Our Curriculum

Our vision

At Springfield, we know that all children are entitled to an excellent physical education and we believe that all children can develop the competence to excel in a broad range of physical activities. We understand the importance of a well-structured and ambitious PE curriculum in promoting life-long habits of physical activity with the potential to positively impact our children’s long term physical and mental health and wellbeing. Our high quality Physical Education curriculum aims to engage and inspire pupils to develop both a love of being physically active and a confidence and competence to participate in a range of challenging physical activities. The school was awarded a Silver National Sports Mark from School Games in July 2018.

As our pupils progress through our curriculum, we maintain a focus on ensuring children are able to engage in physical activity for increasingly sustained periods of time. We teach children to understand and appreciate the value of sustained cardiovascular exercise for their long-term physical and mental health. We also ensure that children are taught to swim competently, confidently and proficiently for at least 25 metres unaided by swimming instructors using a range of strokes. All children are taught safe self-rescue and are taught how to enjoy water safely.

Throughout our PE curriculum, we teach children of all levels of confidence and competence how to engage in competitive sports and activities. We refer to our VERSE in PE lessons – where everyone participates and that all participation is safe, effortful and respectful. Our emphasis on a team ethos is key. Children learn to participate positively in whichever team they are assigned to in a lesson, whilst maintaining a sense of belonging to their class team and therefore respecting and encouraging members of an opposing team in a match or activity.

We place a high value on what our children remember from their primary PE education. We regularly review prior learning to ensure that knowledge, understanding and skills build progressively over time. We also endeavour to ensure that every child leaves Springfield with a positive memory of their experience in PE lessons so that they take with them a sense of motivation and confidence for the next steps in their physical education. We instil in each child a respect for their right to be healthy and active now and in their futures.

How we plan for and teach PE

In the Early Years physical development is a valued part of every-day learning. Through carefully planned indoor and outdoor opportunities in the continuous provision as well as group movement activities, children develop the strength, coordination, balance and agility needed to engage successfully with future physical education in KS1 and KS2. Children learn to safely and confidently use a range of large and small apparatus. They revise and refine the fundamental movement skills of rolling, walking, jumping, running, hopping, skipping and climbing and progress towards a more fluent style of moving, with developing control. In Nursery and
Reception, children begin to develop ball skills such as throwing, catching, kicking, passing, batting and aiming which are refined and built upon in KS1 and applied to a range of meaningful contexts.

As the children progress into Key Stage 1 and throughout Key Stage 2, each class has a weekly PE lesson taught by a specialist PE coach. Each lesson involves a dynamic warm up and a review of prior learning. In every PE lesson, children are taught to be physically competent in one or more relevant movement skills (locomotor, object control and stability skills). They also develop their knowledge of strategies and tactics and their ability to participate in physical activity in a healthy and positive manner. Sustained physical activity is planned for in every lesson so that children develop and maintain their fitness and stamina over time.

At Springfield, children engage in a rich and varied range of physical activities in half-termly units (or termly for swimming). Our curriculum includes three invasion games (basketball, football and hockey) which are taught in alternate year groups to ensure progression and retention over time. We also teach cricket as a non-invasion sport, to develop children’s object control and locomotor skills in a different context with significant cultural significance. In Years 1, 2 and 3, specific units broken into small steps are designed to lay firm foundations in children’s agility, balance and object control skills. Through KS1 and KS2, this learning is embedded and we build children’s competence in gymnastics, dance, and a range of athletic activities such as triple jump, long jump, vortex throwing, shot put and sprinting both as individuals and in team relays. In KS2, children visit a local swimming pool for swimming lessons.

Swimming provision

All children learn to swim during Key Stage 2.  Qualified instructors teach our children at Clissold Leisure Centre’s swimming pool. The lessons are differentiated to suit all levels of competence. Beginners are taught basic skills and by the end of the year should be able to swim a width of the pool successfully. Children who already have some swimming ability are given the opportunity to increase their knowledge and skills by practising different strokes and skills such as treading water and picking up objects from the bottom of the pool.

PE enrichment within the curriculum

At our school we are committed to providing a range of opportunities for children of all levels of confidence and attainment to participate in healthy competition, through tournaments with local schools and a yearly whole-school sporting event.  Throughout the school year, children from Springfield take part in competitions and sports matches with other schools in our Federation or across Hackney. These experiences reinforce learning about team-work, good sportsmanship and fair play.   We also offer a wide range of after-school sports and physical activity clubs. We think it is important that children are as active as possible and we encourage all children to participate in extra-curricular sports.

Sports Premium Funding

Each year our Sports Premium Funding is carefully allocated to the following areas: teacher and staff development CPD and after school clubs. For more information, please check the P.E funding page here.

How we evaluate learning in PE

Our specialist PE coach regularly assesses children’s progress in PE. In each lesson, children are observed carefully and receive formative feedback to ensure progress. In each unit, children are observed completing key tasks which indicate whether they have achieved the objectives. On completion of the unit of work, our PE coach uses key assessment targets, along with observations of children’s skills, to make a judgement as to whether each child is working towards, at or above the expected level. Children are also involved in peer and self-assessment opportunities against specific criteria and are taught to analyse their performance to draw out areas of strength and next steps

To find out more about progression in our PE curriculum, please click here: Physical Education at Springfield