At Ordsall Primary School we believe that all children should enjoy the lifelong benefits that come from sport. The PE provision across the school is delivered and designed with the aim to foster this within all pupils as well as ensuring that pupils receive the PE entitlement as set out in the National Curriculum 2014 as well as other experiences and opportunities that best meet the learning and development needs of the children in our school.

At Ordsall Primary School, we believe that physical activity and PE has the power to develop, improve and support physical, mental, emotional and social well-being, helping to develop important life and leadership skills. The Youth Sport Trust states that increased daily activity and access to high quality PE and sport leads to improved physical, social, cognitive and emotional wellbeing. The PE and physical activity that is delivered across the school has a positive, exciting approach to healthy and active lifestyles, which helps to develop a lifelong habit of participation in sport. As a result, there is increased progress, achievement and attainment as well as the gaining of skills for life. It is these skills for life, which are particularly important for the pupils at Ordsall Primary.

In Physical Education at Ordsall Teachers provide suitable learning opportunities for all children by matching the challenge of the task to the ability of the child. We achieve this through a range of differentiation strategies:

• Setting common tasks that are open-ended and can have a variety of results
• Setting tasks of appropriate levels, where all children are challenged to improve according to their individual ability
• Providing a range of challenge through the provision of different high quality resources

The intent of our PE curriculum is to give children the opportunity to access an exciting, engaging and broad learning experience to build upon skills and knowledge. We aspire for children to take part in experiences that they will not only commit to their long term memory but they will develop their cultural capital and understanding of many of the Fundamental British Values, in particular those of mutual respect and tolerance. As a result, the curriculum that we provide in Physical Education aims to produce excellent teaching of PE and joy in learning for all pupils across the full breadth of the PE Curriculum. In this way, the school is in line with DFE’s School Sports and Activity Action Plan to produce a curriculum that builds character, helps pupils develop resilience, determination and self-belief, whilst instilling the values and virtues of friendship and fair play.

In our school, we teach PE to all children, whatever their ability and individual needs. We adapt planning as necessary to the context of our school and the abilities of our children. We strive hard to meet the needs of those pupils with special educational needs, those with disabilities, those with special gifts and talents and those learning English as an additional language (EAL) in order for them to reach their full potential and achieve enjoyment and success at their own level.

In the Early Years Foundation Stage pupils build the foundation of physical literacy. The DFE School Sports and Activity Action Plan defines this as building physical competence alongside confidence, enjoyment knowledge and understanding. In KS1 and KS2 are delivered through the PE curriculum, which has been developed to ensure coverage and progression throughout the school. These objectives are laid out in the long-term curriculum plans and clearly express the skills and knowledge that pupil will gain, develop and explore. All lessons are built upon through the systematic sequencing of lessons across the year groups. All units followed in the curriculum lead to the achievement of milestones and a final end point which allows children to use the skills they have acquired. Lessons and units of work are structured to allow students the opportunity to gain knowledge and skills within a physical education environment.

The PE provision and curriculum is tied together using continuous assessment and progress checkers to work towards the end of year record of achievement targets. The objectives from the long term and contextualised curriculum plans are used to assess the children against milestones each term, which show the skills and knowledge children are expected to have acquired.

The PE curriculum at Ordsall is both progressive and innovative in many different ways. The school provides swimming lessons for children in Years 5 that builds the skills of swimming and awareness of water safety to allow them to access adventurous outdoor activities in Year 6. The PE Sports Premium has been used, along with a grant from British Olympic Team sponsors Persimmon, to provide sports markings to allow children to access the daily mile, or develop games of their own. Sponsorship from Tomlinson Construction has allowed equipment to be provided for active playtimes, which give children the opportunity to be continually active throughout their life at Ordsall Primary School. The development of PE into extra-curricular opportunities also provides a range of opportunities so diverse that children are able access different sporting activities These include Football, Cricket, Dodgeball, Rugby, Dance club including Jazz, Ballet, Bollywood and Cheer, Boccia, Running Club, Frisbee Club, Circus Skills, Orienteering, Archery, Gymnastics, Lacrosse and Fencing to name but a few. Some of these activities, alongside curriculum opportunities, also allow the children opportunities to take part in sporting competitions in the local area.

It is our intention that the provision for PE at Ordsall Primary School will be both stimulating and motivating in order to capture the children’s curiosity and fuel their motivation to learn. Learning, Playing and Growing Together in PE and physical activity provides the children at Ordsall Primary School with exciting learning opportunities so that they can enjoy acquiring and developing their skills, knowledge and understanding.

How do we measure the impact of what we do in PE?

At Ordsall Primary School we measure the impact of our work in PE in a variety of ways. The school uses its knowledge and vocabulary progression map for PE to compare the work that the children are doing with key points on the maps. This allows the staff to assess where the children are, and check which elements are evident from the progression on the maps. In PE this is done by observing the children in their work, through pupil discussion (when the children are asked about their work)  the work on display, a scrutiny of social media posts about PE as well as evaluating any internal assessment information we have.   

If you would like to see some of the work that we do in PE please see our Twitter feed @Ordsallschool or our website, which are both used to share the work that we do with parents and carers, the local community and the wider community of Bassetlaw, Nottinghamshire, the region and the United Kingdom.

If you would like to know more about the PE curriculum at Ordsall Primary School or the use of the Sports Premium please see the documents below or follow the link https://www.ordsallprimary.com/sports-premium/ . If you have any questions about the work we do in Physical Education please contact the PE Subject Leader at the school.

A primary school in Retford has been handed a £1,000 cash boost to transform its playground and keep its pupils active.

Ordsall Primary School has received the cash from the Persimmon Homes Community Champions scheme. Each month Persimmon chooses two groups to benefit from a match-funded donation of up to £1,000 each. The donation will fund new multi sports markings on the school’s playgrounds.

Richard Chapman, headteacher at Ordsall Primary School, said: “The Persimmon Homes’ donation will enable us to transform our playground, creating new activities to help keep our pupils active. The markings will include a rounders and five-a-side pitch, basketball court and a three-lane athletics track. The new facility will not only be used during break times, but also in PE sessions, and for our after-school clubs. We are very grateful to Persimmon Homes for helping to create this new space.”