The aim of Physical Education is to inspire students to succeed and build confidence in a variety of physically demanding activities. At Whitelands Academy we intend to achieve this goal through a modern curriculum that provides our students with a wide variety of sporting experiences throughout their PE programme. We aim to not only develop students in terms of their physical literacy but also to instil core values such as, teamwork, communication skills, resilience and leadership which are vital for their success in the future workplace. Our curriculum provides students with highly positive, memorable experiences within lessons but also through a diverse extra-curricular programme. In addition, we are proud to be apart of the North Oxfordshire School Sports Partnership which allows us to provide our students with the opportunity to participate in inter school fixtures and competitions.
Academic and Ambitious Physical Education
Physical Education at Whitelands Academy is delivered practically in mixed ability groups with theoretical elements embedded. Our practical sports/activities are selected based on seasonal sports as well as providing students with experience of team sports and individual performance. Throughout the curriculum students are taught about phases of movement, skill techniques, game strategy and performance analysis which come together to ensure improvement in practical performance and/or coaching.
Furthermore, the purpose for embedding theoretical elements within practical PE is to provide our students with knowledge of their body and how they can best lead a healthy, active lifestyle. In addition, we are able to support our students in a range of cross-curricular subjects, for example, Maths and Science.
Broad and Enriching Physical Education
At Whitelands Academy we operate a student-focused approach. Within PE this means that we utilise a curriculum designed to provide our demographic of students with a broad, enriching and exciting range of opportunities. Students will participate in both team-based sports and individual sports within lessons, where they will also be given the opportunity to engage within various roles for the specific sports. For example, Coaches, Referees, Umpires and Officials.
In addition, Physical Education offers a wide range of sporting and physically active clubs which students are encouraged to sign up to. These are both recreational and can be used as a training opportunity for students that will go onto represent Whitelands Academy at competitions and fixtures.
We hope through providing our students with a broad and enriching curriculum and external links, our students will identify a sport or physical activity that they enjoy and engage within for a lifetime.
Promoting Core Literacy in Physical Education
Within PE we are able to promote core literacy skills for all students. We achieve this through the strategic planning of our DNA activities at the beginning of every lesson. Students are shown PE specific knowledge recall questions on the board and given the opportunity to discuss them with a partner or in a small group before feeding back to the class, therefore allowing students to practice their reading and verbal literacy skills and embedding key vocabulary into their long-term memory.
Values-Based Physical Education
Physical Education at Whitelands Academy aims to achieve holistic development of each and every student. This means that we have a highly values-based system that we embed into each and every lesson. During lessons we are consistently able to refer to our school values; Tolerance, Respect, Ambition, Integrity and Teamwork. We ensure to communicate the most relevant values within our Learning objectives, mini-review and final review slides. We regularly use verbal feedback which consists of skill related and value related comments to praise and encourage improvement of our students.
Our curriculum map looks to deliver a variety of sports and physical activities that have an underpinned practical assessment focus. These are: Performance, Character, Analysis and Health and Fitness. Each assessment focus allows students to develop holistically.
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Performance |
Students are focusing on developing their physical competence in sport specific skills. Students are able to describe techniques and utilise skills in competitive game situations. Students are able to link skills to previously covered skills in other game areas where appropriate. Skills are developing in fluency, control and quality. |
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Character |
Students are focusing on setting goals, providing and acting on feedback to improve performance. Students are developing their sportsmanship within competitive game situations. Students are developing their resilience, teamwork, leadership and communication skills to participate in game situations. |
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Analysis |
Students are developing their ability to embed strategies and tactics within game situations. Students are beginning to use decision making effectively in high pressure game situations. Students are able to compare their performance to previous ones, highlighting areas of strength and development. |
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Health and Fitness |
Students are able to explain the importance of a healthy active lifestyle and are able to link the impact of exercise. Students are active for sustained periods of time. Students are able to identify the 3 different types of health and explain how they link to holistic health. |
Knowledge-Based Physical Education
Physical Education at Whitelands Academy is strategically planned to ensure students are increasing their knowledge of practical skills, theoretical concepts, strategic game play and life values.
Students are taught progressive techniques to master skills practically within a variety of sports and further to that able to analyse performance for areas of strength and areas of development. In order to do this, students can use key words and key terms to demonstrate their understanding.
In addition, students are provided with knowledge organisers for each theoretical unit that is taught within PE. Students complete home learning quizzes based on these theoretical concepts which aids the retention and retrieval of key knowledge provided within Physical Education.
