PULSE PE and SEN in mainstream schools;


are we missing a trick? Sharon Denney


I have always been passionate about physical education. Not because I believe that it’s going to solve the growing obesity crisis or because it’s character building for children to run around muddy fields, in the depths of winter, dressed only in shorts and T-shirts. My passion for physical education stems from the firmly held belief that it is intrinsically linked to every aspect of a child’s growth and development, that it is fundamental to the very process of learning and should, therefore, be a central feature of any curriculum.


A Google search will highlight the wealth of neuroscientific research and evidence that underpins this view. Dr Carla Hannaford, in her book ‘Smart Moves; Why Learning is Not All in your Head’ says, ‘the more closely we consider the elaborate interplay of brain and body, the more clearly one compelling theme emerges: movement is essential to learning’. The evidence is unequivocal and overwhelming, and yet our education system has made very limited progress in translating this knowledge into practice.


The early years foundation stage (EYFS) is where we come closest. The EYFS curriculum identifies physical development as one of the prime areas of learning, placing it at the heart of the curriculum for our under fives. The rationale being that this must come before more formal aspects of learning; we can’t expect children to write if they don’t have the gross motor skills to sit upright and the fine motor skills to manipulate a pencil. They need to be able to move around a classroom without bumping into things and have the co-ordination to move a mouse, turn the pages of a book and use scissors.


and had developed an interest in the SENCo role. I was excited by the challenge of developing my understanding of primary education through this new perspective and building on my experiences with Achievement for All. I knew that there would be potential to draw on some of my expertise within physical education, but what I had not anticipated was the extent of this potential.


The mistake is to assume that this phase of learning is complete by the age of five and that, once children start key stage 1, physical education is somehow a more discrete and less vital aspect of the curriculum.


Neuroscience has clearly demonstrated the importance of the relationship between movement and brain development, and we know that


this does not stop at five years of age! Given the strength of my views on the importance of PE for a holistic approach to education, you may be surprised by my recent experiences as a primary special educational needs co-ordinator (SENCo); I certainly was! I had been working for Achievement for All as an Achievement Coach supporting schools to improve outcomes for vulnerable pupils


Very quickly, I realised that almost all the pupils on the SEN register had some kind of physical need. There were dyslexic pupils and pupils with ASD who had difficulties with fine motor skills and visual tracking, pupils with ADHD and ADD who needed to move regularly to aid their concentration, pupils with a range of sensory needs whose bodies craved the feedback created by movement and pupils with global delay who were clumsy and unco-ordinated. In addition to those on the register, there were many others who were identified as ‘vulnerable’ and were receiving low- level support. Many of these children also had difficulties with balance, fine motor skills, or core strength. Then there were the children who did not have specific physical needs, but who had needs that I knew physical activity could support; pupils with social, emotional and mental health (SEMH) needs such as anxiety, low mood, poor self-regulation or a lack of social skills. The list seemed endless.


It dawned on me that we, in physical education, are missing a trick (and this is where all the PE specialists in special schools can look very smug, because they’ve already cracked this one!). We have so much to offer some of the most vulnerable pupils in our schools


4 The Kent & Medway School Sports Magazine


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