Physical Education at Ordsall Primary School

At Ordsall Primary School, Physical Education is taught as a distinct subject that helps pupils develop physically, mentally and socially. Through PE, pupils build competence, confidence and resilience, while learning how to work individually and as part of a team.

We follow the National Curriculum for Physical Education, with a clear ambition that pupils leave Ordsall with secure physical knowledge, strong movement skills and the ability to think, perform and evaluate like increasingly competent sportspeople and athletes.

Our Physical Education Curriculum

Our PE curriculum is built around two forms of knowledge:

Substantive knowledge – the key facts, concepts and vocabulary pupils are taught, such as movement, balance, control, health, fitness, rules, tactics and safety

Disciplinary knowledge – how pupils think and work in PE, including performing, applying skills, evaluating performance, solving problems, working collaboratively and improving through practice

Clear progression maps set out what pupils should know, do and understand in each year group. Learning is deliberately sequenced so that knowledge builds securely and cumulatively from Nursery to Year 6.

Across the curriculum, learning is organised through key threads that run throughout pupils’ time in school:

• Physical Competence

• Health and Fitness

• Rules, Strategies and Tactics

• Evaluation and Analysis

These threads help pupils make connections across different areas of PE and develop a secure foundation over time.

What Pupils Learn in PE

Pupils develop their knowledge and skills across a broad range of disciplines, including:

• athletics

• dance

• fitness

• fundamental movement skills

• gymnastics

• outdoor and adventurous activities

• yoga

• invasion games

• net/wall games

• striking and fielding

• target games

• swimming

This broad offer ensures that pupils experience a balanced curriculum that develops agility, balance, coordination, strength, teamwork, creativity and resilience. Swimming is taught in Year 6 so that pupils develop water confidence, stroke technique and self-rescue knowledge.

How Physical Education Is Taught: Our Lesson Design

Across the school, PE lessons are designed to build knowledge, improve performance and develop confidence. Teachers provide clear instruction, model techniques, revisit prior learning and give pupils regular opportunities to practise, apply and refine their skills.

Lessons typically include:

Revisit – prior learning, vocabulary and key movements are revisited

Teach – teachers explicitly model techniques, tactics and expectations

Practise – pupils develop control, fluency and confidence through guided practice

Apply – pupils use their knowledge and skills in sequences, routines, challenges and games

Reflect – pupils evaluate performance, identify strengths and consider how to improve

This approach helps pupils remember more, perform more successfully and understand how to improve over time.

Thinking and Working Like Sportspeople

Pupils are taught to think and work like active, reflective participants in PE through regular opportunities to:

• develop and refine movement skills

• apply rules fairly and safely

• use strategies and tactics in different activities

• work cooperatively with others

• evaluate their own and others’ performance

• respond positively to challenge and improvement

Vocabulary is taught explicitly and revisited frequently so pupils can talk about movement, performance and fitness with increasing confidence and precision.

Inclusion and Impact

We are committed to ensuring that all pupils can access and succeed in PE. Teaching is adapted to support individual needs without lowering expectations, and barriers to participation are identified and reduced wherever possible.

The impact of our PE curriculum is seen in pupils’ secure physical development, growing confidence, improving fitness, understanding of teamwork and fair play, and their ability to reflect on and improve their own performance. Over time, pupils leave Ordsall as more knowledgeable, resilient and physically literate learners.