At West Rainton, our quality physical education provision increases physical competence, promotes health-related fitness, fosters self-responsibility and, most of all, secures enjoyment of physical activity for all students so that they develop physically active habits for a lifetime.
As holders of the AfPE award, we are immensely proud of our high-quality PE provision that allows all pupils to enjoy and succeed in a wide and rich range of physical activities.
We recognise how important children’s physical health and emotional well-being are, and the relationship between these and academic achievement.
Leadership and intent of PE at West Rainton
Mr Adam McDonough
The key aims of PE at West Rainton Primary School are:
- To provide a culture of high engagement and enthusiasm in physical activity for sustained periods of time;
- To give children the opportunities to try, and excel in, a vast range of sports;
- To engage regularly in competitive sport and activities, understanding the importance of growth mindset;
- To promote lifelong physical and mental wellbeing through healthy lifestyle habits;
- To facilitate opportunities for children to enjoy the social side of sport and activity including their own participation in a team;
- To provide opportunities for pupils to see elite sportspeople in action, understanding what can be achieved at the top level;
- To ensure children have the opportunity to lead and take ownership of their own individual physical activity;
- To signpost and encourage children into physical activity outside of school including those who are gifted and talented.
You can read the full pen profile of our PE lead here:
As PE lead, I have made carefully considered and impactful use of the PE and sport premium, in close collaboration with the school’s governing body, to create a vibrant and exceptionally well-resourced PE journey for all pupils. The school has an extensive stock of exciting PE equipment and uses it to great effect with events such as athletics’ records’ day, gymnastics club, boxing club, curling tournament, tennis tournament and annual intra-school dance festival. It really is an exciting place to discover a love of sport and activity!
Our PE curriculum is carefully considered and reviewed at least annually, to take into account the prior learning experiences of our pupils and contextual factors of the time. For example, during 2020-21, the curriculum was reshaped to meet the challenge of restoring children’s physical and mental health after the lockdown restrictions they had encountered.
How PE fits into our overarching curriculum key drivers:
Aiming high
We want our pupils to be inspired by our provision, and to ignite strong aspirations and high expectations of themselves and their future. Promotion of strong attendance is fundamental in this. Through the use of visits, visitors and enriching experiences, we will build knowledge and understanding of career possibilities as well as a hunger to embrace new and exciting opportunities. We will ensure we plan regular opportunities for children to develop self-belief and to see the benefits of taking risks and overcoming challenge. Our pupils will be supported to light up future pathways to fulfilling lives of employment choices, prosperity and future happiness. In PE, possibly more than in any other subject, children get to experience a wide range of personal discoveries in pursuit of personal bests. Children, across all age phases, have regular opportunities to participate in competitive, fun and engaging sport activities. Within our PE and sport premium aims, we also build in regular visits to experience elite or professional-level sporting events to showcase the pinnacle of sporting achievement to our pupils. We also have a small but impactful sports scholarship system to support pupils into clubs and teams outside of school.
Skills for learning and life
We want pupils to leave our school with a bank of knowledge and a skillset specific to each individual subject, whilst also making transferable connections across other areas of learning and life. Fundamental to this, is a curriculum rich in core skills of language, vocabulary, communication, literacy and numeracy. Our pupils will be taught to be inquisitive, follow a line of enquiry to reach answers, and to recall and present their learning in a vibrant range of ways. Opportunities to develop resilience, organisation, leadership, teamwork, adaptability, patience and initiative are all interwoven into our subjects and wider school life in order for our children to adjust to new learning situations. Our PE curriculum has been developed over time to ensure children participate in, learn, watch and enjoy an exciting range of activities, sports and games, both individually and in teams. The school is extensively equipped, and staff well-trained, to ensure children get an offer of the highest quality. Personal skills developed through sport, such as communication, self-regulation, self-drive and patience, are also nurtured skilfully over time. Through an exceptional extra-curricular offer, pupils get the opportunity to participate in sports, fitness and competitive teams in school too.
Growing healthily
Equally as important to us is the development of the whole child. Feeling safe, happy and valued is a fundamental right of all pupils. Our inclusive-rich ethos provides the backdrop to our personal development and wellbeing provision which is skilfully interwoven into all that we do. All pupils are supported to develop a strong understanding of the importance of good physical and mental health, whilst also learning a whole range of factors and influences that can have a negative impact on us. Making, nurturing and maintaining healthy relationships, both on and offline, equips children with the strength and security to recognise what they want and need in life. We believe a strong understanding of e-safety forms a crucial part of being a healthy, well-rounded 21st century global citizen. Both physical and mental wellbeing benefits of PE and sport are abundantly clear. We want to foster this understanding and passion in our pupils right from the very start in nursery. Knowing how to keep themselves physically healthy, and developing habits that will remain with them into their adult lives is a pivotal aim of our curriculum offer.
Knowledge of the world
When our pupils leave us at the end of Y6, we want them to feel so proud of themselves as people that they have the personal strength and self-confidence to find their place as positive global citizens. Through our carefully-planned provision, our pupils will experience a diverse and inclusive-rich experience that allows them to bank cultural capital as well as developing a secure understanding of the importance of equality. As well as a secure knowledge of British values, our pupils will have their minds and horizons broadened through diverse social, moral, spiritual and cultural experiences. Pupils will be regularly encouraged to revisit and extend their world-view, fostering tolerance, sensitivity and empathy to interact positively with others. Sport is a major British cultural institution and forms the fabric of our global society. Sport is a universal language and it brings the world together. In school, we ensure our children experience and actively participate in this exciting aspect of our world.
You can see the full subject policy and curriculum mapping for PE here:
Early Years and Foundation Stage Physical Development Guidance 2022-23
Games Progression of Skills KS1 and KS2
Gymnastics Progression of Skills
Swimming Progression of Skills
How PE is taught at West Rainton Primary School
Children in years 1-6 receive a minimum of two hours quality PE provision each week. We are incredibly proud of our ambitious and varied PE map. Over their time at West Rainton, children have exciting opportunities to experience a vast range of sports and activities, including:
football, tag rugby, netball, volleyball, hockey, lacrosse, tennis, badminton, curling, athletics, gymnastics, dance and swimming.
In the early years, our two bespoke outdoor classrooms have been carefully considered to encourage and progress the physical development of our 2-5 year-olds during their daily play. Formal PE sessions are also carried out in both nursery and reception classes to master the skills of getting changed independently as well as beginning to experience our exciting resources.
As PE lead, I also organise and promote the development of teaching staff in PE, and only make use of external coaches where the provision is quality and does not detract from the sustainability and ongoing strong progression of the subject’s development. In partnership with SAFC Foundation, one day of coaching is utilised by school. This is carefully planned and monitored by working collaboratively with the coaching staff.
The school is a bronze member of the Durham Schools’ Sports’ Partnership making use of an FA primary football league, netball league, dance festival and early years’ provision such as balance bikes training for improved physical development.
Neither our use of coaches or our SSP membership are funded by the PE and sports’ premium. This ensures provision is sustainable once the funding ends.
Our swimming provision is accessed through the local authority and our lessons take place at a pool in Chester-Le-Street once a week across the entire year. Our swimming allocation is split across our three KS2 classes, and is carefully and regularly assessed to ensure large proportions of our pupils leave y6 meeting national standards for swimming. We use the ASA schools’ swimming awards to demonstrate that we take school swimming seriously. You can see more about our swimming provision and data by following this link.
We are also incredibly proud of our vibrant extra-curricular clubs provision, of which sport forms a large proportion. Additional opportunities include boxing, gymnastics, dance, football, netball and multi-sports.
As part of our provision on offer, pupils with special educational needs are planned for very carefully in school. This is a key aspect of PE, as pupils may need more physical and/or emotional support in different activities. In contrast to this, pupils with SEND may also find a sense of confidence, freedom and competence in PE lessons. It is always a priority for us to ensure that pupils are taught the skills that they need to develop their physical skills further. This was important when we were awarded the inclusive ‘Centre of Excellence’ award in late 2020. It is crucial for us that our pupils with SEND make progress, and move on from where they are in their learning journey. This provision may look very different to our other pupils, through differentiation and modification of the curriculum. Our decisions are made in consultation with the SENDCo, Mrs Firth, who advises and supports members of staff with their provision.
The impact of PE at West Rainton
As our AfPE award attests, PE provision at West Rainton is exciting, wide-ranging, all-inclusive and exemplary.
Our pupils are incredibly grateful and enthused by the opportunities they are offered; this is backed up by the percentage of pupils who then choose to attend extra-curricular clubs that the school arranges all-year-round.
A gifted and talented scholarship scheme has run for several years now in which the school makes use of a donated fund to give exceptional young talent in sport a helping hand. Case studies of this funding have included paying for coaching sessions, buying new specialist equipment and supporting children’s attendance at regional and national competitions.
Please see our latest swimming attainment data here:
West Rainton Primary School swimming attainment website report Sept 20
