set children up to fail; by giving them a tennis racket / Rounders bat to strike a ball with before they had the co-ordination to achieve this successfully or by asking them to take part in a Netball game before they have mastered throwing and catching. The removal of the levels within the new curriculum is driven by the focus on formative assessment; the idea that teachers should be constantly assessing pupils’ knowledge, skills and understanding and using this information to challenge them with the next step. Better assessment for learning in PE means that every child should be successful.


How effectively are your staff using their classroom based AfL strategies in PE lessons?


Provide a programme that incorporates the affector domain The affector domain is concerned with social and emotional development and is a vital element in effecting behaviour change. The new curriculum talks about building character, embedding values such as fairness and respect, co-operation, communication, collaboration and the skills to engage in competition. Does your PE programme explicitly support learning in these areas?


To download a Curriculum Review template linked to the new national curriculum for PE or to find out about new NCPE courses in Kent, please visit www.blueprintconsultancy.co.uk


The Kent & Medway School Sports Magazine 13


Of course, all this has implications for how we assess pupils in PE. We need to establish where they are in their learning in relation to the programmes of study, but we also need to demonstrate whether we are meeting the curriculum aims. After all, isn’t this what it’s all about?


The recent ‘Guidance on Assessment’, from the Physical Education Expert Group, clearly identifies the areas that we should be making assessments on from the aims and programmes of study and provides a useful guide.


The new curriculum for PE is exciting and challenging. It should encourage all schools to go back to the drawing board and really question how effectively their programmes, both curricular and extra-curricular, meet the needs of their pupils and impact on pupil outcomes. In terms of life skills, physical activity is now up there with literacy and numeracy, so let the battle for hearts and minds begin!


Sharon Denney Physical Education Consultant Blueprint Consultancy Limited sharon.denney@hotmail.co.uk


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