PE Subject Leader: Mr Barron

Curriculum Aims

At Gade Valley, we recognise the contribution of physical education to the health and well-being of our pupils. We believe that a varied PE curriculum, increased opportunities for physical activity and extra-curricular activities contribute to the holistic development of our pupils and through participation, our pupils build and learn more about our key values such as: confidence, teamwork, attentiveness, motivation and perseverance. Furthermore, we believe that physical activity has numerous benefits for our pupils' physical health, as well as their mental wellbeing, and when our pupils are physically active they are happier and more resilient. 

Gade Valley strives to:

• Be an active school that provides a high quality, inclusive P.E. curriculum as well as a range of extra-curricular activities.
• Offer a wide (and changing) range of sports/activities for the pupils to participate in.  This would include games, outdoor and adventurous activities, gymnastics, dance, athletics and swimming.
• Help pupils to understand the importance of an active lifestyle (and associated health benefits).
• Increase pupils' overall participation in external sporting events. 
• Develop pupils’ range of physical skills as well as experiencing traditional team sports such as netball or tag rugby.
• Use our sports premium grant to support the delivery and provision of high quality P.E., sport and physical activity.
• Network and exploit opportunities beyond the school, for example, Saracens Rugby, Chance to Shine Cricket or PE specialists at the Laureate Academy.
• Actively encourage physical activity: this can be through active playtimes such as the use of the construction resources or ‘trim trail’.
• Train sports ambassadors in Year 6 to promote activity, especially at lunchtimes. 
• Boost fitness and concentration through ‘tracktime’ – Gade Valley’s version of the daily mile.
• Enter competitive leagues and events through our sports teams.
• Develop good sportsmanship and values, such as honesty or teamwork.

How We Teach PE

All classes from Years 1-6 follow the National Curriculum.  Choices for half-termly activities are based on the time of year (weather) and external factors such as sports day, outside agencies, or sporting events.  Each PE unit/lesson is carefully planned using the Get Set 4 PE scheme of work as a starting point.  This resource has been carefully selected as it provides thorough support for teachers to meet the skills and knowledge expectations of the national curriculum using a graduated approach.  Teachers select units over the academic year that meet the national curriculum aims as well as build on their individual expertise.  

All PE lessons include the Gade Valley Principles of Teaching and Learning, which are a set of non-negotiables for each lesson, for example, all pupils will be challenged or the pupils display good leaning behaviours. Each class will have a one hour dedicated PE slot each week and a daily fifteen-minute ‘Tracktime’ session.  In addition, pupils will take part in external sports festivals and in-school enrichment events.  This will mean that, on average each week, pupils will receive 2 hours 30 minutes of sport and physical activities during the school day (excluding break time and lunch time).  Furthermore, pupils will have the opportunity to take part in numerous extra-curricular sport and physical activities led by teachers or sports leaders after school. 

During the summer (every year), all pupils have swimming instruction from Reception to Year 6 in our very own outdoor pool. On average, EYFS class has 30 mins per week for 7 weeks, KS1 classes have 60 minutes per week for 7 weeks and KS2 classes have 90 minutes every week for 7 weeks. The exception to this is Year 6, who has 120 minutes of swimming every week for 7 weeks. The pupils follow the ASA school swimming program, which develops water confidence, swimming technique and swimming stamina.

In Early Years, PE lessons cover many of the aspects relating to physical activity in the early learning goals.  Both Reception and Nursery classes will have a weekly PE session, daily ‘Tracktime’ session and opportunities for in-school enrichment activities, such as sports week or skipping.

Key Information for 2024/25

• The school has achieved the gold active schools award for 2023/24 
• In the 2023/24 academic year, the very large majority of pupils achieved age related expectations or above.
• In the 2023/24 academic year, the very large majority of Year 6 pupils met national curriculum requirements for swimming and water safety.
• In the 2023/24 academic year, the very large majority of pupils (Years 1-6) achieved the required age group criteria from the ASA school swimming award.
• Year 6 pupils organise and lead lunchtime activities for all pupils, this includes providing a variety of play equipment to KS2 pupils and construction equipment to EYFS/KS1 pupils.
• The majority of Year 6 pupils completed 'bikeability' training.
• All pupils took part in a freestyle football workshop in November.
• New PE scheme introduced.
• Boys and girls football team competed in the Dacorum football league and cup. 
• New Trimtrail equipment installed.