PHYSICAL EDUCATION & PHYSICAL LITERACY
The Government Strategy for Sport and PE (December 2015) informed us that the DfE no longer believes that PE should be taught via a list of sports, a principle we strongly agree with. It said,
"The distinctions between different ball games or between different racquet sports are far less important than developing the skills needed to play those sports later on in life.
Developing the ABCs of physical literacy – agility, balance and coordination – is more important and should be the focus at the youngest ages."
WHY SHOULD MY SCHOOL INVEST IN PE?
At PEAK we have witnessed first-hand what a tremendous impact the high quality delivery of Physical Education has on both the individual child and the school as a whole. We have seen children develop increased self-esteem which has given them not only the confidence but also a better understanding as to how they learn , to boost their overall academic performance. We have seen schools develop harmonious team ethics with the children and staff all working together to develop the overall performance and public profile of the school. We have seen under-performing schools work towards being outstanding schools and we know and can demonstrate the positive correlation between having high-quality physical education and becoming an outstanding school in the eyes of Ofsted.
Children spend a considerable amount of time in school, and schools are powerful motivators for helping them adopt healthy lifestyles. Several studies demonstrate that school-based PE programmes are one of the most effective ways to facilitate activity in our young people. Properly implemented physical education has been demonstrated to have a positive impact on the fitness levels and motor skill development of students, and such education will lead to the habituation of lifelong physical activity.
PHYSICAL EDUCATION v COACHING
Many Headteachers confuse these and primary schools are often bringing in L1 and L2 (both have the equivalency of a GCSE), single sport coaches to deliver their PE.
We wonder how many Heads would utilise somebody who has a GCSE in, say, fractions to deliver their maths lessons; or bring in different teachers, whose only qualifications are GCSEs in, say, fractions, data collection, addition, subtraction, decimal units and multiplication, to each teach one half-term to a class?
Physical Education is so much more than providing sport specific skills. It is about developing core skills and movement; confidence; social skills and contextual learning. A visiting coach cannot make positive skill transfers from prior learning; a visiting coach cannot make a child make progression in National Curriculum PE. In order to do this you need a deliverer who will remain with the class and teach them how to develop their range of skills across a skills based curriculum.
