Physical Education

Physical Education Curriculum Overview

Aim

At Southmoor Academy, we aim to securely equip all of our students for life beyond school as successful, confident, responsible and respectful citizens. We believe that education provides the key to social mobility and our curriculum is designed to build strong foundations in the knowledge, understanding and skills which lead to academic and personal success.  We want our students to enjoy the challenges that learning offers.

Our aims are underpinned by a culture of high aspirations. Through developing positive relationships, we work towards every individual having a strong belief in their own abilities so that they work hard, build resilience and achieve their very best.

Intent

The PE curriculum includes formal teaching through subject areas, assemblies and extracurricular activities. We regularly review content to ensure we continue to meet our curriculum aims. The Physical Education curriculum is planned to enable all students to develop skills in the following areas:

• To develop competence to excel in a broad range of team and individual games and activities
• To engage in competitive sports and activities both intra and inter-school
• To analyse performances compared to previous ones and demonstrate improvement
  to achieve their personal best
• To be physically active for sustained periods of time
• To lead healthy, active lives
• To take part in competitive sports and activities outside school through community links or
  sports clubs

Throughout our programmes of study, every attempt is made to make explicit links to careers and the world of work. In addition to subject specific links, we aim to explicitly reinforce the skills and aptitudes which support employers say are important in the workplace;

• Resilience (Aiming High Staying Positive Learning from Mistakes)
• Collaboration (Teamwork Leadership Communication)
• Creativity (Originality, Problem Solving, Independent Study)

The British values of democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty, and mutual respect of those with different faiths and beliefs are taught explicitly and reinforced in the way in which the school operates.

Sequence and structure 

Our PE curriculum is split in to Key Stage 3 (years 7, 8 and 9) and Key Stage 4 (years 10 and 11).

Our Key Stage 3 Curriculum includes the following areas of study:

Pupils should build on and embed the physical development and skills learned in key stages 1 and 2, become more competent, confident and expert in their techniques, and apply them across different sports and physical activities. They should understand what makes a performance effective and how to apply these principles to their own and others’ work. They should develop the confidence and interest to get involved in exercise, sports and activities out of school and in later life and understand and apply the long-term health benefits of physical activity.

Core PE

Pupils will cover a range of activities from across the key concepts of the national curriculum, encompassing team and individual sports, health and fitness activities, swimming, athletics and striking and fielding games.

Content covered in other subject areas:

• Dance – perform dances using advanced dance techniques within a range of dance styles and forms. This is accessed through the Drama/Performing Arts curriculum and Dance workshops from external sources within curriculum and extra-curricular time.

We know that students who read well achieve well. As such all subject areas are committed to providing regular opportunities to read extensively. We provide regular opportunities for students to read for pleasure and to receive small group interventions if their reading skills are lower than we would expect.

• Year 7 KS3 Curriculum

  Click here to view the Year 7 Physical Education curriculum intent for 2022-2023.

  We know that students who read well achieve well. As such all subject areas are committed to providing regular opportunities to read extensively. We provide regular opportunities for students to read for pleasure and to receive small group interventions if their reading skills are lower than we would expect.

• Year 8 KS3 Curriculum

  Click here to view the Year 8 Physical Education curriculum intent for 2022-2023.

  We know that students who read well achieve well. As such all subject areas are committed to providing regular opportunities to read extensively. We provide regular opportunities for students to read for pleasure and to receive small group interventions if their reading skills are lower than we would expect.

• Year 9 KS3 Curriculum

  Click here to view the Year 9 Physical Education curriculum intent for 2022-2023.

  We know that students who read well achieve well. As such all subject areas are committed to providing regular opportunities to read extensively. We provide regular opportunities for students to read for pleasure and to receive small group interventions if their reading skills are lower than we would expect.

Our Key Stage 4 Curriculum:

Pupils should build on and embed the physical development and skills learned in key stage 3 and become more competent, confident and expert in their techniques. These techniques should then be able to be applied across a range of sports and physical activities. Pupils should understand what makes a performance effective and how to apply these principles to their own and others’ work. They should develop the confidence and interest to get involved in exercise, sports and activities out of school and in later life and understand and apply the long-term health benefits of physical activity.

Core PE

Pupils will cover a range of activities from across the key concepts of the national curriculum, encompassing team and individual sports, health and fitness activities, swimming, athletics and striking and fielding games.

Optional Certificated PE

• Year 10 KS4 Curriculum

  Year 10 pupils from September 2022:

  Click here to view the Year 10 Sport Studies curriculum intent for 2022-2023.

  Click here to view the Year 10 Core Physical Education curriculum intent for 2022-2023.

  We know that students who read well achieve well. As such all subject areas are committed to providing regular opportunities to read extensively. We provide regular opportunities for students to read for pleasure and to receive small group interventions if their reading skills are lower than we would expect.

• Year 11 KS4 Curriculum

  Year 11 pupils from September 2022:

  Click here to view the Year 11 Sport Studies curriculum intent for 2022-2023.

  Click here to view the Year 11 Core Physical Education curriculum intent for 2022-2023.

  We know that students who read well achieve well. As such all subject areas are committed to providing regular opportunities to read extensively. We provide regular opportunities for students to read for pleasure and to receive small group interventions if their reading skills are lower than we would expect.

• KS5 Curriculum

  Our Key Stage 5 Curriculum:

  We know that students who read well achieve well. As such all subject areas are committed to providing regular opportunities to read extensively. We provide regular opportunities for students to read for pleasure and to receive small group interventions if their reading skills are lower than we would expect.

How does our Curriculum cater for students with SEND?

Southmoor Academy is an inclusive academy where every child is valued and respected. We are committed to the inclusion, progress and independence of all our students, including those with SEN. We work to support our students to make progress in their learning, their emotional and social development and their independence. We actively work to support the learning and needs of all members of our community.

A child or young person has SEN if they have a learning difficulty or disability which calls for special educational provision to be made that is additional to or different from that made generally for other children or young people of the same age. (CoP 2015, p16)

Teachers are responsible for the progress of ALL students in their class and high-quality teaching is carefully planned; this is the first step in supporting students who may have SEND. All students are challenged to do their very best and all students at the Academy are expected to make at least good progress.

Specific approaches which are used within the curriculum areas include:

• 1:1 support with practical tasks e.g. Leadership at KS4 using modified groups working with swimming teacher and primary schools
• Resources adapted to accommodate a range of SEND needs
• Seating plans to allow for peer/teacher support
• A range of learning roles used to embed understanding e.g. practical participant, coach, leader, official
• Differentiated and feedback tasks outlined clearly on the board or in teaching resources and linked to assessment criteria at KS4.
• Group work and discussion tasks to develop confidence in leadership and ownership of learning from KS3 onwards e.g. leading warm-ups, stretches.
• Work is always uploaded onto showmyhomework in order for both students and parents to work outside of the lesson
• Extracurricular clubs take place at lunch time and intervention takes place after school twice a week for BTEC students.

How does our curriculum cater for disadvantaged students and those from minority groups?

As a school serving an area with high levels of deprivation, we work tirelessly to raise the attainment for all students and to close any gaps that exist due to social contexts. The deliberate allocation of funding and resources has ensured that attainment gaps are closing in our drive to ensure that all pupils are equally successful when they leave the Academy. More specifically within the teaching of Physical Education we;

• Offer overseas visits to ski resorts across Europe with subsidy available for disadvantaged pupils
• Targeted support for under-performing students completed on a 6 weekly cycling following data capture.
• Intervention available throughout the week – Tuesday and Thursday lunch and after school.
• Engagement through the use of practical learning at KS3 and KS4.
• Our GCSE results have shown a limited gap in attainment for disadvantaged students in comparison to those that are not.

How do we make sure that our curriculum is implemented effectively?

The PE curriculum is designed to give students the opportunity to work as part of a team a key quality required in employment. All KS4 students gain a leadership qualification which gives them opportunity to coach younger students in an activity of their choice of which they are required to develop organisation, time management and carry out the role of an official. This is directly linked to careers in sports coaching, primary teaching and employment within leisure.  Students work with external agencies including A690 youth club of which opportunities to develop basic first aid and coaching are available out of school hours. Further opportunities are available within the LAF programme, Sunderland Foundation of Light and Wellness Centres. These combined with strong links at local gyms, Sunderland University, Silksworth Sports complex and GOAL’s football centre enrich links of employment and work experience for the students at Southmoor Academy.

The Physical Education curriculum leader is responsible for designing the Physical Education curriculum and monitoring implementation.

The subject leader’s monitoring is validated by senior leaders.

Staff have regular access to professional development/training to ensure that curriculum requirements are met.

Effective assessment informs staff about areas in which interventions are required. These interventions are delivered during curriculum time to enhance pupils’ capacity to access the full curriculum.

Curriculum resources are selected carefully and reviewed regularly.

Assessments are designed thoughtfully to assess student progress and also to shape future learning.

Assessments are checked for reliability within departments and across the Trust.

How do we make sure our curriculum is having the desired impact?

• Examination results analysis and evaluation, reported to the senior leaders and the local governing body to ensure challenge
• Termly assessments-analysis and evaluation meetings
• Lesson observations
• Learning walks
• Book scrutiny
• Regular feedback from Teaching Staff during department meetings
• Regular feedback from Middle Leaders during curriculum meetings
• Pupil surveys
• Parental feedback
• External reviews and evaluations